Chemists develop cheaper snake antivenom, may work for spiders and scorpions

Although snakebites only account for about five deaths per year the United States, their global impact is much more severe. About 421,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year and some 20,000 of those bitten die, according to conservative estimates made in a 2008 study published in the journal PLOS Medicine. The reason deaths are so […]

Stop blaming brown recluse spiders for your horrifying flesh wounds

That weird, swollen, oozing bump you’re worried about? It’s not a bite from a brown recluse spider, a bug scientist and skin doctors say in an article aimed at combating misdiagnoses. For starters, brown recluse bites are usually flat, pale at the center, and don’t really ooze — unless they’re on your eyelid or toes, […]