Funnel web spider’s lethal poison may hold gift of life
Recently, Dr Glenn King, of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, has received international media coverage for his discovery of a peptide from the venom of a Queensland funnel web spider (Hadronyche infensa) Hi1a that inhibits acid sensing ion channel ASIC1a and, in rodents, reduces the size of infarcts after ischaemic injury to brain and heart. Dr King will be presenting his findings and their exciting clinical implications at our forthcoming Oxford toxinology meeting.