Tarantulas have recently become as pets in most parts of the world that increased the probability of encountering emergency physicians with patients hurt with these spiders. Their attacks usually do not cause general manifestation, however there are some case reports in this regard. Here, a 40-year-old man was reported who was referred to the emergency department with severe periumbilical pain ...

Phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) N-terminal extension (NTE) activates myosin in thick filaments. RLC phosphorylation plays a primary regulatory role in smooth muscles and a secondary (modulatory) role in striated muscles, which is regulated by Ca(2+)via TnC/TM on the thin filament. Tarantula striated muscle exhibits both regulatory systems: one switches on/off contraction ...

BACKGROUND Tarantula spiders are widely kept and bred in captivity by both adults and children. Their bites are generally considered harmless. AIM To explore the effects of envenoming by Old World tarantulas. DESIGN AND METHODS Clinical studies and review of conventional literature and hobbyist web sites. RESULTS Two men bitten on their index fingers by pet Old World tarantula spiders, La...

The wolf spider Lycosa tarantula homes using path integration. The angular component of the displacement is measured using a polarized-light compass associated with the functioning of the anterior median eyes. However, how L. tarantula estimates the linear component of the displacement was not known prior to this investigation. The ability of L. tarantula to gauge the distance walked after bein...

We rapidly and gently isolated thick filaments from scorpion tail muscle by a modification of the technique previously described for isolating Limulus thick filaments. Images of negatively stained filaments appeared to be highly periodic, with a well-preserved myosin cross-bridge array. Optical diffraction patterns of the electron micrograph images were detailed and similar to optical diffracti...

Like all spiders, tarantulas (family Theraphosidae) synthesize silk in specialized glands and extrude it from spinnerets on their abdomen. In one species of large tarantula, Aphonopelma seemanni, it has been suggested that silk can also be secreted from the tarsi but this claim was later refuted. We provide evidence of silk secretion directly from spigots (nozzles) on the tarsi of three distant...

We propose the name Bumba as a new name for Maraca, preoccupied by Maraca Hebard, 1926 (Orthoptera). We describe and illustrate Bumbalennoni, a new theraphosid species from Caxiuanã, Pará, Brazil. This species differs from the other species of the genus in the extremely reduced keel on male palpal organ and in the higher number of labial and maxillary cuspules. Females additionally differ in th...

tarantulas have recently become as pets in most parts of the world that increased the probability of encountering emergency physicians with patients hurt with these spiders. their attacks usually do not cause general manifestation, however there are some case reports in this regard. here, a 40-year-old man was reported who was referred to the emergency department with severe periumbilical pain ...

Voltage-activated ion channels are essential for electrical signaling, yet the mechanism of voltage sensing remains under intense investigation. The voltage-sensor paddle is a crucial structural motif in voltage-activated potassium (K(v)) channels that has been proposed to move at the protein-lipid interface in response to changes in membrane voltage. Here we explore whether tarantula toxins li...