Spiders are the most successful venomous animals and the most abundant terrestrial predators.
Their remarkable success is due in large part to their ingenious exploitation of silk and …

Voltage-gated sodium (Na v ) channels initiate action potentials in most neurons, including
primary afferent nerve fibres of the pain pathway. Local anaesthetics block pain through non-…

Voltage-gated sodium (Na V ) channels play a central role in the propagation of action potentials
in excitable cells in both humans and insects. Many venomous animals have therefore …

Over 10,000 arthropod species are currently considered to be pest organisms. They are
estimated to contribute to the destruction of ~14% of the world’s annual crop production and …

ArachnoServer ( www.arachnoserver.org ) is a manually curated database providing information
on the sequence, structure and biological activity of protein toxins from spider venoms. …

Venomous animals have evolved toxins that interfere with specific components of their victim’s
core physiological systems, thereby causing biological dysfunction that aids in prey …

Human genetic studies have implicated the voltage-gated sodium channel Na V 1.7 as a
therapeutic target for the treatment of pain. A novel peptide, μ-theraphotoxin-Pn3a, isolated …

Spiders are diverse, predatory arthropods that have inhabited Earth for around 400 million
years. They are well known for their complex venom systems that are used to overpower their …

Dravet syndrome is a catastrophic, pharmacoresistant epileptic encephalopathy. Disease
onset occurs in the first year of life, followed by developmental delay with cognitive and …

Pest insect species are a burden to humans as they destroy crops and serve as vectors for a
wide range of diseases including malaria and dengue. Chemical insecticides are currently …