Sheril KirshenbaumNov 28, 2022

If you ever had a vaccine, injection or surgery, you’re indebted to the ancient & wondrous horseshoe crab.

Its blue blood contains Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) which clumps at contact with bacterial toxins. Animals are caught for their blood to test sterility of medical equipment & injections.

Unfortunately the harvest is unsustainable & populations are in decline. An effective synthetic substitute has been around for 2 decades & we just need the biomedical industry to switch. #SharedPlanet

Show threadKoraNov 28, 2022
@Sheril I wonder what the synthetic alternative is – is there a reason why it's not been adopted more widely? The horseshoe crabs milking doesn't strike like the most efficient of processes (not mentioning the unsustainability and cruelty pointed out by others). What could possibly be a reason to continue in this vein? 🤯
Show threadSheril Kirshenbaum
@qornik no pressure to make a change
Nov 28, 2022 at 9:41pmMetatext
Show threadKoraDec 1, 2022
@Sheril what do you propose to start with? a petition to ban it? Or some sort of open letter?
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumDec 1, 2022
@qornik Lots of people, writing, speaking, and taking action in all sorts of ways creates change.