Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / March 28, 1991, edition 1 / Page 77
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Oceans May Contain BY DONALD SMITH National Geographic News Service Tottering on the edge of a dock in Woods Hole, Mass achusetts, biochemist Douglas Prashcr dips a net into Vineyard Sound and scoops up an oozing mass of jellyfish. He gingerly nudges the blob, which is slightly smelly and looks like several spoonfuls of clear Jcll-O. "The uniqueness of this organism is very important to me," Prasher says. "The ocean provides complete ly different kinds of animals to work with." Back in his lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Prashcr cuts off the outer ring of tentacles and placcs the jellyfish in a large freezer. Stored at minus 1 58 Fahren heit, the small, doughnut-shaped chunk of organic ice will wait to be defrosted, ground into mush and launched in the war against human suffering. The ocean is yielding an increas ing number of previously unknown chemical compounds manufactured by animals such as jellyfish. Scien tists hope that one day these sub stances may cure cancer; lung dis eases, including asthma and emphy sema; and inflammatory ailments such as arthritis and psoriasis. Some even hold out hope that an AIDS im munization will emerge from the sea. "About half of all drugs known to day are derived from plants or ani mals, including quinine, quinidinc, digitalis, cortisone-even aspirin, which comes from tree bark," says pharmacologist Robert Jacobs of the University of California at Santa Barbara. "But over the past 200 years we've not been able to study marine organisms systematically, the way we've studied terrestrial organ isms. Now we have the technology to do iL" Testing of a promising anti-cancer drug called didemnin B in cancer pa tients at about 20 clinics is now nearly complete. Developed from tu nicatcs-commonly called sea squirts- didemnin B also has proved useful against herpes, equine en cephalitis and yellow fever. By sup pressing the body's immune system, it could help counter organ rejection after transplants. The tunicate-derived compound ecteinascidin, whose toxicity in ani mals is now under study, is also be ing considered as a cancer treatment. "We have here two classes of compounds that look very promising as anti-tumor agents," Kenneth L. Rinchart, a chemist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tells National Geographic. "What's exciting is that they're quite different from any others currently in use, both in the way they work and the chemical entities they provide." Scientists reason that many sea creatures-especially soft-bodied ani mals such as tunicates and sponges -contain chemical structures not found on land because of the way they evolved defenses against pred ators. Unable to move about and lacking hard shells or weapons such as claws or teeth, these animals evolved chemical compounds that repel or kill predatory fish. These same com pounds arc being found to have use ful pharmaceutical properties such as killing cancer cells in test lubes. After only about two decades of development, the relatively new field of marine bio-organic chemistry and pharmacology has been growing quickly in recent years. Japan has launched major efforts to develop marine resources for medicine as well as food. In the United Suites, the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation and the National Sea Grant College Program have been awarding study grants. All ma jor U.S. pharmaceutical companies have initiated projects aimed at test ing promising compounds and bring r ing successful ones to the market. At a meeting in Chicago last October, a Sea Grant College Pro gram -ommittee proposed a "nation al strategic research initiative" that wouli allocate SI. 5 million a year for six years to support more re search and postdoctoral fellowships in the field. As in the threatened South American rain forest, where scien tists arc regularly finding new chem ical compounds, potential medical miracles from the ocean are in dan ger of being lost forever due to pol lution. according to the Sea Grant Program committee. The ocean's "unique marine re sources arc rapidly declining because Photographic Concepts l.t.d. HIGHWAY 17 (MAIN STREET) SHALLOTTE NC 754-7404 ONE HOUR PHOTOFINISHING ?STUDIO/COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY ?COPY WORK ?VIDEO ? FRAMING ?PASSPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER: STEVE SMITH -SPECIALIZING IN Remodeling & Repairs ?Additions -Porches ?Decks 'Boardwalks ?Docks -Cabinets NC LICENSE 20563 NO JOB TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL - WE DO THEM ALL TO YOUR SATISFACTION! 17 years experience MGF BUILDERS, INC. MARTIN FELDT-HOLDEN BEACH-842-3259 (Dana's Creative House & Garden Shop <N I Come Browse Thru Our Collection Of Books, Handmade Baskets & Gift Ideas. We specialize in low country plants and gardenware. ?Brass Garden Plaques ?Sundials ? 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The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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March 28, 1991, edition 1
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