Horseshoe Crabs!
We’ve talked endlessly about first responders. Let’s talk for just a moment about the last responders. The men and women concocting a vaccine that could end the madness. Ever wonder what these scientists do in the lab? You probably envision them squirting eyedroppers into beakers full of smouldering chemicals… but the effort bears more than a faint resemblance to witchcraft in a white coat. In the middle ages… a witch might try eye of newt… root of hemlock… and a wolf’s tooth might be the key ingredients as a black-hatted witch would stir her bubbling cauldron. For modern day scientists… its not much different… as they try various ingredients to help kill the coronavirus. But no matter whether they use yeast.. or.. egg protein… or whatever to create their miracles…. the one ingredient that is an absolute must… is the blood of a horseshoe crab. Oh I kid you not.Or perhaps I should say “the blood of a horseshoe crab.” The eiree sight if you could imagine is a wall completely covered with shelving … and on every inch… a horseshoe crab ...with a plastic tube coming out of its shell. They drain the blood of these bottom dwellers…. A component of horseshoe crab blood is needed to make certain that deadly endotoxins aren’t mixed up in the vaccine. Every dose gets tested… for toxins. All vaccines… use the blood of from horseshoe crabs…. there’s no synthetic replacement. The blood is sucked into giant vats… or cauldrons if you will… suggesting a vaccine scientist is just a witch who went to medical school. And if that’s the case… bubble bubble toil and trouble away… and keep on doing the good work toward the vaccine we so depserately need. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.