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Living organisms have also supplied almost all of our most important
medicines. Many still come directly from plants, fungi, or bacteria.
Others that are now made synthetically were originally discovered
in nature. In many parts of the world, where manufactured drugs
are not available, people use plants alone to treat illness. Since
we have identified only a tiny fraction of all the organisms on
Earth, we can be certain that many new sources of medicine remain
to be discovered. The potential of living things as a useful source
of information is not limited to genetics.
Every area
of knowledge has benefited from the study of living things. Anthropologists
have learned about prehistoric human beings by studying our closest
living relatives, the apes. Engineers have learned about mechanics
by studying the movement of animals.
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