Crab Wars: A Tale of Horseshoe Crabs, Bioterrorism, and Human Health Paperback – February 28, 2006

Very interesting, had know idea there blood was used for medical testing. When I was a kid we would go see an uncle on the cape . He would use the horseshoe crabs to scratch his back!

Just plain vicious, they attacked Red Lobster

could have used a bit more history with the book but good background on how the biomedical industry developed on the east coast

The Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is such a familiar sight on New England and Middle Atlantic beaches that it almost disappears from view or consideration, but this ancient species holds a remarkable claim on our attention. Not only does it predate the dinosaurs but it's blue blood provides the chemical basis for Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) which is used worldwide to detect bacterial contamination on laboratory equipment, on the Mars Rover, and most crucially in humans. Sargent tells the story of how this critically important discovery was made on the sandy shores of Cape Cod and of the industry that grew up around it---a story every bit as fortuitous and surprising as the launch of the computer revolution in the garages of Southern California. Sargent tells it all with warmth and easy familiarity like the best nature writers and adds a chilling prescriptive for what may happen if we don't enact legislation to protect this species, older than mankind on which our very health now depends.