Research has found that the venom of spiders—occasionally the cause of seizures and even death—could actually be life-saving for those suffering from heart disease. Heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death in the world. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, nearly 60,000 Australians suffer a heart attack every year, with heart attacks claiming on average 21 lives every day. Lead researcher Nathan Palpant and a group of Australian scientists believe that the venom of one of the world’s deadliest spiders, the Fraser Island’s funnel-web spider, contains a protein that can stop the heart’s signal to cease beating after an attack. “After a heart attack, blood flow to the heart is reduced, resulting in a lack of oxygen to the heart muscle,” Palpant said. “The lack of oxygen causes the cell environment to become acidic, which combine to send a message for heart cells to die.” This …