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The promise of new drugs to fight Cancer |
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| It's called bioprospecting - the search for
new drugs and antibiotics within the world's remaining ecosystems.
Australia's rainforests, say scientists, are a potential gold mine. Not only do our rainforests contain a high proportion of ancient plant families and high diversity of tree species, but Queensland's are said to support about three times as many different forest types as the Amazon Basin. A promising feature of rainforests in general is the hightened competition for resources amongst organisms. Over time, this has led some of the world's most sophisticated natural defense systems to evolve. Some insects, for example, form bizarre symbiotic relationships that enable them to literally farm antibiotics on a microscopic scale. Bioprospectors are already working on chemical compounds to fight intestinal parasites and bacteria. Meanwhile, agri-chemical companies have been investigating new natural insecticides developed using Australian materials. Queensland's remaining rainforests may also be a source of health products and anti-cancer treatments. Already, one company is developing a food supplement that inhibits cell activity in areas of the body prone to cancer. The research is producing promising results for the treatment of prostate cancer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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