UNIVERSITY
March 29,2000 • theSeahawk
Bio^SpiEl
by SOMER STAHL
Staff Writer
Last Thursday night. Dr. Mark J.
Plotkin presented a lecture on “Witch
Doctors in Biotechnology” in
Warwick Center. Plotkin discussed
the importance of preserving the Ama
zon ecosystem, as well as the cultures
coexisting within the ecosystem.
“The fact of the matter is that some
of the hottest leads for diseases which
we consider incurable, which are only
incurable because we can’t cure them
thus far, come from natural sources.
The majority of these [cures] come
from natural poisons,” Plotkin said.
Plotkin split his lecture into two
parts. He first discussed new drugs
that are being developed in biotech
nology, then focused on the impor
tance of preserving Amazon cultures.
Plotkin mentioned many organisms
that have medicinal purpose and sig
nificance, including fungus, insects,
frogs, plants, and Gila monsters. Each
organism is also in danger of extinc
tion if the Amazon is not preserved.
“One of the things that’s most in
teresting right now is the species with
the greatest potential are not pandas,
are not elephants, are not lions, are not
rhinos,” Plotkin said. “Its the creepy-
crawly critters with very little aes
thetic appeal which offer great medici
nal potential, particularly those that
bare poison.”
Plotkin said that diabetes kills four
times as many women as breast can
cer and spoke of the importance of the
western Gila monster’s poisons, which
contain a compound that can “revolu
tionize the way we treat diabetes.”
Plotkin also spoke of the impor
tance of blood-sucking organisms,
such as leeches and the vampire bat,
which contain anti-coagulants to stop
Witch Doctors in
Biotechnoiogy
blood from clotting. These organisms
allow scientists to study clotting at dif
ferent stages, which helps them treat
and prevent different diseases.
“The wonder drugs of the future
aren’t just rain forest plants: it’s rain
forest animals, it’s rain forest
insects...Every species is a genius in
survival, every species is a genius in
chemistry, and there’s a lot to be
learned,” Plotkin said.
Plotkin has gained much of his in
formation on these animals by talking
with people native to the Amazon. He
said that could not just show up at a
random village and ask to be told its
healing secrets, but rather had to de
velop strong relationships with the na
tives of the Amazon and other tribes
around the world over time. He stressed
the importance of preserving these
people’s culture and knowledge.
Plotkin is the author of “Tales of a
Shaman's Apprentice: An Ethnobota-
nist Searches for New Medicines in the
Amazon Rain Forest,” and “Medicine
Quest; New Medicines from Mother
Nature. ” He has studied healing plants
with shamans in Central and South
America for the last fifteen years. He
has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard
University, a master’s from Yale Uni
versity and a Ph.D. from Tufts Univer
sity.
Plotkin’s work has been featured in
a PBS Nova Documentary, a Fox-TV
documentary, on “NBC Nightly News,”
■‘The Today Show” and “48 Hours.”
He has also been featured in the maga
zines Life, Newsweek and People. In
1994 he received a top environmental
award. The San Diego Zoo Gold Medal
for Conservation, previously awarded
to Jane Goodall and Sir David
Attenborough.
The lecture was sponsored by the
UNCW Honors Scholars Program.
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