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Humans Wired to Fear Snakes

Scientists find innate ability to discern slithering critters in the wild

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 5, 2008 4:42 PM CST

(Newser) – Evolution seems to have given humans a hard-wired ability to recognize snakes and spiders, LiveScience reports. Intrigued by the widespread fear of serpents despite the fact that most humans rarely interact with them, researchers showed groups of adults and 3-year-olds natural scenes containing various hidden... Read full story »

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snakes • genes • human evolution • fear • spiders • phobias • natural selection • psychological research • fear of spiders

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Humans Wired to Fear Snakes

Scientists find innate ability to discern slithering critters in the wild

snakes • genes • human evolution • fear • spiders • phobias • natural selection • psychological research • fear of spiders

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The Most Common Phobias

Don't like spiders and snakes? Join the club!

It's Friday the 13th: What Do Celebs Fear?

Some fears normal; others just weird

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