The Old Sense

A L O H A  From

H O N O L U L U

There is no power on earth 

that can neutralize the influence

of a high, simple and useful life. 

Booker T. Washington

My drug of choice is love. . .

 no other drug gets both 

the dealer and user high 

from every transaction.     

Jarod Kintz

I place a high moral value
on the way people behave.
I find it repellent to have a lot,
and to behave with anything
other than courtesy in the
old sense of the word -
politeness of the heart,
a gentleness of the spirit.
Fran Lebowitz

Horseshoe Crab at the New Jersey Shore. 

Courtesy of Amy Lent.

The horseshoe crab is a “living fossil” that’s been around for over 400 million years, outlasting even the dinosaurs.

 Despite the name, it’s not a crab, but a helmet-shaped relative of spiders and scorpions, famous for its spiky tail (used for flipping over, not for fighting).

Each spring, thousands come ashore to lay eggs, providing a crucial feast for migrating birds like the Red Knot. Their blue blood is also vital for medical testing. Once abundant, horseshoe crabs are now protected in New Jersey due to declining numbers.

These ancient creatures provide an irreplaceable substance in their blood which we use for medical purposes! Horseshoe crab blood is crucial to modern medicine because it contains a unique substance called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL). LAL is used to test vaccines, intravenous drugs, and medical devices for dangerous bacterial toxins called endotoxins, which can cause serious illness in humans. When exposed to even tiny amounts of endotoxin, the LAL reacts by clotting, providing a quick and reliable way to check for contamination. This blue blood (thanks to copper-based hemocyanin) has been essential for ensuring the safety of everything from vaccines—including COVID-19 shots—to surgical implants and IV fluids.

Despite the development of synthetic alternatives, most U.S. medical testing still relies on real horseshoe crab blood, making these ancient creatures unsung heroes of public health.

Compiled by Perplexity AI

There's no rehab

for stupidity.     

  Chris Rock

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