This Gates Foundation-Backed Startup Is Hunting For New Drugs In The Sea
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"We're just scratching the surface" of understanding the chemistry—and healing potential—in the ocean.
"We're just scratching the surface" of understanding the chemistry—and healing potential—in the ocean.
Some of the world's most used medicines were directly inspired by compounds found in nature. Morphine, for example, was first extracted from opium in a pure form in the early 1800s, and Taxol, one of the most-used cancer drugs, is based on compounds originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific yew tree. Aspirin is one of the oldest nature-inspired drugs, modifying from compounds discovered in willow tree bark.