Scientists have learned a great deal about how human eyes function from research on horseshoe crab eyes. Chitin is Excitin' Chitin is a substance found in the shells, or exoskeletons, of horseshoe crabs, as well as other arthropods, such as lobsters, crabs, shrimps, spiders, beetles, and mosquitoes. It has received the attention of scientists because is non-toxic, biodegradabl e, and when processed to produce another substance called chitosan, can be used to produce a variety of important products. Contact lenses, skin creams, and hair sprays can be made from chitin. It can be used to remove lead and other harmful metals that may be dissolved in drinking water, and clean certain harmful chemicals from wastewater.
Chitin joins the fight against fat w hen it is added to foods.
It has the ability to bind with fats and then passes them through and out of the body without being digested. Chitin can also be made into string used to sew up wounds and used in wound dressings. People do not have an allergic r eaction to the stitches, which dissolve slowly, and the dressings actually promote healing. Many of these products are now available in Japan and are under development in the United States. To find a meal of its favorite foods - worms, mollusks and dead fish, the horseshoe crab crawls along the bay bottom, using its small first pair of legs as feelers to detect the presence of prey.