00:00This is a funnel web spider, the deadliest arachnid in the world.
00:08And while it's something you no doubt want to stay away from no matter the situation,
00:12researchers now say that its potent venom changes depending on its mood.
00:16Researchers have been keenly interested in this spider species, not only because of the
00:19potential dangers it poses, but also because of the multitudinal applications their complex
00:23venom could be used for, including pesticides and pharmaceuticals.
00:28So while testing and extracting their venom, they discovered that it wasn't always the
00:31same, so researchers wanted to know why.
00:33They tested venom that was extracted during different psychologically induced states for
00:37the spider, including during what the spider thought was a threatening situation, as well
00:41as other states, including social moments with another spider of the same species, and
00:45while the spider was exploring.
00:47And one of the four funnel web species venom had a high variability depending on the psychological
00:51state of the creature, meaning they are actively changing their venom's recipe on the fly,
00:56something the researchers say could be a trade-off, as the more potent the venom, the
00:59higher the metabolic cost, which they also found slows their movement speed.
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