DailyDirt: Friendly Neighborhood Spiders?

Arachnophobia isn't just a condition suffered by Little Miss Muffet. But despite the widespread fear (or elevated concern) related to spiders, there are still some interesting things to know about our 8-legged frenemies. Here are just some examples.

• If you've ever wondered what kind of spider bit Spiderman so that webs could squirt out of his wrists, there may be an actual answer now. It's possible that tarantulas can spin from their limbs in order to stick to tricky surfaces. [url]
• The bite from the Brazilian wandering spider can cause four hour erections -- leading to the development of another kind of drug treatment for erectile dysfunction. A peptide called PnTx2-6 was isolated from the spider venom, and it made some lab rats happier for a while. [url]
• Flooding in Pakistan has caused some spiders to take to the trees -- creating a LOT of spiderweb-filled foliage. The unexpected benefit seems to be that, despite the plentiful amount of standing water, the mosquito population has been pretty effectively reduced by the ubiquitous spiderwebs. [url]
• To discover more interesting biological curiosities, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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