TED Health Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world's coldest places? | Normand Voyer
Dec 17, 2024
In this engaging discussion, Normand Voyer, a natural product chemist known for his innovative research in cold environments, reveals the potential of Arctic organisms as sources of life-saving medicines. He explores the unique chemical properties of plants and fungi thriving in frigid conditions, emphasizing their untapped medical potential. Voyer shares insights on how these discoveries could combat diseases like inflammation and malaria. He highlights the urgent need for research to protect these ecosystems before they disappear.
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Northern Chemical Treasures
- Organisms in cold environments produce unique chemicals for protection.
- These unknown chemicals may hold the key to treating diseases.
Nunavik Lichen Discovery
- Voyer's team studied Stereocolon paschali, a lichen from Nunavik.
- They discovered two unique substances never before identified.
Antimalarial from the North
- Mortiarella, a fungus from Nunavut, produces mortiamides.
- Mortiamide D effectively neutralizes a drug-resistant malaria parasite.