Understanding the Connections Between Coastal Waters and Ocean Ecosystem Services and Human Health Workshop Summary (2014) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Opportunities for Medicines
5 Opportunities for Medicines
Pages 75-82
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 75... ...
The presenter cautions that future development of pharmaceutical products may be compromised by ecosystem stressors such as overfishing and selective fishing, and increased ocean acidification and nitrification. CURRENT AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR PHARMACEUTICALS FROM THE SEA William H
|
From page 76... ...
New methods for their application are needed as well because the same problem will recur if antibiotics continue to be used in the way they have in the past. Also newly emergent diseases, particularly viral diseases, are being transmitted from wild animal populations to human populations and giving rise to various diseases such as AIDS and many others.
|
From page 77... ...
Gerwick pointed ou ut that the succcess record oof marine natuural products in this field, namely one drug peer 2,450 com mpounds, is ssix times moore producctive than the industry stanndard (Gerwicck and Mooree, 2012)
|
From page 78... ...
In studying these molecules, they learned that some had very high potency at killing cancer cells and some were inactive, which demonstrated structure activity relationships in this drug class. Gerwick continued onto a different area of science involving the study of how the compound binds with an enzyme.
|
From page 79... ...
An exxperiment adm ministering tthe compo ound in canceer research is showing mucch promise. T The structure of the moolecule has innspired a greaat deal of intterest, Gerwicck said, and hhis researcch team is coonducting furrther study onn the subjectt.
|
From page 80... ...
However, as one goes down toward Christmas Island, the number of large predators grows less and less. There are substantial inputs of nutrients into the ocean from human population at Christmas Island, which correlates directly with increasing cover of algae and decreasing coral cover, leading to a very degraded environment at Christmas Island.
|
From page 81... ...
Gerwick stressed that this was a small study, and incomplete, but that a preliminary conclusion might be that ocean acidification may decrease growth in natural products production from marine cyanobacteria, thereby decreasing their competitiveness, as well as opportunities for drug discovery. Gerwick closed his presentation by opining that, both historically and currently, nature is the best source of inspiration for the discovery of new pharmaceutical agents, and that turning away from this caused some significant problems in the pharmaceutical pipeline, now remedied by a return to natural products.
|
From page 82... ...
2008. Baselines and degradation of coral reefs in the Northern Line Islands.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.