| The loss of plant species also means the loss of unknown economic potential, as extinct plants can hardly be harvested for food crops, fibers, medicines, and other products that forests, especially rainforests, provide. Thousands of small plants, insects, and other less conspicuous creatures are vanishing before they are even discovered, but it is often these small, less spectacular species which have the greatest potential "usefulness" to humans. |
| A chemical in the saliva of a leech has been developed to help prevent blood clots during surgery; the rosy periwinkle flower from Madagascar has helped cure Hodgkin's disease. |
loss of biodiversity -- page 3 of 5
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related topics
[biodiversity] [food & medicine] [wood & forest products] [tropical forests] [plants] [insects]
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