What Do Snake Venom, Tree Bark, and Drugs Have in Common?

By Max Macaluso, Ph.D. | More Articles March 12, 2013 |

Pain relievers, cough syrup, antihistamines, therapeutic ointments, antiseptic, digestive aids -- you name it, we take it. Both prescription and over-the-counter drugs have become a normal part of our everyday lives, but few people take the time to think about how new medicines are actually discovered. Do scientists just create drugs from scratch in a laboratory, or do they sometimes draw inspiration from nature? Drugs have actually been discovered using a variety of methods; some are synthetic versions of molecules that the human body makes naturally, like insulin or testosterone, while others are derived from more exotic sources like snake venom and tree bark.

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What Do Snake Venom, Tree Bark, and Drugs Have in Common?