EarthNews Radio:
Natural Medicines
October 26, 2005 — By Paul Geary, ENN
Aspirin may not look like a flower,
but it's one of the many medicines that start out as something found in
nature. Studying plants and animals is one of the ways scientist find
new medicines for humans.
Jerry Kay spoke to Jack Dumbacher, the Chair of the Department of Birds
and Mammals at the California Academy of Sciences:
Natural Medicines
Dumbacher says that many of the medicines we use come from a natural
source: Aspirin, or salicylic acid, is found in willow plants, and
ancient people chewed on willow leaves when they got a headache. When we
find something that appears to be bioactive in nature, we study it for
human use. But many of those substances benefit the animals that are
carrying them around as well.
To learn more about the California Academy of Sciences, visit its
website:
www.calacademy.org. Of course, check back to ENN's
EarthNews Radio section often to hear the latest interviews from
Jerry Kay, or to catch up on broadcasts you may have missed.
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