It’s enough to strike fear into the heart of any arachnophobe, but the venom from one of the world’s largest tarantulas could be the key to developing new pain relief drugs. Queensland scientists say the venom from the Chinese bird spider, which has a leg span of up 20cm, could also potentially relieve severe pain without addiction. Found in the tropical rain forests of southern China and Vietnam, the aggressive Chinese Bird Spider preys on numerous small insects and other creatures, such as cockroaches, crickets and mice. Now University of Queensland scientists believe novel tarantula venom mini-protein could relieve severe pain without the addictive qualities of many other treatments. The breakthrough comes in the face of an opioid crisis around the world, and urgent alternatives to morphine and morphine-like drugs, such as fentanyl and oxycodone, are desperately needed says Dr Christina Schroeder of UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience. “Our study found that a mini-protein in tarantula venom from the Chinese bird spider, known as Huwentoxin-IV, binds to pain receptors in the body,” Dr Schroeder said. “By using a three-pronged approach in our drug design that incorporates the mini-protein, its receptor and the surrounding membrane from the spider venom, we’ve altered this mini-protein resulting in greater potency and specificity for specific pain receptors. “This ensures that just the right amount of the mini-protein attaches itself to the receptor and the cell membrane surrounding the pain receptors.”