A bite from the vicious West Indian tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei) is physiologically no different from eating a really hot chili pepper, according to a study published 9 November in Nature. The peptides in the spider’s venom, called vanillotoxins, fire up the same nerve receptors as capsaicin, the active chemical in chili peppers. While neither spider nor plant wants to be eaten, chili peppers have one big disadvantage: They don’t give you the heebie-jeebies.
