Page 14 - HOH

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 20 February 2020
Claws of health? Lobster blood could play role in new drugs

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — lobsters eclipse any previ-
Maine lobsters have long ous decade by many mil-
delighted tourists as the lions of pounds. The rem-
state’s most beloved sea- nants from processing them
food. But one company are used in everything from
thinks the crustaceans can Christmas decorations and
save human lives by pro- gardening soil to cooking
viding their blood for use in stock. Using them in medi-
new drugs. cine represents a new fron-
The effort, involving a tier, Bayer said.
longtime lobster scientist, Invertebrate biology is very
wouldn’t be the first ex- different from that of mam-
ample of coastal inverte- mals, but there are some
brates being used to aid commonalities that could
human health. Horseshoe make it possible to use
crabs are harvested be- lobster products in medi-
cause their blood contains cine, said Diane Cowan,
a protein used to detect a Maine-based lobster bi-
contamination in medi- ologist not involved in the
cal products. A different Lobster Unlimited project.
startup company in Maine Those commonalities make
announced in 2016 that it it possible to use animals
would develop a bandage In this Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 photo, Dr. Robert Bayer holds a jar of frozen lobster blood in his lab in such as lobsters and horse-
coated with a substance Orono, Maine. shoe crabs to aid human
extracted from crushed Associated Press health, she said.
lobster shells. And the U.S. Lobsters, like humans, have
Army has made use of field uct of lobster processing, use compounds derived company filed with the U.S. circulatory fluid, though
bandages treated with a company head Robert from hemolymph, which patent office. lobster’s is a kind of bluish
blood clotting compound Bayer said. Lobster blood is lobster circulatory fluid, The next step is to find gray as opposed to red,
processed from shrimp is likely a long way from to improve human health partners in industry to work Cowan said. “So to have
shells. playing a role in new drugs, and possibly the health of on the development of an idea that you can take
The company working on Bayer said, but there’s “no other mammals. Lobster new drugs, because the something from one animal
the lobster blood project, question it has antiviral and Unlimited’s looking for part- company doesn’t plan to and use it for another is not
Lobster Unlimited of Orono, anticancer properties” ners in the pharmaceutical manufacture or sell its own, outrageous,” she said. “The
is investigating whether based on research needed industry to work with on the said Cathy Billings, another circulatory fluid that runs
lobster blood can be used to apply for the patent. development of drugs. member of Lobster Unlim- through all bodies of all liv-
as a potential weapon “Right now, this blood is Scientists with the com- ited. New products would ing animals is very similar.”
against viruses and can- literally thrown out on the pany have found that he- also need to stand up to Steve Train, a Long Island,
cer. Representatives with floor and goes down the mocyanin, a protein in the testing and then win ap- Maine, lobsterman, was
the company said results drain,” said Bayer, a profes- fluid, works as a powerful proval by the U.S. Food and a little surprised when he
are promising — the U.S. sor emeritus of Animal and stimulant for the immune Drug Administration. heard about the possibility
Patent and Trademark Of- Veterinary Sciences at Uni- systems, Bayer said. For ex- Interest in developing non- of lobster blood playing a
fice issued them a patent versity of Maine. “We can ample, experiments show food products from lobsters role in new drugs.
in late October related to collect millions of pounds of the substance can reduce has grown in recent years But if it can help people,
their work. it, which makes it a viable the viral load of herpes sim- as Maine’s haul of the crus- “I hope it’s true,” he said,
The blood is easy to come product worth pursing.” plex virus-infected cells, ac- taceans has grown. The adding, “These scientists
by because it’s a byprod- The company proposes to cording to documents the 2010s saw Maine’s catch of know more than I do.”q

Courtroom psychology tests may be unreliable, study finds

By CHRISTINA LARSON judges or juries and influ- found that a third of those the courts, but it's not being search Council released an
WASHINGTON (AP) — ence whether someone exams weren't reviewed filtered out," said Neal. extensive report on court-
Courts are not properly gets custody of a child or in the field's most promi- Legal challenges to the va- room science that found
screening out unreliable is eligible for bail or capital nent manuals. Of those lidity of psychological tests that "testimony based on
psychological and IQ tests, punishment. that were reviewed, just occurred in less than 3% faulty forensic science
allowing junk science to The scientists looked at 40% were graded favor- of cases, the researchers analyses may have contrib-
be used as evidence, re- hundreds of different psy- ably. Nearly a quarter were found. uted to wrongful convic-
searchers have conclud- chological tests used in deemed unreliable. "This paper is highly sig- tions of innocent people."
ed. Such tests can sway recent court cases and "There's huge variability nificant, in part because The critique prompted calls
in the psychological tools many people's fates are for reform, and only partial
now being admitted in determined by these tests," progress has been made,
U.S. courts," said Tess Neal, said Dan Simon, an expert said Simon.
an Arizona State University on law and psychology at "Courts are supposed to sift
psychology professor and the University of Southern out the junk science from
co-author of the study pub- California Law School, who the good science, as laid
lished Saturday in the jour- was not involved in the re- out in the federal rules of
nal Psychological Science search. evidence" — a set of na-
in the Public Interest. The new study is not the first tional guidelines that re-
"There's a lot of stuff that critique of how science is quire that "testimony is the
looks like it's junk and used in the courts. product of reliable princi-
should be filtered out by In 2009, the National Re- ples and methods."q