Jill Sweeney, age 8, of Youngstown, Ohio, for her question:

HOW DO THEY TAKE VENOM FROM A SNAKE?

Needless to say, this is a job for an expert  a very careful expert. Strange to say, the venom from a snake's fangs is used in serum for treating snakebites. He makes his deadly poison in two glands in his upper jaw, one at the base of each fang. Removing the venom harmlessly is called milking the snake.

The venom is collected in a cone shape glass, covered with a tightly sealed top of fabric, such as rubber or plastic. The trick is to get the snake to open his mouth wide, lower his fangs and poke them through the fabric. The snake milking expert does this by grasping the snake around the neck and using a finger to push down the top of the head onto the glass. As the fangs puncture the fabric, they squeeze out drops of venom, which run safely down inside the container.