The substance known as cocaine has been used by humans as a stimulant and
anesthetic for thousands of years. Coca-plant species (Erythroxylum) have
meticulously sculpted the drug over tens of millions of years in a race
against voracious insects.
The pharmaceutical business would benefit greatly from understanding how
plants accomplish this feat of chemical engineering, and biologists would
benefit from a greater understanding of how comparable herbicides have
evolved throughout the plant world.
However, one of nature’s best-kept mysteries has been the sheer complexity
of the chemical’s synthesis, which has taken scientists more than a century
to unravel.
anesthetic for thousands of years. Coca-plant species (Erythroxylum) have
meticulously sculpted the drug over tens of millions of years in a race
against voracious insects.
The pharmaceutical business would benefit greatly from understanding how
plants accomplish this feat of chemical engineering, and biologists would
benefit from a greater understanding of how comparable herbicides have
evolved throughout the plant world.
However, one of nature’s best-kept mysteries has been the sheer complexity
of the chemical’s synthesis, which has taken scientists more than a century
to unravel.
