Branch Lines

There was a very interesting programme this morning on BBC Radio 4 on the powerful proteins and chemical structures that produced from lichen. The discovery of penicillin was discovered by looking at certain chemical produces that were produced by lichen.

Lichen: a simple slow-growing plant which typically forms a low crust-like, leaf-like, or branching growth on rocks, walls, and trees.

It is thought that the chemicals produced by lichens will be the next great chemical engineering discovery of this century and medical science could well benefit from these discoveries in the future.