A cool bunch of images from Wired magazine detailing the process in which horseshoe crab blood is extracted and processed for use in medical grade testing reagents. While viewing this gallery, you have to convince yourself that you’re looking at an amazing miracle of science and not some twisted steampunk nightmare. LINK
Give Blood
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Yes! Elements of horseshoe crab blood are used every day to make sure that any injectable drugs you use don’t have bacterial endotoxins-ompounds made by pathogenic bacteria which cause very strong immune system responses. We should be grateful for the lowly horseshoe crab 🙂
I saw a show on the company that holds the licensing to collect and sometimes even return the crabs after “donating”. It looks like a scene from a B movie, right down to the blue blood.