Spiders

Causing one of the most common phobias, our eight-legged friends are a type of arthropod, the most abundant phylum on Earth and are found on every continent aside from Antarctica. Spiders produce silk, which the majority use to spin webs. Spiders are always very popular on news sites, probably one of the reason arachnophobia is so common. From raining spiders to beautiful peacock spiders to spiders with wings, they are animals that have fascinated us all for many years.

Funnel web spider venom may be used to prevent damage caused by heart attacks

Human clinical trials are set to begin on the drug within a year.
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Spiders: Should I be worried about being bitten by a false widow?

A recent study has found that numbers of the venomous spiders are increasing, along with the number of people being bitten by them. But what risk do they really pose?
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Genetically-modified marine bacteria able to produce synthetic spider silk

The biocompatible silk is not attacked by immune systems, making it useful for drug delivery systems, implant devices, and scaffolds for tissue engineering.
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Spider silk used to create lenses for imaging human tissue

The lenses, made of spider dragline silk, could be used to create high resolution images of human tissue.
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Spider-Man really could stop a train

In the 2004 film Spider-Man 2, the titular superhero uses his web to bring a runaway train to a standstill, saving the passengers from a watery death…
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Eight of nature’s grooviest dancing animals

We all love a bit of a disco, but even members of the animal kingdom can't resist a bit of a boogie.
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The world's most venomous animals

Bites, stings and syringe-like body parts are needed when you want to inject deadly venom into your victims – find out which animals are the ones to watch out for.
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