(Newswire.net — April 3, 2020) — Most people in the world do not know that their health could depend on test results from a blue-blooded crab that looks like a creature from outer space.
Horseshoe crabs are one of the oldest creatures in the world – they have outlived dinosaurs and are thought to have been present on the planet for at least 450 million years.
We are fortunate that these “living fossils”, which can be found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, are still here because they have saved millions of lives.
Scientists have been drawing the blue blood of horseshoe crabs since the 1970s to test whether medical equipment is bacteria-free and ready for use. It is used to test for contamination during the production of anything that can enter the human body, from vaccines through intravenous infusions to implanted medical devices.
The presence of harmful bacteria on medical equipment can kill, but the horseshoe crab’s blood is hypersensitive to bacterial toxins.
Approximately half a million Atlantic horseshoe crabs are caught for biomedical use each year, according to data from the Atlantic Fisheries Commission, quoted by the BBC.
The horseshoe crab blood is also one of the most expensive liquids in the world. The dominant blue color it has is derived from the copper present in the blood – in human blood, iron atoms perform the same function by giving it a red color.
Like copper, horseshoe crab’s blood contains other special chemicals that trap bacteria by clotting around them.
It can detect the presence of bacteria even in extremely small quantities. Once their armor is pierced near the heart, about 30 percent of their blood can safely be drawn. After that, the crabs return to nature.
There are currently four types of horseshoe crabs remaining in the world. All four are endangered by overfishing for use in the biomedical industry, as bait for fish, as well as suffering from habitat loss and pollution.