It was an ordinary day. Reading an article titled "Good News For Old Crabs." The subhead read Group OKs synthetic alteranatives to valuable horseshoe blood. The article was written by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Frank Kummer. The horseshoe crabs that clamber by the thousands each spring across Delaware Bay beaches in New Jersey trace back hundreds of millions of years to the age of dinosaurs. While their numbers might look impressive to people who've witnessed the spectacle, horseshoe crabs are far below their modern peak, marked in 1999. One of the reasons for the decline of the ancient species: Their highly prized blue blood is collected by the biomedical industry to support production of a clotting agent that helps detect endotoxins in people, helping make vaccines and other medications safe. The agent allows for quick detection of infectious bacteria in drugs and medical devices. Conservationist groups aligned with the nonprofit Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition rejoiced Friday when a major scientific organization, U.S. Pharmacopeia, issued new guidelines that pave the way for wider use of synthetic alternatives to horseshoe crab blood for biomedical testing. Good news for horseshoe crabs is also a big plus for the federally threatened red knot that feasts each spring on the eggs of the crabs which are not crustaceans but are closely related to spiders. "A safe and expeditious transition from horseshoe crab blood to a synthetic alternative in the biomedical industry is an important step in protecting shorebirds, horseshoe crabs, and other wildlife," Bethany Kraft, senior director of coastal and marine resilience at the National Audubon Society, said in a statement by the coalition. The Rockville, Maryland-based U.S. Pharmacopeia announced recently that it had approved including non-animal-derived reagents for endotoxin testing formally next year in the National Formulary, which includes thousands of standards for medicines. The guidelines don't prohibit use of Limulus amebocyte lysate, the clotting agent derived from horseshoe crabs. But, the addition gives pharmaceutical manufacturers the information needed to use synthetic chemical compounds. Research has shown that up to 30% of horseshoe crabs tested can die as a result of the blood extraction, estimates the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, though specific numbers are hard to track. The blood has been valued at $15,000 a quart. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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