How Medicines Are Found in the Natural World
Most people assume that the medicines we take - whether it's aspirin or an antibiotic - come from a laboratory. But what most people don't know is that many medicines started out as chemicals in the stems and roots and leaves of leafy plants, and most of them are found the world's forests.
'Pharmacy in the Forest' gives an inside look at how today's medicines are developed, from the research of ethnobotanists living among the indigenous peoples of the world's rain forests to how a potential anti-cancer drug is tested from plant samples at the National Cancer Institute. The key role environmental conservation plays in insuring that new medicines will be found in the future is discussed, and resources available on the World Wide Web for further exploring are provided.
