Kind: captions
Language: en
So given how advanced we are with our
capabilities, it it I wonder why there's
a certain capability that we don't have.
And here's what that is. We're
constantly, you know, I constantly hear
about researchers going to the Amazon,
finding some plant or animal that
creates some novel molecule that's
useful for us. But why can't we say,
"Oh, here's a problem we have. I'm going
to use my computational powers to
calculate what molecule I need to deal
with that problem. Then I'm going to
synthesize that. So instead of searching
for it in nature,
>> take on that role ourselves, but in a in
a direct way.
>> We do both. We really do both. And I'll
just I'll give an example. So for
example,
>> you know, we have so much better control
of AIDS now than we did in the beginning
or even the middle of the AIDS crisis.
And a lot of those drugs are designed
by humans out of thin air. Okay? We're
saying, "Okay, I need to design a drug
that's going to fit into a pocket of an
enzyme and shut that thing down and we
design that on computers and we make it
in the lab and then we test it and there
you go." Okay, so that's drug design
sort of from scratch. We do it.
>> Okay. At the same time, nature has had
millions and millions and millions of
years to work on some of these things
and come up with sometimes pretty
complicated chemistry, a lot of
antibiotics, etc. Those aren't things
that a chemist would synthesize just in
their spare time someday, right? They've
got they're fancy looking molecules when
you first look at them
>> and you're like, "Yeah, nature's has
come up with." Sometimes those are
they're made by you know sort of longer
pathways lots of chemical modifications
because like those arms races that have
been happening between you know say a
fungus and bacterium in the soil oh my
gosh those are so old those so let's
exploit what nature's been tinkering
with for millions and millions of years
>> millions of millions you mean tens of
millions of millions hundreds of
millions of years etc yeah
>> I mean a great example that
underappreciated story is the first
statin
>> what is a statin
>> statin everybody People aren't no stat
people are on statu clan is from
>> people on statins to control their
cholesterol.
>> Oh right. Yeah.
>> Okay. The first statin
>> came from a fungus because a a Japanese
researcher I'm going to say back in the
early 80s thought you know if I can stop
the cholesterol metabolism
uh I'm going to if I can get involved
with cholesterol metabolism I could
really benefit for example um
cholesterol levels in humans. Well, I'm
betting that somewhere out there in
nature that's a strategy that some
fungus used to stop, you know, an
invader. And he screened like 6,000
strains.
>> Wait a minute. How did he make that
connection? Human cholesterol is a
fungus stopping bacteria. That's
[laughter]
>> Yeah. Well, it was kind of the same
strategy people use to find antibiotics,
right? Is is a lot of these things are
are fungal products are antibiotics. So,
he thought there must be like an
antibiotic I can use for cholesterol,
>> right?
>> Because cholesterol is used in making
membranes. He thought, "Okay, that that
might be a target that that fungus would
use."
>> I think he screened like 6,000 strains.
>> Wow.
>> fungi.
>> And that launched a drug revolution.
Came up with the f the first statin. And
once you got the first statin, you got
the first principle. And then the
chemist came along and they said, "Okay,
we'll modify this. We'll modify that.
We'll make this a little more potent.
We'll make this a little, you know,
easier on the stomach, whatever." But
the first statin was pulled out of
nature. So there's two strategies going.
Use nature if you can. And I I feel the
same way even with antivenenoms.
>> These animals have had
>> tens of millions of years to work on
these defense mechanisms. Let's exploit
that knowledge while at the same time we
in the laboratory we can also use our
you know we got ever more powerful tools
for designing drugs. But
>> um
>> so you want to do both.
>> We live at a time we live in a time
where we can do both. We do do both and
let there and and let the competition
you know begin. We because very often in
in drug development there's a first
generation where you didn't have
something then you have something
>> but you know it's like this was true for
AIDS I mean you had to take so many
different pills and they were so big and
there were side effects and all that
stuff. So over the years, what you work
on are more potent drugs operating off
those first principles,
less toxic, right? More convenient to
take, uh, you know, and and it's the
same thing going on with late weight
loss drugs right now. You know, you know
the root of this weight loss. Yeah. You
know the root of this?
>> No,
>> the root of this.
>> Tell me
monsters.
>> What? No way.
>> Yeah. This is a discovery. The weight
loss drugs are based on a discovery made
in Hila Monsters. So reptiles, you know,
can go a long time between meals.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> How do they do that? How do they control
their body physiology in these long
periods?
>> They're coldblooded.
>> No, they they're doing a little more
than that.
>> So the lead to what became Ompic and
Mjaro and all that kind of stuff were
discoveries in Hila monsters.
>> Wow. This is why when you talk to
biologists, we plead for the support of
basic research.
>> Yeah.
>> Because we we we the more we learn about
how nature works, we come up with new
ideas of how to, for example, intervene
in in human medicine. And if it weren't
for people studying how Hila Monsters
regulate their physiology in the long
gaps between meals,
>> we wouldn't have these weight loss
drugs, which we now start to understand
are helping cardiovascular health, liver
health, all this kind of stuff. And
we're going from injectables, right?
Because you're watching the watching the
evolution of the drug making to now
oral, which is a lot more convenient, a
lot easier for compliance. We're also
reducing side effects, etc. It's the
same story being told. A lead from
nature.
>> Yeah. a first-in-class drug. Then you
know the create the collective human
creativity gets involved and we come up
with things that are more potent, safer
to take etc.