Take This Tea and Call Me in the Morning [Slide Show]
Researchers use reverse pharmacology to evaluate traditional herbal medicines in Africa
By Brendan Borrell
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The world urgently needs new drugs for malaria and other diseases. In the June Scientific American science writer Brendan Borrell describes an approach to drug discovery that is gaining momentum: reverse pharmacology. Researchers are observing patients who are already taking traditional herbal remedies, identifying the most promising ones and then conducting clinical trials of those natural products. Borrell reported on herbal medicines as an Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow. Snapshots from his reporting trip to Uganda follow.
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