Horseshoe crab research. Researcher using a syringe to take blood from a horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). The horseshoe crab,contrary to its name,is a distant relative of the spider. It has existed unchanged for over 500 million years. Its immune system is primitive but powerful. Two proteins (alpha2-macroglobulin and limulin) in its blood are thought to be responsible for its entire immune response to invading micro-organisms. Similar proteins are found in human blood,and the research may provide an insight into the human immune system. Photographed at the Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory,Massachusetts,USA,in 2002 | |
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Credit: | Science Photo Library / Steger, Volker |
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