In a scene that seems to have been cut out of a particularly bad horror movie, all employees and customers were evacuated from a supermarket in Austria last week after what according to media reports was a spider whose bite could cause an eternal and painful erection. While these claims have garnered a lot of media attention, closer inspection reveals that the truth behind the spider bite is slightly less dramatic, as told with the help of ChatGPT.
The incident took place at a cheap shop in the picturesque town of Krems on the Donau River, about 72 kilometers west of Vienna. The discovery of a spider, reportedly a Brazilian migratory spider, sparked a wave of panic over claims that its bite could lead to a permanent erection. Austrian authorities sprang into action, closed the store and called firefighters to the scene, but they were unable to find the spider in question.
However, the scientific facts are a little different: the Brazilian wandering spider, measuring 10 cm, is equipped with powerful venom that causes a variety of physiological reactions when biting its victims. Among these phenomena, an increase in blood pressure and prolonged periods of erection are indeed documented. However, this erection is not permanent. Spider venom works by activating nitric oxide release in the brain. This chemical causes a complex biochemical process, culminating in the production of an enzyme called cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which relaxes the muscles of the penis and allows an increase in blood flow to it. Although it leads to a prolonged erection, the effect is only temporary. After a few hours, another compound called PDE-5 intervenes to break down cGMP, returning the penis to its normal state.
Interestingly, the venom of the Brazilian wandering spider works the opposite of drugs like Viagra, which inhibit the production of PDE-5. This unique mechanism has attracted the attention of scientists, who see spider venom as potential applications in the field of treating erectile dysfunction.
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