Why cancer drugs are being discovered in the ocean

Lots of medicines are found in nature. But why? What do these chemicals do for the organisms we find them in? The answer is often surprising. Like trabectedin, a chemotherapy drug made by a sea squirt. Or eptifibatide, a blood thinner derived from snake venom. Or ziconotide, a pain killer made by a sea snail.

Animations by Dom Burgess. His brilliant channel, Every Think, is here:

   / @domburgess  

His video about going to Mars is here:

   • Why Going To Mars Would Be Bad For Yo...  

The video I made with The Body shop is here:

   • What Causes Blemishes With Steve Moul...  

First poppy image credit:
afgooey74 on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/2410278...

Second poppy image credit:
Laughlin Elkind on Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wurzle/...

Submersible image credit:
OAR/National Undersea Research Program (NURP); Univ. of Hawaii

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