How Close Are We To Harnessing The Healing Power Of Spider Venom

The idea of using spider venom to treat diseases is pretty far out, and now researchers think more effective cancer treatments could be derived from the venom of some species of spider. Researchers seem nearly certain that some spiders possess a type of venom that could kill different types of bacteria, including E. Coli. Researchers believe that many spiders, even common house spiders, should be reevaluated for their potential to cure diseases. Several spiders possess venom that has already been found to function as an antibacterial agent that could most definitely be used in a medical setting. Although researchers are hopeful that the proper funding will eventually be put into spider-venom research, they also admit that it could take years for practical medicinal therapies involving spider venom to become a part of everyday hospital treatments.

The false widow spider is of particular interest to the researchers because the venom of the false widow is composed of different molecules that can track and destroy tumor cells, and pathogens. Amazingly, and unlike most other spiders studied, the false widow’s venom can target malfunctioning cells that are cancerous while leaving healthy cells unharmed. This is why researchers are convinced that the false widow holds the key to the future of cancer treatments and research.

The researchers are not surprised that science has not yet discovered the astounding medical benefits that can be extracted from even the most common spiders, such as the false widow. The researchers are not surprised because most entomologists are only interested in more exotic and mysterious spiders, which is understandable, but when it comes to cancer treatment, a simple false widow would do fine. Who knows, maybe you have a potential cure for cancer crawling around in your home right now.

Do you know of any other spiders that possess venom that could fight human diseases?