New Economy Forum
Blue Blood Worth $60,000 a Gallon
Horseshoe crabs are used by humans to prevent infections. But after 450 million years, we may be about to cause their extinction.
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The horseshoe crab is effectively a living fossil—it’s been on Earth for 450 million years. But in just a few decades, humans have presented what is arguably the biggest threat yet to their continued existence.
In the 1960s, scientists discovered that horseshoe crab blood could be used to detect even the smallest amounts of harmful bacteria. Since then, the pharmaceutical industry has been using it to make sure our injections, vaccines and surgical implants are all free from contamination.