Biochemical secrets of tarantula’s painful bite could point to perfect painkillers

‘I started to feel a horrible burning and throbbing sensation, which intensified [and got] a lot worse after 30 minutes.’ This is how a king baboon spider keeper describes being bitten by his pet. Scientists have now discovered what makes this large African tarantula’s bite so painful – and how reversing its action could lead to the perfect painkiller.

In the wild, the king baboon spider (Pelinobius muticus) is a shy species that spends most of its time in its burrow. ‘What we know mostly of how painful their bite is, is because these spiders are very popular among people that have tarantulas as pets,’ says Rocio Finol-Urdaneta from the University of Wollongong, Australia.