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nexus © HnEews— INGA SY IWS” Befuddled @- US.,SU.& Biologists Tuem President Reagan told Mikhail Gorbachev Biologists “will have to abandon two centu- that the US and Soviet Union could easily , - '" 7, forget their differences if space visitors at- Ties of observation and mal thinking about frsetwiery Eiulogy, Iecups wus anit poe aes by Reagan told of the Genevaconversation at ordinary physical laws.” Paul Newmark, Fallston High School in Maryland. deputy editor of prominent British medical journal Nature, was referring to new findings “T couldn’t help but say to him, just think na A how easy his task and mine might be in these which show that the body’s immune system functions in a way no-one can explain. meetings that we held if suddenly there was a - is threat to this world from another species from Solutions of human antibodies somehow continue to work even when all the antibody another planet outside in the universe,” Re- agan said after addressing students. molecules have been removed from them; the solution keeps reacting with specific blood cells even when no antibodies are present. "There, asin len iystcal for | St Thi ees tee | Genetic ream ins the solution ‘remembers’ the presence of anti- body molecules and acts as if they were still Plants used to produce 25% of all Western —_maceuticals. Some tropical species of major there. medicines are under threat of extinction, ac- medicinal importance, including quinine and “This has really shaken up our world,” | cording to the World Health Organization cocaine, can’t be substituted by synthetic said Patricia Fortner, immunology research | (WHO) and international conservation compounds, AAP associate at the University of Toronto. “Even | groups. Farnsworth and Soejarto call for a “mas- people who have seen this phenomenon find it At a week-long conference earlier this sive screening programme” of topical plants; hard to believe, because it’s hard to conceive | year in Chiang-Mai, Thailand, doctors and “Despite its alarming rapid depletion rate, what could be happening here.” scientists from the U.S., Europe and Asia the tropical rainforests still represent a great In about 70 different trials conducted in | heard that 80% of the world’s population still storehouse of medicinal genetic resources several different labs (all with various scien- | relies exclusively onmedicinal plantsfortheir which may yield important drugs. tific controls) over the courseof ayear,no way | well-being - plants which are rapidly disap- “Because of the large number of species has been found to challenge the original | pearing along with their surrounding ecosys- _ which are projected to become extinct within experiment, which seems to back up the | tems. a decade or so... urgenl measures must be concepts behind homoeopathy. Homoecopa- “Perhaps it is among the species thathave _ taken to uncover and exploit fully the poten- thic remedies are used in extremely small | gone forever that major anti-cancer and anti- _tial value of the rainforest species.” doses and fine dilutions and must be vigor- | AIDS compounds might have been found,” The conference was organised by the ously shaken or ‘potentised’ before they will | said Professors Norman Farnsworth andDjaja © WHO, the International Union for the Conser- work. It was found that the *homoeopathic’ | Soejarto fromthe College of Pharmacology at vation of Nature, the World Wildlife Fund, human antibody solution must also be shaken | the University of Illinois in Chicago. They two U.N. agencies and the Thailand govem- for about 10 seconds or the experiment will | claim that potentially valuable plant species ment. fail. If the solution is heated or frozen, the | are dying out at the rate of two per day Professor John Considine, a horticulturist experiment will also fail. The conference was told that up to 70,000 from Murdoch University, told the recent The report was presented by reputable | plants are used intraditionalmedicines world- | ANZAAS congress that agronomists and researchers from Canada, France, Israel and | wide, but by the year 2050, 60,000species-or Aborigines should work together to demon- Italy and was chiefly authored by Dr J. | 25% of those which remain - are expected to __ strate the usefulness of native foods. Beneviste of the French Medical Research | be wiped out by humanity. “Australian natural plant resources are Council. Nature printed the story with an The WHO is also calling for countries to _ distinguished from those of other lands not by unprecedented disclaimer, saying that while | place more emphasis on these traditional their innate worth but by the lack of effort they (and the researchers themselves) disbe- | medicines, many of which are collected, not devoted to domesticating and formalising the lieved the findings, they felt bound to publish | cultivated. The U.S. National Cancer Institute harvesting of that resource,” he said, adding them as they couldn’t be refuted. is searching the world’s tropical rainforests _ that there's market potential for our unique “We couldn't find anything wrong,” Mr | for medicinal plants; most of these have not _ native food crops, essential oils, pharmaceuti- Newmark said. yet been tested in the West, where temperate _cals, forage plants and floriculture. - Nature (July), AP | plants provide the ingredients for most phar- NEXUS New mes Six - Spring 1988 President Reag: that the US and forget their diffe tacked Earth. Reagan told< Fallston High Sc “Tcouldn’t h how easy his tas] meetings that we threat to this wor another planet o agan said after a: US., S.U. & Befuddled THEM Biologists President Reagan told Mikhail Gorbachev that the US and Soviet Union could easily forget their differences if space visitors at- tacked Earth. Reagan told of the Genevaconversation at « Fallston High School in Maryland. “T couldn’t help but say to him, just think how easy his task and mine might be in these meetings that we held if suddenly there was a threat to this world from another species from another planet outside in the universe,” Re- agan said after addressing students. AAD UII! Lae pret GAT ct that the US and Soviet Union could easily forget their differences if space visitors at- tacked Earth. Reagan told of the Genevaconversation at Fallston High School in Maryland. “T couldn’t help but say to him, just think how easy his task and mine might be in these meetings that we held if suddenly there was a threat to this world from another species from another planet outside in the universe,” Re- agan said after addressing students. Biologists “will have to abandon two centu- ries of observation and rational thinking about biology, because this can’t be explained by ordinary physical laws.” Paul Newmark, deputy editor of prominent British medical journal Nature, was referring to new findings which show that the body’s immune system functions in a way no-one can explain. Solutions of human antibodies somehow continue to work even when all the antibody molecules have been removed from them; the solution keeps reacting with specific blood P > cells even when no antibodies are present. e i é There is no known physical reason for | G t St Th this; it indicates there is some unknown way | ene Ic r eam Ins the solution ‘remembers’ the presence of anti- body molecules and acts as if they were still Plants used to produce 25% of all Western —maceuticals. Some tropical species of major there. medicines are under threat of extinction, ac- medicinal importance, including quinine and “This has really shaken up our world,” | cording to the World Health Organization cocaine, can’t be substituted by synthetic said Patricia Fortner, immunology research | (WHO) and international conservation compounds, AAP associate at the University of Toronto. “Even | groups. Farnsworth and Soejarto call for a “mas- people who have seen this phenomenon find it At a week-long conference earlier this sive screening programme” of topical plants; hard to believe, because it’s hard to conceive | year in Chiang-Mai, Thailand, doctors and “Despite its alarming rapid depletion rate, what could be happening here.” scientists from the U.S., Europe and Asia the tropical rainforests still represent a great In about 70 different trials conducted in | heard that 80% of the world’s population still storehouse of medicinal genetic resources several different labs (all with various scien- | relies exclusively onmedicinal plantsfortheir which may yield important drugs. tific controls) over the course of uyear,noway | well-being - plants which are rapidly disap- “Because of the large number of species has been found to challenge the original | pearing along with their surrounding ecosys- _ which are projected to become extinct within experiment, which seems to back up the | tems. a decade or so... urgenl measures must be concepts behind homoeopathy. Homoecopa- “Perhaps it is among the species thathave _ taken to uncover and exploit fully the poten- thic remedies are used in extremely small | gone forever that major anti-cancer and anti- _tial value of the rainforest species.” doses and fine dilutions and must be vigor- | AIDS compounds might have been found,” The conference was organised by the ously shaken or ‘potentised’ before they will | said Professors Norman Farnsworth andDjaja © WHO, the International Union for the Conser- work. It was found that the ‘homoeopathic’ | Soejarto from the College of Pharmacology at vation of Nature, the World Wildlife Fund, human antibody solution must also be shaken | the University of Illinois in Chicago. They two U.N. agencies and the Thailand govem- for about 10 seconds or the experiment will | claim that potentially valuable plant species ment. fail. If the solution is heated or frozen, the | are dying out at the rate of two per day Professor John Considine, a horticulturist experiment will also fail. The conference was told that up to 70,000 from Murdoch University, told the recent The report was presented by reputable | plants are used intraditionalmedicines world- | ANZAAS congress that agronomists and researchers from Canada, France, Israel and | wide, but by the year 2050, 60,000species-or Aborigines should work together to demon- Italy and was chiefly authored by Dr J. | 25% of those which remain - are expected to __ strate the usefulness of native foods. Beneviste of the French Medical Research | be wiped out by humanity. “Australian natural plant resources are Council. Nature printed the story with an The WHO is also calling for countries to _ distinguished from those of other lands not by unprecedented disclaimer, saying that while | place more emphasis on these traditional their innate worth but by the lack of effort they (and the researchers themselves) disbe- | medicines, many of which are collected, not devoted to domesticating and formalising the lieved the findings, they felt bound to publish | cultivated. The U.S. National Cancer Institute harvesting of that resource,” he said, adding them as they couldn’t be refuted. is searching the world’s tropical rainforests _ that there's market potential for our unique “We couldn't find anything wrong,” Mr | for medicinal plants; most of these have not _ native food crops, essential oils, pharmaceuti- Newmark said. yet been tested in the West, where temperate _cals, forage plants and floriculture. - Nature (July), AP | plants provide the ingredients for most phar- NEXUS New Spring 1988 AAP Genetic Thins maceuticals. Some tropical species of major medicinal importance, including quinine and cocaine, can’t be substituted by synthetic compounds, Farnsworth and Soejarto call for a “mas- sive screening programme” of tropical plants; “Despite its alarming rapid depletion rate, the tropical rainforests still represent a great storehouse of medicinal genetic resources which may yield important drugs. “Because of the large number of species which are projected to become extinct within a decade or so... urgenl measures must be taken to uncover and exploit fully the poten- tial valve of the rainforest species.” The conference was organised by the WHO, the International Union for the Conser- vation of Nature, the World Wildlife Fund, two U.N. agencies and the Thailand govem- ment. Professor John Considine, a horticulturist from Murdoch University, told the recent ANZAAS congress that agronomists and Aborigines should work together to demon- strate the usefulness of native foods. “Australian natural plant resources are distinguished from those of other lands not by their innate worth but by the lack of effort devoted to domesticating and formalising the harvesting of that resource,” he said, adding that there's market potential for our unique native food crops, essential oils, pharmaceuti- cals, forage plants and floriculture.