There are a lot of questions as to how blood harvesting affects the American horseshoe crab population, but some researchers are dedicated to the cause of protecting such a significant resource.

In place of white blood cells, they have cells known as amebocytes, which are extremely effective at detecting bacterial ...

More information: Tim Cernak et al, The pharmaceutical industry must embrace synthetic alternatives to horseshoe-crab blood, ...

Horseshoe crabs molt their distinctive shells about 17 times before reaching maturity at age 10. A synthetic version of their blood has been produced that appears to be on course to eliminate the ...

13 stunning photos from this year’s best wildlife photographers 13 stunning photos from this year’s best wildlife photographers Horseshoe crab blood is key to making a COVID-19 vaccine—but ...

WILMINGTON, Del.— A coalition of pharmaceutical companies and conservation groups launched the Sustainability Scorecard for Endotoxin Testing to accelerate the adoption of synthetic alternatives to ...

The subject of concern is the Limulus polyphemus, commonly known as the Atlantic horseshoe crab, whose blue blood is of great benefit to the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The blood of ...

In 2021, for example, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission reported that hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs died to meet the demand for bait and blood, but Niles said the annual toll ...

Eel and whelk fisheries use horseshoe crabs for bait, and biomedical companies harvest horseshoe crabs for their blood, which can be used to detect toxins. Horseshoe crab populations remain at ...

Horseshoe crab blood is highly valuable because it contains a unique substance called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), which is used in a test to detect bacterial endotoxins. This test, known as ...