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