Horseshoe Crabs Are Bled Alive To Create an Unparalleled Biomedical Technology 159
Lasrick writes "Alexis Madrigal at the Atlantic: 'The marvelous thing about horseshoe crab blood, though, isn't the color. It's a chemical found only in the amoebocytes of its blood cells that can detect mere traces of bacterial presence and trap them in inescapable clots.' Madrigal continues, 'To take advantage of this biological idiosyncrasy, pharmaceutical companies burst the cells that contain the chemical, called coagulogen. Then, they can use the coagulogen to detect contamination in any solution that might come into contact with blood. If there are dangerous bacterial endotoxins in the liquid—even at a concentration of one part per trillion—the horseshoe crab blood extract will go to work, turning the solution into what scientist Fred Bang, who co-discovered the substance, called a "gel." ... I don't know about you, but the idea that every single person in America who has ever had an injection has been protected because we harvest the blood of a forgettable sea creature with a hidden chemical superpower makes me feel a little bit crazy. This scenario is not even sci-fi, it's postmodern technology.'"
Bled Alive? (Score:5, Funny)
Does PITA know about this? /ducks and covers
Re:Bled Alive? (Score:3, Funny)
Does PITA know about this? /ducks and covers
No but HUMMUS Does
Postmodern technology? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Aren't these an endangered species? (Score:4, Funny)
They're not endangered and they don't have throats. Also, before you ask, they're not crabs and they're not horseshoes.
Re:Bled Alive? (Score:4, Funny)
That makes me felafel.