Horseshoe crab carries oxygen with the help of a copper-containing type of hemocyaninHorseshoe crab carries oxygen with the help of a copper-containing type of hemocyanin
source :This animal looks a lot like a hooves, or a crab. That is why it is called Horseshoe crab. Although, according to biologists, it looks like a crab, it is actually a sea crab. The blood color of this null crab is light blue.
Horseshoe crab carries oxygen with the help of a copper-containing type of hemocyanin. The blood color of the umbilical crab looks blue due to the presence of this copper-linked hemocyanin. Instead of white blood cells, they have a special cell called 'amoebocyte' in their blood which is capable of dealing with any germ present in the blood in just 45 minutes.This blue blood is a very important element in medical science. Blue blood is a very important ingredient in testing the effectiveness of various drugs and antidotes in the laboratory by using the special antiseptic power of this blue blood.
And that's why every year thousands of crabs are caught and blue blood is collected from them by various pharmaceutical companies.According to biologists, this horseshoe crab has survived on Earth for about 44 million years. That is why many scientists call it 'living fossil'. Horseshoe crabs only come to shore during breeding (at least 10 years after birth). This is the time when scientists collect blue blood from them and release them again.
According to recent statistics, more than 30 percent of Horseshoe crabs die from this blue blood collection. This 44 million year old species is endangered today to test the effectiveness of various drugs and antidotes! So scientists from around the world have already taken the initiative to save these animals by artificially creating this blue blood. Collecting blue blood from crabs in this way has also been banned in several countries.
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