Magic Mushrooms and Giant Spiders

There is a story on the National Geographic website about glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. Or rather, the story is about bioluminescent fungi in Brazilian tropical forests. These mushrooms -- several of which are newly discovered species -- emit a pleasant green glow when the sun has set. Check out the pictures at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061026-fungi-glow.html.

Another interesting page on the NG site is a little bit grosser. Now, I don't mind spiders of the ordinary kind, but the goliath birdeater tarantula quite literally makes the hairs on my neck stand up. Not only is the spider quite large -- so are its teeth. You can find a video of the spider at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061027-tarantula-video.html. The squeamish should be warned, however, that the video contains acts of violence against bugs and mice.