Our Oceans Help Us Fight Cancer

Once again, our oceans are proving to be a very valuable ally in our war against human illness.  As we continue to search for ways to create vaccinations that help us fight off life-threatening illnesses, nature can be a source of medical breakthroughs.  In this case, the Giant Keyhold Limpet, which is a marine animal similar to an Abalone, is being grown in captivity so that its blood can be harvested.  The blood harvested contains KLH (Keyhole limpet hemocyanin) which is a lot like human hemoglobin.  This is the substance in our blood that helps move oxygen around our bodies in the most efficient manner possible.
Limpets are rather delicate creatures and getting them to grow in captivity is a challenge.  Stellar Biotechnologies has built an unusual medical facility that is located right on the ocean at Point Hueneme in Southern California.  By building the facility so close to the sea, they are able to pump the nutrient-dense ocean water into their facility and into the tanks where the limpets live.  The difference here is that the limpets are not removed from their natural environment and killed in order to harvest their blood, instead the researchers here have figured out a way to harvest the KLH without harming the animals in the process.
By growing them specifically for this purpose the numbers of limpets in the wild will not be affected.  Now they can be "harvested" numerous times a year and by growing them in these controlled circumstances, the chance of cross-contamination is also greatly reduced.
KLH is a very important part of today's vaccines.  It works by attaching to much smaller amounts of the inactive virus contained in the vaccine and then helping our immune system "see" the virus and thereby helping the body to build antibodies much more quickly.  In the past, a vaccine might actually harm the recipient because, even with an inactive virus, the toxin is still present.  By lowering the amount of inactive virus used in vaccine, the chances of developing illness are reduced.  There is great hope that a cancer vaccine may be able to be developed that will never have a chance to harm the person that receives it.
With cancer the antigens that are produced are mostly made up of your own tissue.  The body does not recognize these antigens as something to be eradicated because the body only "sees" itself.  If KLH could be attached to those cancer cells they can help the body recognize the disease and then respond by building antibodies.  As researchers continue searching for a cancer vaccine they need a lot of KLH, so this facility at Point Hueneme may actually be partly responsible for the development of that vaccine in the near future.
The more we learn about the diversity in our planets oceans the more opportunity we have to find ways in which it can help us lead better lives. Here at Whale Tail Tortilla Chips we are also in the business of helping people lead better, and healthier, lives.  Contact us to find out where you can find us in your neighborhood.