I Want a New Drug

One quarter of our medications come from natural sources. Additionally, about 70% of the most widely used drugs today are models of natural chemical compounds, mostly from plants, but others have even been derived fungi and bacteria. Scientists are currently optimistic about a protein contained in vampire bat saliva which is currently being tested anticoagulant and a possible cure for thrombosis.

The search for potential cures (pharmaceutical or bioprospecting) from natural origins is a strong argument for forest preservation as so much has yet to be discovered. It is estimated that less than 0.1% of known plant species has been examined for potential medicinal use.

Salix alba, White Willow, origin of aspirin

Lost in the forest...

Lost in the forest, I broke off a dark twig

and lifted its whisper to my thirsty lips:
maybe it was the voice of the rain crying,
a cracked bell, or a torn heart. 

Something from far off it seemed
deep and secret to me, hidden by the earth,
a shout muffled by huge autumns,
by the moist half-open darkness of the leaves. 

Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprig
sang under my tongue, its drifting fragrance
climbed up through my conscious mind
 

as if suddenly the roots I had left behind 

cried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood--- 

and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent.  

                                                                          Pablo Neruda

                                                                          

                                                                          



Good Vibrations:     http://bit.ly/1RN5IRC