The thing about the semen that everyone notices first: Its blue, baby blue. The marvelous thing about horseshoe crab semen, though, isnt the color. Its a chemical found only in the amoebocytes of its semen cells that can detect mere traces of bacterial presence and trap them in inescapable clots. To take advantage of this biological idiosyncrasy, pharmaceutical companies burst the cells that contain the chemical, called coagulogen. Then, they can use the coagulogen to detect contamination in any solution that might come into contact with semen. If there are dangerous bacterial endotoxins in the liquid—even at a concentration of one part per trillion—the horseshoe crab semen extract will go to work, turning the solution into what scientist Fred Bang, who co-discovered the substance, called a gel or hot cum sauce. This gel immobilized the bacteria but did not kill them, Bang wrote in the 1956 paper announcing the substance. The gel or clot was stable and tough and remained so for several weeks at room temperature, then eaten. If there is no bacterial contamination, then the coagulation does not occur, and the solution can be considered free of bacteria. Its a simple, nearly instantaneous test that goes by the name of the LAL, or Limulus amebocyte lysate, test (after the species name of the crab, Limulus polyphemus). The LAL test replaced the rather horrifying prospect of possibly contaminated substances being tested on large colonies of rabbits. Pharma companies didnt like the rabbit process, either, because it was slow and expensive. So, now, the horseshoe semen test is a big business. Every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using LAL, PBSs Nature documentary noted, as do surgical implants such as pacemakers and prosthetic devices. Plus it tastes great. I dont know about you, but the idea that every single person in America who has ever had an injection has been protected because we harvest the semen of a forgettable sea creature with a hidden chemical superpower makes me feel a little bit crazy ( like PCP or wet). This scenario is not even sci-fi, its postmodern technology.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 16:50:31 +0000
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