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Press, 20 December 1985, Page 16

The venom of a highly poisonous South American spider is being used in research that could lead to the development of safer insecticides, and more selective drugs for use in medicine. Heading the research programme is Dr Robert Johnstone of the Department of Organic Chemistry at Liverpool University in north-western England, who is shown (right) using a mass spectrometer to identify the molecular structures of the venom toxins. He recently became the first chemist to succeed in isolating pure toxins in this venom and, over the next two years, plans to synthesise them in the laboratory and test them for their biological effects on the nervous systems of both mammals and insects. Crude venom from the large spider, Phoneutria nigriventer, whose bite can kill birds and even children and old people, has been supplied by a

scientific institute in Sao Paulo, which “milks” thousands of spiders as part of the process of making anti-venom for victims of spider bites. “Spider venom is known to have very unusual qualities,” says Dr Johnstone. “A spider can use its venom not simply to kill its prey but to immobilise it for a period of two or three weeks while allowing the normal metabolism of the prey to continue to tick over. “This state of paralysis is very difficult to achieve in living systems over such an extended period without the system running down and degenerating. If a drug could be developed from the venom toxins, it might be possible to immobilise surgical patients more simply and for longer periods than at present,” he says. —Photograph by London Pictures Service.