Rooting for new antimicrobial drugs

From Washington, D.C., at the 166th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Scientists scouring the natural world for medicines have come up with another promising prospect. A compound isolated from the root of an African tree can kill fungi and bacteria, reports Kurt Hostettmann of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. He and his colleagues are developing the chemical as a fungicide for treating infections and protecting crops.