title: The wonderful world of spiders: preface to the special Toxicon issue on spider venoms.
abstract: Spiders are remarkable for their complete reliance on predation as a trophic strategy. Their evolutionary success is due in large part to production of a complex venom that is designed to rapidly subdue or kill their prey. This issue provides an overview of the fascinating complexity of these venoms, a realistic account of the danger they pose to humans, and an examination of their immense but largely untapped potential for drug and insecticide discovery.
authors.forename: Glenn F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D013111:Spider Venoms; D013112:Spiders / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides; D013111:Spider Venoms