Thisisanepisodethatfirstairedin2018andthenagaininthethickofthepandemicin2020.Why?BecausethoughHorseshoecrabsarenotmuchtolookat,beneaththeirunassumingcatcher’s-mittshell,theyharborahalf-billion-year-oldsecret:asuperpowerthathelpedthemoutlivethedinosaurs,survivealltheEarth’smassextinctions,andwasessentialinthedevelopmentoftheCOVIDvaccines. Andwhatisthatsecretsuperpower?Theirblood.Theirbabyblueblood. Andit’ssomiraculousthatfordecades,ithasn’tjustbeensavingtheirbutts,it’sbeensavingourstoo.
Butthatallmightbeabouttochange.
Followusaswefollowtheseancientcritters-fromaraunchybeachorgytoamarineblooddrivetothemostsecludedwaterslide-andlearnathingortwofromthemabout howmuchwedependonnatureandhowmuchitdependsonus.
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Citations:
AlexisMadrigal, "TheBloodHarvest" in TheAtlantic,andSarahZhang'srecentfollowupin TheAtlantic, "TheLastDaysoftheBlueBloodHarvest"
DeborahCramer, TheNarrowEdge
DeborahCramer, "InsidetheBiomedicalRevolutiontoSaveHorseshoeCrabs" inAudubonMagazine
RichardFortey, HorseshoeCrabsandVelvetWorms
IanFrazier, "BlueBloods" inTheNewYorker
LuluMiller'sshortstory, "MeandJane" inCatapultMagazine
JerryGault, "TheMostNobleFishingThereIs" inCharlesRiver'sEurekaMagazine
orcheckoutGlennGauvry'shorseshoecrab researchdatabase