University of Copenhagen
David Nogués Bravo
The biodiversity crisis has implications for the development of new medicines.
Many of the vital pharmaceuticals available today are originally derived from substances that occur in nature. Today, only 5% of our plants have been tested for pharmacological agents and potential. This means that 95% of nature’s pharmacy remains undiscovered.
In my research, I try to uncover how the loss of biodiversity may have implications for the development of future medicines. In order to protect our nature and the secrets it may hold, I aim to combine the pharmacological properties of plants with projections that indicate which areas of land have the highest risk of a major loss of biodiversity. In that way, I hope we can increase our knowledge about which areas we have to prioritise.
We are in a situation where climate change and agricultural practices are destroying species diversity and where planetary boundaries have been exceeded in six out of nine cases. When these boundaries are exceeded, we risk the health of the planet and impact the earth in ways that cannot be restored.
”My work is a race against time to decode nature's pharmacy before we lose biodiversity, which harbours undiscovered medical possibilities.
Meet the researcher
David Nogués Bravo is professor at the Section for Biodiversity at the University of Copenhagen.