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OverviewSurviving almost unmolested for 300 million years, the horseshoe crab is now the object of an intense legal and ethical struggle involving marine biologists, environmentalists, US government officials, biotechnologists, and international corporations. The source of this friction is the discovery 25 years ago that the blood of these ancient creatures serves as the basis for the most reliable test for the deadly and ubiquitous gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria are responsible for life-threatening diseases like menengitis, typhoid, E. coli, Legionnaire's Disease and toxic shock syndrome. Because every drug certified by the FDA must be tested using the horseshoe crab derivative known as Limulus lysate, a multimillion dollar industry has emerged involving the license to bleed horseshoe crabs and the rights to their breeding grounds. Since his youthful fascination with these ancient creatures, William Sargent has spent much of his life observing, studying, and collecting horseshoe crabs. As a result, he presents a thoroughly accessible insider's guide to the discovery of the lysate test, the exploitation of the crabs at the hands of multinational pharmaceutical conglomerates, local fishing interests, and the legal and governmental wrangling over the creatures' ultimate fate. In the end, the story of the horseshoe crab is a sobering reflection on the unintended consequences of scientific progress and the danger of self-regulated industries controlling a limited natural resource. Full Product DetailsAuthor: William SargentPublisher: University Press of New England Imprint: University Press of New England Edition: New edition Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 0.10cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.666kg ISBN: 9781584655312ISBN 10: 1584655313 Pages: 208 Publication Date: 30 March 2006 Audience: College/higher education , Undergraduate Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: No Longer Our Product Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsReviewsHere's a species older than time, a species key to the great migrations transecting our planet - and in the space of a few years our short-term interests have brought it close to ruin. It's a powerful metaphor (one wishes it were only a metaphor) and its tale is told with enormous care and balance. And with just the faintest hint of optimism at the end. - Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature Sargent... has crafted a surprisingly engaging tale... Crab Wars makes for a helpful - and entertaining - case study. - nationaljournal.com Not only a wonderful and important story, engagingly written, but a great detective piece, at the interface of biology and politics. It's destined to be a classic. - Bernd Heinrich, Professor of Biology, University of Vermont Author InformationWILLIAM SARGENT is a consultant for the NOVA Science Series and has written seven books about science and the environment, including The House on Ipswich Marsh (UPNE, 2005), A Year in the Notch: Exploring the Natural History of the White Mountains (UPNE, 2001), and Storm Surge: A Coastal Village Battles the Rising Atlantic (UPNE, 1995). Formerly Director of the Baltimore Aquarium and a research assistant at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, he has taught at The Briarwood Center for Marine Biology and at Harvard University. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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