nerdy spider
Arachnopeon
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2012
- Messages
- 4
Hi everyone,
I'm a researcher who is interested in finding out more about the targets in the human body and the function of toxins in the venom of tarantulas (also non-tarantulas and scorpions). However, I'm not a biologist but I found the posts on this board to be very interesting and helpful. So I thought to ask you for advice. For many years, several scientific groups have been focusing on identifying toxins that can be used as tools to figure out how certain molecules in the human body function. These toxins may even potentially serve as lead molecules for drug design one day or can be used to produce anti-venom. However, most research groups have limited experience with the great diversity within the invertebrate kingdom and focus on just a handful of spider species that are thought to be dangerous to human health (e.g. grammostola, latrodectus, loxosceles, psalmopoeus). I was wondering if there are other spider species (or scorpions)out there that may be just as, or even more, exciting to explore (they don't have to be lethal). So here's my question (fill in the question marks): Venom from the ????? spider (or scorpion) species is worth exploring because a bite (or sting) causes ????? in humans.
Looking forward to the replies!
Thanks...
I'm a researcher who is interested in finding out more about the targets in the human body and the function of toxins in the venom of tarantulas (also non-tarantulas and scorpions). However, I'm not a biologist but I found the posts on this board to be very interesting and helpful. So I thought to ask you for advice. For many years, several scientific groups have been focusing on identifying toxins that can be used as tools to figure out how certain molecules in the human body function. These toxins may even potentially serve as lead molecules for drug design one day or can be used to produce anti-venom. However, most research groups have limited experience with the great diversity within the invertebrate kingdom and focus on just a handful of spider species that are thought to be dangerous to human health (e.g. grammostola, latrodectus, loxosceles, psalmopoeus). I was wondering if there are other spider species (or scorpions)out there that may be just as, or even more, exciting to explore (they don't have to be lethal). So here's my question (fill in the question marks): Venom from the ????? spider (or scorpion) species is worth exploring because a bite (or sting) causes ????? in humans.
Looking forward to the replies!
Thanks...