Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Costing the Earth

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet

BBC Radio 4 LW

Costing the Earth: Nature's Medicine Cabinet

Nature's Medicine Cabinet

25/05/2011

BBC Radio 4 - Costing the Earth, Nature's Medicine Cabinet

Can plants and animals inspire a new generation of medicine?  Alice Roberts reports.

Advances in genetic research are opening up the natural world to medical researchers. Can we safely exploit the world's plants and animals for use in medicine?  Alice Roberts investigates.

Take the venom from a scorpion, the suckers from a starfish and the sting from a bee. You won't create a spell to turn a prince into a frog but you might just find a new anti-asthma spray, a way to prevent the failure of heart by-passes or the answer to drug-resistant bacteria 

Rapid advances in genetic research are throwing open the medical treasure chest of the natural world. Chemicals that perform a clear function for a plant or animal can be isolated, studied and, in some cases, applied to complex medical problems.

This is obviously good news for patients but could it also be good news for endangered wildlife? Could we soon be concentrating our limited conservation resources on saving the plants and animals that offer up something to humanity?

Dr. Alice Roberts and medical writer John Naish explore nature's medicine cabinet and consider the ethical dilemmas.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Costing the Earth

Nature's Medicine Cabinet

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4