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The horseshoe crab has endured for over 450 million years. It has survived several mass extinctions including the one that killed off the dinosaurs. One reason for their incredible resiliency is their ability to fend off bacterial infection. Their blood contains cells that clot around invading bacteria, thereby protecting them from the attacking toxins.In this episode we talk with three experts about how this animal's unique blue blood has become essential to modern medicine. We also talk about why horseshoe crab populations are dwindling, and what biotech is doing to address the shortfall.Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Visit us at https://www.bio.org/
The horseshoe crab has endured for over 450 million years. It has survived several mass extinctions including the one that killed off the dinosaurs. One reason for their incredible resiliency is their ability to fend off bacterial infection. Their blood contains cells that clot around invading bacteria, thereby protecting them from the attacking toxins.In this episode we talk with three experts about how this animal's unique blue blood has become essential to modern medicine. We also talk about why horseshoe crab populations are dwindling, and what biotech is doing to address the shortfall.Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Visit us at https://www.bio.org/
Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Visit us at https://www.bio.org/The horseshoe crab has endured for over 450 million years. It has survived several mass extinctions including the one that killed off the dinosaurs. One reason for their incredible resiliency is their ability to fend off bacterial infection. Their blood contains cells that clot around invading bacteria, thereby protecting them from the attacking toxins.In this episode we talk with three experts about how this animal's unique blue blood has become essential to modern medicine. We also talk about why horseshoe crab populations are dwindling, and what biotech is doing to address the shortfall.
This is an episode that first aired in 2018 and then again in the thick of the pandemic in 2020. Why? Because though Horseshoe crabs are not much to look at, beneath their unassuming catcher's-mitt shell, they harbor a half-billion-year-old secret: a superpower that helped them outlive the dinosaurs, survive all the Earth's mass extinctions, and was essential in the development of the COVID vaccines. And what is that secret superpower? Their blood. Their baby blue blood. And it's so miraculous that for decades, it hasn't just been saving their butts, it's been saving ours too. But that all might be about to change. Follow us as we follow these ancient critters - from a raunchy beach orgy to a marine blood drive to the most secluded waterslide - and learn a thing or two from them about how much we depend on nature and how much it depends on us. Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today. Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about special events. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)! Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org. And, by the way, Radiolab is looking for a remote intern! If you happen to be a creative, science-obsessed nerd who is interested in learning how to make longform radio… Apply! We would LOVE to work with you. You can find more info at wnyc.org/careers. Citations: Alexis Madrigal, "The Blood Harvest" in The Atlantic, and Sarah Zhang's recent follow up in The Atlantic, "The Last Days of the Blue Blood Harvest" Deborah Cramer, The Narrow Edge Deborah Cramer, "Inside the Biomedical Revolution to Save Horseshoe Crabs" in Audubon Magazine Richard Fortey, Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms Ian Frazier, "Blue Bloods" in The New Yorker Lulu Miller's short story, "Me and Jane" in Catapult Magazine Jerry Gault, "The Most Noble Fishing There Is" in Charles River's Eureka Magazine or check out Glenn Gauvry's horseshoe crab research database
Horseshoe crabs are not much to look at. But beneath their unassuming catcher’s-mitt shell, they harbor a half-billion-year-old secret: a superpower that helped them outlive the dinosaurs and survive all the Earth’s mass extinctions. And what is that secret superpower? Their blood. Their baby blue blood. And it’s so miraculous that for decades, it hasn’t just been saving their butts, it’s been saving ours too. But that all might be about to change. Follow us as we follow these ancient critters - from a raunchy beach orgy to a marine blood drive to the most secluded waterslide - and learn a thing or two from them about how much we depend on nature and how much it depends on us. BONUS: If you want to know more about how miraculous horseshoe crabs are, here's a bunch of our favorite reads: Alexis Madrigal, "The Blood Harvest" in The Atlantic, and Sarah Zhang's recent follow up in The Atlantic, "The Last Days of the Blue Blood Harvest" Deborah Cramer, The Narrow Edge Deborah Cramer, "Inside the Biomedical Revolution to Save Horseshoe Crabs" in Audubon Magazine Richard Fortey, Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms Ian Frazier, "Blue Bloods" in The New Yorker Lulu Miller's short story, "Me and Jane" in Catapult Magazine Jerry Gault, "The Most Noble Fishing There Is" in Charles River's Eureka Magazine or check out Glenn Gauvry's horseshoe crab research database This episode was reported by Latif Nasser with help from Damiano Marchetti and Lulu Miller, and was produced by Annie McEwen and Matt Kielty with help from Liza Yeager. Special thanks to Arlene Shaner at the NY Academy of Medicine, Tim Wisniewski at the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives at Johns Hopkins University, Jennifer Walton at the library of the Marine Biological Lab of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Glenn Gauvry at the Ecological Research and Development Group. Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate.
Each year tiny sandpipers -- red knots -- undertake a near miraculous 19,000 mile journey from one end of the earth to the other and back. In this firsthand account, Deborah Cramer accompanies them on their extraordinary odyssey along the length of two continents, tracking birds from remote Tierra del Fuego to the icy Arctic. On the full moon of spring's highest tides, she seeks out horseshoe crabs -- ancient, primordial animals whose eggs are essential to migrating shorebirds, and whose blue blood, unbeknownst to most people, safeguards human health. The Narrow Edge offers unique insight into how the lives of humans, red knots and horseshoe crabs are intertwined. It is an inspiring portrait of loss and resilience, of the tenacity of birds, and the courage of the many people who bird by bird and beach by beach, keep red knots flying.
Deborah Cramer, Author of The Narrow Edge A Tiny Bird, An Ancient Crab & An Epic Journey., stops by BirdCallsRadio to talk about her newest book.
Deborah Cramer '73 is writing a book following the long-distance migration of a small shorebird, the red knot, from Tierra del Fuego to its nesting grounds in the Arctic. The Mary Elvira Stevens Travelling Fellowship helped support Deborah’s travel to the Arctic and James Bay, where she experienced firsthand the dramatic changes occurring there. Here’s a snapshot of the summer. Generous support for On the Edge comes from the Canadian Wildlife Service and Environment Canada, the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, the Mary Elvira Stevens Travelling Fellowship of Wellesley College, the Norcross Wildlife Fund, the Ocean Foundation, and Yale University Press. Photo credits Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water Our World cover: ©Flip Nicklin, Minden Pictures Red knots and horseshoe crab, ©Barrie Britton King eider, ©Émilie Bouchard Red knot, © Meagan McCloskey Plane on tundra ©Grant Gilchrist Aerial of camp, ©Meagan McCloskey Cabin at night, ©Grant Gilchrist Inside cabin, ©Naomi Man in 't Veld Inside cabin, closeup, ©Naomi Man in 't Veld Komatik, gun, geese, © Meagan McCloskey Slugs on table, ©Deborah Cramer Eating goose stomach, ©Deborah Cramer Taking notes, ©Meagan McCloskey Setting out on the ridge, ©Grant Gilchrist Inuksuk, ©Meagan McCloskey Finding the route, ©Grant Gilchrist Crawling across the snow, ©Grant Gilchrist Aerial of ice, ©Émilie Bouchard Standing on a little ice, ©Meagan McCloskey Spring saxifrage, ©Meagan McCloskey Eggs, ©Meagan McCloskey Dinner, ©Deborah Cramer
The Charleston community depends on the ocean -- economically, recreationally, gastronomically. Ever wonder how the health of the ocean will impact you? Deborah Cramer spoke at the College of Charleston's School of Sciences and Mathematics about the dependence of all life on the sea. Nobel Prize winner Al Gore wrote of Deborah Cramer's previous book "Great Waters," "I urge everyone to read this book, pass on its teachings, and act on its message." This book was released as the official companion volume to The Smithsonian's new, permanent Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History.
The oceans are essential for human survival. The Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History seeks to educate the public about the importance of the oceans. On this program, Deborah Cramer discussed Smithsonian Ocean, Our Water, Our World.