An edition of Earthly goods (1994)

Earthly goods

medicine-hunting in the rainforest

1st ed.
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Last edited by MARC Bot
July 14, 2024 | History
An edition of Earthly goods (1994)

Earthly goods

medicine-hunting in the rainforest

1st ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 1 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Earthly Goods, a tale of exotic adventure and modern medicine in the tropics, describes the quest for green medicines begun centuries ago by native dealers and shamans, and now being transformed by western science into a high-stakes commercial enterprise.

The rainforest has long been a symbol of mystery and power, a sacred link between humans and nature. It is also the richest biological incubator on the planet, supporting millions of plant, animal, and insect species - a virtual library of chemical invention. In these archives, the likes of quinine, curare, steroids, and cancer drugs have been found; still waiting for discovery are drugs for AIDS, diabetes, and Alzheimer's.

But with deforestation and daily extinction of species, this unexplored potential is rapidly being extinguished.

A new pharmacological industry has sprung up, drawing together an unlikely confederacy: plant-collectors and anthropologists; ecologists and conservationists; AIDS and cancer researchers; and executives in the world's largest drug companies. They are part of a radical experiment: to preserve the world's great forests by showing how much more valuable they are standing than cut. It is a race against a clock whose every tick is another acre of charred forest.

Yet it is also a race that pits one explorer against another, for those who score the first big hit in chemical prospecting will secure wealth and a piece of scientific immortality.

From the emerald forests of Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Cameroon to the New York Botanical Garden and the timberland of the Pacific Northwest, from the laboratories of drug companies to the conference halls of prominent research foundations, Earthly Goods describes this remarkable experiment.

Probing the complex issues surrounding this pharmacological adventure, Christopher Joyce describes firsthand a journey that reaches into the farthest corners of a disappearing world - and ultimately to a challenging vision for our future.

Publish Date
Publisher
Little, Brown
Language
English
Pages
304

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Earthly goods
Earthly goods: medicine-hunting in the rainforest
1994, Little, Brown
in English - 1st ed.

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Book Details


Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-294) and index.

Published in
Boston

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
615/.32/0913
Library of Congress
RS164 .J69 1994, RS164.J69 1994

The Physical Object

Pagination
xvi, 304 p. ;
Number of pages
304

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL1437230M
Internet Archive
earthlygoodsmedi00joyc
ISBN 10
0316474088
LCCN
93049736
OCLC/WorldCat
29594831
Library Thing
385667
Goodreads
920764

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July 14, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 6, 2023 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
September 16, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
January 9, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page