This is a very interesting presentation because Dr. Kinghorn is making some really cool connections from medicinal plant science to the history of drugs to the problems that we still have today. It’s interesting to think that drugs and the industry are constantly changing and every drug has connections to practical uses (i.e. cocaine -> novocaine). It is interesting that it is so frequent to see a drug considered to have very negative effects on humans and then be somehow transformed into glaucoma medication, for example. I also really love to see him show the organic structures for the drugs because it’s fun to see them show up in a real life application. The detail about knowing the scientist who discovered a cancer treatment is incredible! Ohio State really has some marvelous faculty with incredible connections.
One of my favorite points he made was that you “don’t need a large group of people to make a remarkable discovery”. Three people won a Nobel Prize for two different drugs that treated completely different things – the first woman from China, even! He made mention of the fact that it took them a very long time to make their discoveries. I think this just proves the point further that yes there was a small group of them, but they must have been diligent and passionate about their work to warrant such success.
I really appreciate Dr. Kinghorn’s recommendations for going to botanical gardens in England because I love walking through these! I imagine the gardens in Europe will be a bit different than the ones on the US and I really hope that I get to visit one while abroad. He gave a very interesting and informative presentation. I really enjoyed listening!
(It was also amusing to me that Cuvier came up yet again!)
It was great how much you took from the talk. I thought the questions you asked were also very relevant and spurred some good discussion. If you dont make it to any gardens in London, keep in mind that the Natural History Museum in Paris (where Cuvier) worked, is centered on the Jardin des Plantes. It s not super impressive in March although there are several plants growing. It s still great to walk through though, especially if the weather is good.