Hijacked Bacteria Reveal New Compounds, New Drug Candidates

More than half of all new drugs in the U.S. are made from compounds found in nature. These so-called secondary metabolites are produced in the cells of plants and microorganisms like bacteria. You certainly know the most famous ones: household names like caffeine, aspirin and penicillin. There's the lycopene in tomatoes, resveratrol in grapes, and don't forget the cocaine in coca leaves or the morphine found in poppies. Now, scientists have figured out a new way to tap into a major source of