Podcast:Short Wave Published On: Wed Aug 02 2023 Description: For decades, humans have harvested the blood of horseshoe crabs, which is used to test whether many of our vaccines and medicines are contaminated with harmful bacterial toxins. But the horseshoe crab harvesting industry has few regulations and a lot of secrecy. NPR investigative reporter Chiara Eisner talks to us about expansion of this industry and why synthetic alternatives to the blood aren't being widely used in the United States.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy