Researchers from The University of Queensland and Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute have discovered a possible treatment for heart attack victims made from spider venom.
A team led by Dr Nathan Palpant and Professor Glenn King are studying a molecule found in the venom of the Fraser Island funnel web spider.
Senior cardiologist Professor Peter McDonald from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute says that this could help hundreds of thousands of heart attack victims, and could also increase the number and quality of donor hearts.