Old but Gold

Nandita Singh Ph.D.
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JoVE Editor Nandita Singh Ph.D. dives into the JoVE Video Journal archives to present an astonishing example of the power of visual science. In 2008, JoVE published an article titled, “Blood Collection from the American Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus”.  Even today, this publication (Armstrong and Conrad; 2008) remains one of my favorite JoVE video articles.

Horseshoe crabs, a research focus for researchers Armstrong and ConradAt its heart, it’s a simple procedure that describes how to collect blood from horseshoe crabs.  However, it is a classic example of how visualizing a procedure lends transparency to the nuanced details that are essential in executing the protocol correctly.  

Horseshoe crabs possess only a single cell type in the general circulation, the granular amebocyte. Aside from the cool fact that horseshoe crab blood is blue in color, the amebocyte lysate is also used for the detection of bacterial endotoxins in medical applications.  

This JoVE video cleverly blends schematics with an actual crab to describe the anatomy and focuses on the tricky details that are incumbent in order to most effectively collect the blood. The video article was filmed in Woods Hole and is evocative of happy New England summers. Also, after the blood collection, the horseshoe crab is allowed to live and is released into the wild to continue on with its natural life.  

This video caught the attention of Mr. Aleszu Bajak, producer at NPR’s Science Friday.  He and I had extended conversations about this video as they put together this segment titled: Beach Season for Horseshoe Crabs.

This is an early video in JoVE’s history but epitomizes JoVE’s value in effectively simplifying a method, which might otherwise have been impossible to explain through words alone.