A spider in Brazil can cause erections that lasts for hours

The Brazilian wandering spiders appeared in Guinness World Records 2012 as the world's most venomous spider. Its venom can cause priapism in humans. Priapism is a potentially painful medical condition, in which the erect penis or clitoris does not return to its flaccid state, despite the absence of both physical and psychological stimulation, within four hours. A component of the venom (Tx2-6) is being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments.

The eight-legged creature - also known as the armed spider, banana spider or Phoneutria nigriventer - is native to South and Central America.

The Facts You Didn't Know About Stalking

Stalking facts at a Glance:
1.  A common technique of stalkers is to kidnap, injure, or kill the victim’s pet, knowing that this will often devastate the victim emotionally.
2.  Victims of stalking often say it would be better to be murdered than have to go through the horrendous mental anguish of being stalked.
3.  Slashing the victim’s tires or vandalism/destruction of the victim’s home and property is standard behavior for stalkers.
4.  Friends and family who support the victim are themselves in danger. The stalker views these people as obstacles to what he wants and will turn his wrath on them as well. Cases exist where relatives or a new boyfriend of the victim have had their home burned to the ground.
5.  For someone being stalked, everyday things such as answering the phone or going out for a ride alone can no longer be done without constant fear.
6.  Stalkers have been known to hire private detectives to help track down the victim when they’ve moved to another state.
7.  Victims often are subjected to being followed, continual drive-bys of their homes and workplaces, and being inundated with unwanted phone calls, answering machine messages, letters, emails, notes left on doors and car windshields, and so forth. It is, for all intents and purposes, an act of terrorism.

Ball Cutter Fish Kills Fishermen by Biting off Their Testicles

Man-eating predators have always been part of legend and folk-lore. But here we have news of a real-life monster, interested in only one part of the human anatomy – the testicles.

The monster in question is in fact a 40lb fish called Pacu, found in the waters of Papua New Guinea. The Pacu are notorious for having eaten up the testicles of swimmers and anglers caught unawares, leaving them to bleed to death. This has led to the creatures being nicknamed ‘Ball Cutter’ fish. Initially, the villagers could only describe the monster-fish as something mysterious, like a ‘human in the water’. They finally got to see the predator up-close when a Pacu fish was recently caught by Jeremy Wade, a 53-year old British Fisherman, as a part of his TV series called River Monsters. The muscular fish was hard to catch, but Wade managed to track it down, reel it into his boat and wrestle it into submition. When he opened its jaws up with his hands, the teeth of the Pacu were found to be quite similar to human ones.

The Pacu fish are actually native to the Amazon, and were introduced to Papua New Guinea only about 15 years ago. Traditionally vegetarian, the fish used their molar-like sharp teeth to crack open nuts (no pun intended) and seeds. When veggie food wasn’t available in their new surroundings, they had to resort to eating meat. I suppose this is when they discovered a particular liking towards the meat of human testicles.

Meet Ralph, the giant Schnauzer who helps children to walk and smile

Ralf has gained a reputation as something of a miracle worker since joining Royal Children's Hospital, in Melbourne, Australia. The selfless pooch walks the wards and looks in on his young patients every Monday. He even sits with some during gruelling chemotherapy therapy sessions.

Ralf got two-year-old Claire Couwenberg to walk for the first time in the five days since her surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. And he brought a smile to 15-month-old Zeke Harrison, who has a rare genetic disorder where his body is unable to break down protein and too much can kill him.

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Ralf is one of a handful of dogs to visit the RCH each week in a program that has been boosted so more pooches are popping in on more little patients.

New Study Reveals We Are Happiest At Age 33

Forget the old adage that your schooldays are the happiest of your life - a study has found that 33 is the age at which people are most content. Seven out of 10 people over the age of 40 picked the year they turned 33 as their happiest in a survey by website Friends Reunited.

More than half of those surveyed - 53 per cent - said life was more fun and 42 per cent said they felt more optimistic about the future.

One in three said their happiness stemmed from having children while one in five said happiness came from success at work.

Having a Facebook 'friend' request turned down - or even just ignored, hurts just as much as real-life rejection, claim psychologists

Being ignored or snubbed online leads people to feel 'numb', 'distanced' and 'withdrawn', researchers found. The finding suggests that for many of us, the internet is as 'real' a place as the real world.

'Most people would probably expect that being ignored or rejected via a remote source like the Internet would not hurt as much as being rejected in person. Yet, our studies show that people may experience similar psychological reactions to online exclusion as they do with face-to-face exclusion. ‘ said Joshua Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health and of medicine at Penn State.

However, the researchers caution that these findings may be related to the types of individuals who participated in their study.

‘These studies were conducted with college-aged students who have grown up with the Internet and other related technology, ‘ Filipkowski said. ‘These findings may not apply to individuals who have much less experience with technology and remote communication.'

Chemical in fake tan and make-up is linked to obesity and diabetes

Chemicals called phthalates in plastics, cosmetics and toys are the latest reasons why one may have higher chances of developing diabetes, a study reveals. A study in Sweden has found that people with 'modest' levels of the chemicals in their blood are twice as likely to develop diabetes.

Phthalates are used as a softening agent in plastics but they can be used in cosmetics such as self-tan and perfumes.

The researchers analysed data from 1,000 people aged over 70, of which 114 developed diabetes. After taking into account factors known to cause type 2 diabetes, including obesity and high cholesterol, they found people with higher levels of phthalates were more likely to develop diabetes, the journal Diabetes Care reported.

Monica Lind, associate professor of environmental medicine at the Uppsala University, Sweden, said: "Although our results need to be confirmed in more studies, they do support the hypothesis that certain environmental chemicals can contribute to the development of diabetes," according to a university statement.

Sexually Rejected Alcohol-Drinking Flies

A new study at the University of California, San Francisco found that male fruit flies that had been rejected drank, on average, four times more than those that had successfully mated. In the experiment, 24 male fruit flies were put in one of two situations — either in a vial with female fruit flies ready to mate or in one with female fruit flies who already had. Then, after four days, they were given the opportunity to choose between plain food and food that had been spiked with alcohol.

Though researchers expected all of the flies to prefer alcohol-laced food, they found that the males who had successfully mated passed on the boozy food. The rejected males, however, displayed a clear preference for it. On average, the rejected male flies "drank" four times more alcohol than those that had mated.

Why you shouldn't even bother trying to remember last night!

Why you shouldn't even bother trying to remember last night: Drunken blackouts are caused by alcohol switching off brain’s memory function, study shows

It’s often said that alcohol killing off brain cells is behind the blackouts, but according to a study what’s actually happening is that booze is preventing new memories being recorded in the first place.

Yukitoshi Izumi, research professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said: ‘We’ve found that exposure to alcohol inhibits some receptors and later activates others, causing neurons to manufacture steroids that inhibit memory formation.’

The brain cells affected by alcohol are found in the hippocampus and other brain structures involved in advanced cognitive functions. When the hippocampal cells are treated with moderate amounts of alcohol, the key areas for memory formation are unaffected, but exposing the cells to large amounts of alcohol inhibits the memory formation mechanism.

‘Some people may be more vulnerable to alcohol’s effects than others. In other words, just because your friend may be able to drink a certain number of drinks and appear to be functioning fine, it does not mean that you or everyone else can.’ said lead author Reagan R. Wetherill.

‘Blackouts’, where very heavy drinkers wake up and are unable to remember anything that happened, are quite rare, says Weatherill – but their cousin, the ‘brown out’, where details vanish, is much more common.

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Starbucks Uses Insects In Strawberry Frappuccinos

Starbucks uses cochineal extract, which is the ground-up bodies of INSECTS, as a dye for their popular rose-coloured Strawberry Frappuccinos.

Bugs from mainly Mexico and South America are dried out before they are ground and used in the milky-based Frappuccino drink. As stomach-turning as it may sound, the ingredient is in fact harmless. Commonly used to help liven up the dull hues of jams, meats, cheese, baked goods, alcoholic drinks and more, cochineal extract has been used as a colouring agent in food and drinks for centuries. It has been deemed safe by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration.

Starbucks said it had decided to use cochineal extract to help limit the use of artificial ingredients in its products.

The zombie survival 'Google Map' that will help you find food and guns after the undead apocalypse!

It's well known horror film fact that when a zombie apocalypse arrives, those who want to see off the army of the undead need a variety of supplies to survive. Nearby medical care, weapons and nutrition are the key concerns for anyone hoping to successfully avoid being feasted on by rampant zombie legions. Now, should any remaining humans be overcome by confusion or panic during the zombie invasion, a unique world map has been created detailing all the key locations people need to survive.

The 'Zombie Survival Map' plots petrol stations, grocery stores, and even gun shops in major cities across the world, should the worst happen and the undead take over the planet. The map shows the nearest key locations in the fight against zombies, such as convenience stores, gun shops, and hardware stores.

So Do redheads feel more pain? Scientists set out to discover truth of controversial theory

Numerous studies have suggested that redheads feel more pain. And now a new study from Southampton University Hospital is looking to confirm the theory. The trial includes people with red hair over the age of 30. Researchers are comparing their reactions to tiny electric shocks with those of people with brown or black hair. The trial is set to end in September.

In 2009, a study in the Journal of the American Dentistry Association showed that redheads experience more trepidation at going to the dentist. Past research has suggested that redheads generally require more anesthesia than people of other hair colors.

India Introduces Stylish Stilettos for Men

According to The Times Of India, stilettos for men have recently been introduced in fashion circles around India. The ‘heels for men’ are aimed at the elite class, going by the price range – anywhere between $500 to $5,000 a pair – way out of the regular man’s budget. Opinions among Indian designers and celebrities about the fad are pretty much divided. Some say it will never last, and others claim heels for men are here to stay. According to designers like Manish Malhotra and Ravi Bajaj, the use of men’s stilettos will be marginal because guys might find it more difficult to keep their balance in them than women. Bajaj says that rather than stilettos, a more tapered, chiseled heel could be appropriate for men who are interested in wearing them.

Indian comedian Vir Das, who isn’t exactly known for his height, says he definitely won’t try them. “I’m happy with my feet,” he says. “As for the height issue, I’m a funny guy so having a sense of humor is far better than wearing a pair of heels.” Then there are those like popular VJ Cyrus who are all gung-ho about

Not Paying Attention In Class?! You Might Be A Genius

Those who appear to be constantly distracted or drift often to thoughts have more ‘working memory’ and 'sharper brains', a new study suggests.

Published online in the Psychological Science journal the new report indicates that a wandering mind is a form of a mental workspace that allows you to juggle multiple thoughts simultaneously.

During the study, volunteers were asked to perform one of two simple tasks during which researchers checked to ask if the participants’ minds were wandering. At the end, participants measured their working memory capacity by their ability to remember a series of letters interspersed with simple maths questions. Daniel Levinson, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, said that those with higher working memory capacity reported “more mind wandering during these simple tasks”, but their performance did not suffer.

Dr Jonathan Smallwood, of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science in Leipzig, Germany, said: “What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren’t very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources deploy them to think about things other than what they’re doing.”

Introducing Mantyhose – The Stylish Pantyhose for Men

So men have started to wear pantyhose now.They’re called Mantyhose, and there’s even a whole website, e-mancipate, dedicated to them. There might be people who find this odd, but when you come to think of it, there’s nothing particularly feminine about pantyhose, is there? They’re just tights made of a diaphanous material. And men have been wearing them for centuries too, especially in Europe, like medieval court jesters, Henry VII and even Robin Hood.

While several men in the UK and other parts of Europe have already started wearing the garment, the trend is now catching up in the US. Most men prefer to wear them as an extra layer under pants, but the more courageous tend to pair them up with shorts too. Who can deny the benefits of sporting tights? After all they do provide that smooth look to the legs, hiding any bumps and scars. They’re pretty comfortable too. Chan Kramer, the founder of e-mancipate, writes, “We believe that pantyhose for men can be an everyday clothing item, and that it can be fashionable as well.” And Francesco Cavallini, the vice-president of luxe hosiery company Emilio Cavallini, agrees, “The mantyhose are extremely elastic and stretchable and can fit men comfortably at the top. If it’s fine for Italian guys, it’s fine for the world.”

Popcorn Has 'More Antioxidants Than Fruit and Vegetables', New Study Says

Popcorn, when it’s not slathered in butter and coated in salt, is already known to be a healthy snack food and now a group of scientists say it may even top fruits and vegetables in antioxidant levels.

The new research has revealed that popcorn is made up of just 4% water so the antioxidants are less diluted than in fruit and vegetables, which can be made up of up to 90% water. The study found that one serving of popcorn contains up to 300mg of antioxidants - known as polyphenols – nearly double the 160mg found in a serving of fruit.

The researchers also found the crunchy hulls of popcorn (those bits that have an annoying habit of sticking in your throat) have the highest concentration of antioxidants and fibre.

Researcher Jo Vinson said: “Those hulls deserve more respect. They are nutritional gold nuggets.”

Describing popcorn as “the perfect snack food”, he added: “It's the only snack that is 100 per cent unprocessed whole grain.

“All other grains are processed and diluted with other ingredients, and although cereals are called 'whole grain', this simply means that over 51% of the weight of the product is whole grain.