- #1
jackson6612
- 334
- 1
I'm not a science student. So, please keep your replies simple so you can be understood.
How are medicines formed? Is it a trial and error method at the expense of some poor animals' lives? There are many medicines which were not actually invented for the function they are now known for. Some of the examples I can think of offhand are: Minoxidil and Viagra. Some are completely accidental discoveries. The discovery of Penicillin was a quirk of nature.
When we make a 100-storey building, we know what to do. Use reinforced-concrete, steel, broad base, etc. In case of medicines, how do they proceed? One procedure I can think of is that they move from simple case to complex, from one relation to another. Garlic can naturally lower the blood pressure. So can onion and perhaps many other vegetables. They would isolate, pinpoint the chemical which is most active in lowering the pressure and synthetically manufacture it. Then, they would combine different other such chemicals known for this effect into one medicine.
By the way, can you please tell me which medicine or vaccine in the past was extracted from a tree's bark? I don't remember what disease it cured but it was a famous discovery. Perhaps, someone drank water from a pond beside that tree and came to know that the beneficial effects were the result of natural extraction of leaves, bark which had fallen in the pond. Thanks for your time and any help you can offer.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity#Pharmacology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_used_as_medicine
How are medicines formed? Is it a trial and error method at the expense of some poor animals' lives? There are many medicines which were not actually invented for the function they are now known for. Some of the examples I can think of offhand are: Minoxidil and Viagra. Some are completely accidental discoveries. The discovery of Penicillin was a quirk of nature.
When we make a 100-storey building, we know what to do. Use reinforced-concrete, steel, broad base, etc. In case of medicines, how do they proceed? One procedure I can think of is that they move from simple case to complex, from one relation to another. Garlic can naturally lower the blood pressure. So can onion and perhaps many other vegetables. They would isolate, pinpoint the chemical which is most active in lowering the pressure and synthetically manufacture it. Then, they would combine different other such chemicals known for this effect into one medicine.
By the way, can you please tell me which medicine or vaccine in the past was extracted from a tree's bark? I don't remember what disease it cured but it was a famous discovery. Perhaps, someone drank water from a pond beside that tree and came to know that the beneficial effects were the result of natural extraction of leaves, bark which had fallen in the pond. Thanks for your time and any help you can offer.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity#Pharmacology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_used_as_medicine