Meet the drug developer taking on wildlife diseases
6/2/202612 min
Many of the forces driving species to extinction—habitat destruction, pollution, climate change—also fuel the spread of disease. And plants and animals around the globe are facing their own little pandemics, from cancer to fungal diseases.
But what if we could treat them with cutting-edge medicines? Is there something drug developers could do to help? Chemist Tim Cernak thinks so. He has been developing drugs for people for 20 years, but his patient roster has started to include sea turtles, frogs, and giant reptiles. He talks with Flora about why he’s making drugs for wildlife and why more chemists should join in.
Guest:
Dr. Tim Cernak is an associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Michigan.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsFlora Lichtman· Host0:01
Hey, Flora here. We are wrapping up Science Friday's fiscal year on June 30th, and we could use your support. We're aiming to raise $100,000 to close out our budget, and with your help, I know we can do it. If Science Friday is valuable to you, if you rely on our reporting to make sense of the world, or even just to give you your daily dose of joy and wonder, please consider going to sciencefriday.com/donate to make a donation. It's fast, easy, and secure, and any amount you can swing will help to sustain us in this critical moment. You know, I know I've said it before, but I really mean it. Science Friday can only continue with your support. That's sciencefriday.com/donate, and thanks. [upbeat music] There are a lot of drivers of extinction: habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, invasive species, but a consequence of almost all these giant problems is the spread of disease. Right under our noses, many plant and animal species are facing their own little pandemics. Is there something chemists could do to help? My next guest thinks so. Dr. Tim Cernak is a chemist at the University of Michigan. He's been developing drugs for people for 20 years, but more recently, his patient roster has started to include sea turtles and frogs and giant reptiles. We'll hear why he's making drugs for wildlife and why he thinks more chemists should get in on this. Tim, welcome to Science Friday.
Tim Cernak· Guest1:29
Thanks, Flora.