Dr. Klinghorn Reflection

In the beginning, I was intrigued by the progression of opium and its names as it goes from a crude drug to an extract to finally a semi-synthetic. This is the difference between opium and heroin which I was unaware of. I also did not know that the anesthetics used in dental work is based on the cocaine model. Even more surprising is the FDA approval of cocaine HCl as a topical anesthetic in nasal surgery.

I was additionally interested in the discussion of Quinine and Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapy as treatments for malaria. I took Biology 3401 last semester and spent half a semester talking about malaria. We went into detail about the treatments–specifically these two chemicals– and it was nice to see it reiterated as innovations in medicine. It was also nice to see Youyou Tu discussed and credited in both situations.

One thought on “Dr. Klinghorn Reflection

  1. That s awesome that the talk overlapped with some of the material from your major. I think this is a strength of our class that it often enhances what people have learned elsewhere, while also offering a new perspective. I was particularly intrigued by the French naming system when it comes to alkaloids. Every biology major knows molecules like adenine, cytosine, morphine, caffeine, etc. I had never stopped to think about why they all have a common ine ending.

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