Because of its quick and detectable response to bacteria, horseshoe crab blood is used in testing medications, and now, the coronavirus vaccine.
Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story misidentified Jack Levin and Frederik Bang’s organization. It is the Marine Biological Laboratory.
While other tests exist like synthetic LAL and a human blood test, LAL bacterial endotoxin testing is the gold standard, Hoffmeister said. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was concern over the fate of the horseshoe crab. The crab’s numbers appeared to drop to the point where birders and national bird conservation organizations like the National Audubon Society expressed alarm over a lack of horseshoe crab eggs, a primary food for endangered shorebird species like red knot along their migratory route.
Daily limits and bans on bait fishing in critical horseshoe crab areas like Delaware Bay and in Massachusetts and other spots along the eastern shore helped bring that fishery under control. The bait harvest peaked in 1999 at 2.6 million crabs and has remained under 1 million crabs since 2003, according to a 2019 stock assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
What you need to know about the coronavirus right nowHere's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Read more »
With coronavirus surging, California marks a subdued, socially distant Fourth of JulyAmid the coronavirus, this year's Independence Day celebrations took a different tone across Southern California
Read more »
Inside A Wall Street Tycoon’s Plan To Get Americans Off The Highway — And On His TrainsAs the world grapples with how to make travel safe in the age of coronavirus, private equity billionaire Wes Edens is betting $9 billion that America’s transportation future is a passenger rail
Read more »
Do L.A. politicians who pushed for reopening now have regrets as coronavirus cases climb?How will L.A. County move forward in combating the coronavirus outbreak? Leaders from the Board of Supervisors offer a mixed bag of answers.
Read more »
Where's next after Leicester?Trends in recent coronavirus infections suggest Leicester is very different from the rest of the UK.
Read more »