fear of spiders

6 Stories

Have Arachnophobia? Steer Clear of Aitoliko

Webs cover the trees and shrubs of the Greek town as spiders feast on flies

(Newser) - It's not quite the World Wide Web—but the spiders of Aitoliko in Greece have made a good start. Spurred into overdrive by an explosion in the populations of insects they eat, thousands of little spiders in the western Greek town have shrouded coastal trees, bushes, and low vegetation...

Your Fear May Make This Spider Look Huge

Arachnophobia may boost people's size estimates

(Newser) - When Noga Cohen, a grad student at Israel's Ben-Gurion University, spotted a spider one day, arachnophobe and fellow student Tali Leibovich freaked out about its size. Cohen thought that odd, because the eight-legged arachnid looked tiny to her, reports Live Science . And so a study was born. They set...

How to Cure a Spider Phobia in 2 Minutes

Hang out with a tarantula, then get a dose of propranolol: study

(Newser) - Arachnophobes, rejoice! A new study suggests a cure to your fear of spiders is just two minutes away. The only problem is that it involves being near a tarantula. Reporting in Biological Psychiatry , University of Amsterdam scientists say they built an experiment out of the idea of reconsolidation—that memories...

The Most Common Phobias
 The Most Common Phobias 
happy halloween
Oct 31, 2009 3:07 PM CDT

The Most Common Phobias

Don't like spiders and snakes? Join the club!

(Newser) - In honor of Halloween, LiveScience reveals the most common phobias. If you still need a costume, you'll scare the most people by playing on their evolutionarily sensible fear of creatures with venomous fangs. The top terrors:
  1. Snakes
  2. Spiders and other "creepy crawlies"
  3. Places that are difficult to escape, such
...

It's Friday the 13th: What Do Celebs Fear?

Some fears normal; others just weird

(Newser) - Friday the 13th is a good time to delve into the scary world of celebrity fears—and they run the gamut from the average (Johnny Depp is afraid of clowns) to the bizarre (Roseanne fears letting anyone touch her toes). More from the list, compiled by New York Post columnist...

Humans Wired to Fear Snakes
Humans Wired to Fear Snakes
Mar 5, 2008 4:42 PM CST

Humans Wired to Fear Snakes

Scientists find innate ability to discern slithering critters in the wild

(Newser) - Evolution seems to have given humans a hard-wired ability to recognize snakes and spiders, LiveScience reports. Intrigued by the widespread fear of serpents despite the fact that most humans rarely interact with them, researchers showed groups of adults and 3-year-olds natural scenes containing various hidden animals. Both groups were consistently...

6 Stories