The Kinmen County Fisheries Research Institute and National Tsing Hua University are collaborating on a research project aimed at eliminating the need to use horseshoe crab blood in tests to detect bacterial contamination in drugs and intravenous devices as well as other medical items.
A horseshoe crab blood extract, specifically the substance tachyplesin, is used in Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) solutions and LAL tests, as well in by in biomedical industries for toxin-free surgical sutures and in the development of wound dressings for burn victims.
However, it takes a liter of horseshoe crab blood to produce 20cc of tachyplesin and research by US universities has shown that horseshoe crabs faced a 2 to 3 percent chance of dying if one-10th of their blood is extracted.
Photo: Wu Cheng-ting, Taipei Times
A research team headed by university professor Margaret Chang (張大慈) aims to employ genetic engineering technology to “plant” genes that produce tachyplesin in the Escherichia coli virus in the hopes that the E. coli virus’ gram-negative nature will stimulate production of tachyplesin.
If successful, the research might remove the need to extract blood from horseshoe crabs entirely, the institute said.
The team arrived in Kinmen on Wednesday to draw the first batch of horseshoe crab blood to be used in research.
Institute staff member Li Chin-chao (黎錦超) said the research would be the first in the nation aimed at helping promote the conservation of horseshoe crabs.
High demand for horseshoe crab blood, coupled with its limited supply put its price at about US$15,000 per liter.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it