The Extraordinary Benefit of Nature’s Chemistry to Health, Society, and the Economy

Abstract

The connection between humans and Nature’s chemistry is astonishing and built into the very fabric of our genetic code. In this Perspective, we focus on bioactive molecules from microbes, plants, and animals that transformed our health and society and continue to change the course of human history. In light of our changing planet and recent public distrust in science, our intimate connection with Nature and its solutions to our problems are in peril. It has never been more important to invest new effort into understanding the mysteries of life’s molecules to preserve our own existence.

Introduction

While the topic of chemistry may elicit bewilderment, indifference, or even concern among the general public, our very lives could not be more intertwined with this field of science. Humans evolved to depend upon Nature’s collection of chemicals for survival. The molecules of life impact us daily, from vitamins, proteins, and carbohydrates that nurture us through the food we eat to the oxygen we breathe. Our health is directly tied to the balanced collection of our body’s innate molecules (e.g., hormones), and when imbalance or disease negatively impacts our well-being, nearly half of our drugs come in some form from Nature’s medicine cabinet of natural product molecules. In many ways, our connection to each other and our piece of the planet is mediated through the chemistry of life.

Nature is a prolific chemist with over 400,000 molecules identified from microbes, plants, and animals, and countless more awaiting discovery and characterization. Scientists have been fascinated with life’s collection of molecules, their functions, and their molecular origins since the dawn of our existence. Nearly 60 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to scientists over the past 120 or so years in recognition of their remarkable discoveries understanding and applying the molecules and enzymes of life (Table ). Breakthroughs awarded with Nobels include the discovery of hormones, vitamins, antibiotics, alkaloids, enzymes and metabolic pathways, and DNA. Each of these discoveries has transformed society through the creation of new knowledge, life-saving medicines, transformational biotechnology tools, and multibillion-dollar companies that fuel our economies. Importantly, most of the Nobel Prize awarded work listed in Table started as basic science projects focused on fundamental questions that ultimately led to captivating discoveries, which in turn have gone on to benefit our health and society. The lesson we learn from this snapshot of scientific glory is that Nature has been our guide to scientific innovation throughout our history and that it will undoubtedly continue to be so.

1. Timeline and List of Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine Awarded for the Discovery, Function and/or Application of Natural Chemicals, Enzymes or Nucleic Acids .

Nobel Prize topic	Chemistry	Physiology or Medicine
Natural chemicals and their functions	3. Chlorophyll (Willstätter; 1915)	4. Insulin (Banting, Macleod; 1923)
	5. Bile acids and bufotoxin (Wieland; 1927)	8. Antineuritic and growth-stimulating vitamins (Eijkman, Hopkins; 1929)
	6. Sterols and vitamin D (Windaus; 1928)
	9. Heme cofactor (Fischer; 1930)	15. Vitamin K and blood coagulation (Dam, Doisy; 1943)
	11. Vitamins A, B2, and C (Haworth, Karrer; 1937)	16. Penicillin (Fleming, Chain, Florey; 1945)
	13. Carotenoids and vitamins (Kuhn; 1938)	18. Cortisone (Kendall, Reichstein, Hench; 1950)
	14. Sex hormones and terpenoids (Butenandt, Ruzicka; 1939)	19. Streptomycin (Waksman; 1952)
	17. Plant alkaloids (Robinson; 1947)	32. Adrenaline (Sutherland; 1971)
	21. Oxytocin (du Vigneaud; 1955)	37. Prostaglandins (Bergström, Samuelsson, Vane; 1982)
		54. Ivermectin and artemisinin (Campbell, Omura, Youyou; 2015)
Synthesis of natural product molecules	1. Carbohydrate and purine synthesis (Fischer; 1902)
	29. Multistep chemical synthesis (Woodward; 1965)
	42. Retrosynthesis (Corey; 1990)
Metabolic pathways	25. Photosynthesis (Calvin; 1961)	12. Biological combustion processes (Szent-Györgyi; 1937)
	31. Carbohydrate biosynthesis (Leloir; 1970)	20. Citric acid cycle and coenzyme A (Krebs, Lipmann; 1953)
	45. ATP synthesis and ion transport (Boyer, Walker, Skou; 1997)	28. Cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism (Bloch, Lynen; 1964)
		39. Regulation of cholesterol metabolism (Brown, Goldstein; 1985)
		43. Protein phosphorylation (Fischer, Krebs; 1992)
		46. Nitric oxide signaling (Furchgott, Ignarro, Murad; 1998)
Enzymes	2. Cell-free fermentation (Buchner; 1907)	10. Action of respiratory enzymes (Warburg; 1931)
	7. Fermentative enzymes (Harden, von Euler-Chelpin; 1929)	22. Action of oxidative enzymes (Theorell; 1955)
	26. Structure of globular proteins (Perutz, Kendrew; 1962)	35. Restriction enzymes (Arber, Nathans, Smith; 1978)
	33. Ribonuclease (Anfinsen, Moore, Stein; 1972)
	34. Enzyme stereoselective biocatalysis (Cornforth, Prelog; 1975)
	40. Photosynthetic reaction center (Deisenhofer, Huber, Michel; 1988)
	47. Ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation (Ciechanover, Hershko, Rose; 2004)
	48. RNA polymerase (Kornberg; 2006)
	50. Green fluorescent protein (Shimomura, Chalfie, Tsien; 2008)
	51. Ribosome (Ramakrishnan, Steitz, Yonath; 2009)
	55. Enzyme evolution and phage display (Arnold, Smith, Winter; 2018)
	57. Protein design and structure prediction (Baker, Hassabis, Jumper; 2024)
Nucleic acids and biotechnology	23. Nucleotides (Todd; 1957)	24. Genetic code and recombination (Beadle, Tatum, Lederberg; 1958)
	36. Recombinant DNA and sequencing (Berg, Gilbert, Sanger; 1980)	27. DNA structure (Crick, Watson, Wilkins; 1962)
	41. Catalytic RNA (Altman, Cech; 1989)	30. Genetic code and protein synthesis (Holley, Khorana, Nirenberg; 1968)
	44. PCR and site-directed mutagenesis (Mullis, Smith; 1993)	38. Mobile genetic elements (McClintock; 1983)
	53. DNA repair (Lindahl, Modrich, Sancar; 2015)	49. RNA interference (Fire, Mello; 2006)
	56. CRISPR genome editing (Charpentier, Doudna; 2020)	52. Telomeres and the enzyme telomerase (Blackburn, Greider, Szostak; 2009)
		58. Micro RNA (Ambros, Ruvkun; 2024)

^aEach number correlates to an entry in the table, while the colors link to Nobel Prize topics as defined as natural chemicals and their functions (red), synthesis of natural product molecules (orange), metabolic pathways (green), enzymes (blue), and nucleic acids and biotechnology (purple).

^bCollection of 33 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry dating back to 1902. See https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes-in-chemistry/all/ for full list and details.

^cCollection of 25 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine dating back to 1923. See https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-laureates-in-physiology-or-medicine/ for full list and details.

In this Perspective article, we highlight some of the historic natural molecules that transformed society and extended the lifespan of humans. We also share a few modern stories where natural products have made a significant impact in chronic disease and are bettering our daily lives, as well as a look forward to new health challenges that may be met with the knowledge of Nature’s molecular playbook. While the chemical lessons of Nature have historically come to our rescue to address our contemporary needs, our reliance upon Nature as our teacher is being challenged with increased species loss and reduced public support for scientific research. These recent challenges threaten to hinder the basic scientific discoveries from Nature that have historically driven healthcare innovations to benefit society. We see an urgent need to increase public support for this critical research.

Looking Back – Molecules That Transformed Medicine and Improved Society

The landmark discovery of the antibiotic penicillin from the mold Penicillium chrysogenum about 100 years ago forever changed our health, the healthcare system, and society. At the time of its discovery, bacterial infections like pneumonia and meningitis were devastating diseases with high mortality rates. Prior to World War II, more soldiers would lose their lives to infectious diseases than from battlefield injuries. The introduction of penicillin, which was accelerated through the war efforts in the 1940s with novel (at the time) partnerships between academia and the federal government in the U.S., provided a dramatic solution to horrific bacterial diseases and led to the golden era of natural antibiotic discovery and development that peaked in the 1950s. Even today, beta-lactam-containing antibiotics (Figure ) are the most prescribed antibiotics with the extended-spectrum penicillin derivative, amoxicillin, being the most prescribed in 2023 outpatient settings. Many of the newest FDA-approved antibiotics include new versions of beta-lactams, including the aztreonam/avibactam combination approved in 2025 for complicated intra-abdominal infections and the nominal fifth-generation cephalosporin called ceftobiprole approved in 2024 by the EU and the FDA for, particularly, bacterial pneumonia.

1.

Structures of beta-lactam antibiotics penicillin G, amoxicillin, aztreonam, and ceftobiprole.

While penicillin also had a dramatic impact in reducing surgical site infections, it was another set of microbial metabolites that revolutionized surgery and organ transplantations half a century ago. The discovery of cyclosporine in the early 1970s and later tacrolimus from soil microbes as powerful immunosuppressants radically lowered rejection rates that limited many surgeries at the time. These natural calcineurin inhibitors are the most common immunosuppressant drugs still in use today in organ transplantations of liver, kidney, heart, and lung. Quite remarkably, cyclosporine and tacrolimus were not initially discovered for their immunosuppressant properties but rather serendipitously based on programs aimed at the discovery of new antimicrobial agents. History is replete with similar stories of chance scientific discoveries that led to major medical breakthroughs.

The discovery of anticancer and antiviral drugs based on natural arabinose nucleoside analogs from marine sponges is another such example. Spongothymidine, spongouridine, and spongosine isolated from the Caribbean sponge Cryptotethya crypta in the late 1940s to the 1950s were the inspiration for the development of the antiviral drug Ara-A (vidarabine) for the treatment of HIV and herpes simplex virus as well as the anti-leukemia drug Ara-C (cytarabine) (Figure ). These DNA antimetabolites, including the breakthrough AIDS drug AZT, are mainstays in the healthcare landscape today. Over 1,549 studies are currently listed in ClinicalTrials.gov with two still recruiting in the latest 20 trials listed. While the arabinose nucleoside analogs were first reported from sponges, nearly 65 years later a strain of the bacterium Vibrio harveyi isolated from the sponge was shown to produce spongosine, suggesting that the originally isolated nucleosides were produced by a microbe.

2.

Structures of natural arabinose nucleoside analogs (top) and DNA antimetabolite drugs (bottom).

These historic examples are just three of many in which naturally occurring molecules have transformed human health and society. Other notable examples include aspirin for pain and fever relief, lipid-lowering statins inspired by lovastatin from fungi, and powerful anticancer drugs like the plant-derived taxol which is used to treat breast cancer. Not all drugs based on naturally occurring chemicals, however, come from microbes, plants, or simple metazoans. Life-saving medicine has also developed from innate human metabolites to cure disease and alleviate metabolic imbalances. Celebrated examples like estrogen for women’s health and hormone replacement therapy, insulin for type I diabetes, and levothyroxine to treat thyroid hormone imbalance were all introduced prior to 1950 and are prominently employed today.

Present Day – Recent Successes Improving Health

Naturally occurring molecules continue to be the inspiration of modern drugs. From 1981 to 2019, over half of the approved anticancer, anti-infective, and anti-diabetic drugs were derived from natural products and/or synthetic variations. Table gives selected source data as compiled to the end of September 2019, plus some extra data on type 2 diabetes through August 2023. It must be emphasized that (1) a drug is only counted once from an approving agency, notwithstanding how many other approvals occur subsequently and (2) these are irrespective of the approving agency with most, but not all, being approved by the U.S. FDA. We also point out that the data for cancer in the time frame 1946–1980 is not complete due to lack of compiled data from that time frame, while data on vaccines are not given except for antibacterial and anticancer therapies. Inspection of Table demonstrates how important natural product-sourced structures continue to be, particularly against cancer, bacteria, and parasitic diseases. We highlight in this section two modern-day success stories in the areas of cancer and diabetes that are reimagining personalized healthcare.

2. Sources of New Drugs to Treat Cancer, Bacterial and Fungal Infections, and Diabetes ^,

disease	years	N	NB	ND	S	S/NM	S*	S*/NM	B	V
Cancer	1946–1980	17		22		11
Cancer	1981/01–2019/09	18	1	43	29	36	13	45	52	10
Antibacterial	1981/01–2019/09	11		78	36			1	4	32
Antifungal	1981/01–2019/09			3	27	3			1
Antiparasitic	1981/01–2019/09	2		7	6		3			2
Antidiabetic type 1	1981/01–2019/09	1		8	4	16	1	9	24
Antidiabetic type 2	1981/01–2023/08	2		8	3	19	3	12	2

^aData based in part on Newman and Cragg, 2020.

^bAbbreviations used: N, unaltered natural product; NB, botanical drug (defined mixture); ND, natural product derivative; S, synthetic drug; S*, synthetic drug (natural product pharmacophore); /NM, mimic of natural product; B, biological macromolecule; and V, vaccine.

While the use of traditional small molecule drugs, which includes those based on natural products, is a mainstay of healthcare practices, toxicity and off-target effects limit many promising drug candidates. Modern drug delivery approaches have expanded to include antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) by linking powerful drugs to monoclonal antibodies designed to target specific biomarkers of disease. The “payload” delivery of a cytotoxic agent directly to a cancer cell, much like a “magic bullet”, is revolutionizing personalized cancer treatment. The first FDA approved ADC was Mylotarg (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) in 2000 that contained the potent enediyne antitumor agent calicheamicin combined to an anti-CD33 antibody for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Today it is being administered in combination with the “7 + 3” chemotherapy treatment regimen involving cytarabine (Ara-C) and daunorubicin, and as monotherapy for both newly diagnosed and relapsed patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Subsequent work by several pharmaceutical houses in the U.S. and abroad have now incorporated numerous “warheads”, all from modifications of natural products. These antitumor treatments now have increased to 18 approved agents with over 100 others in various stages of clinical trials as of April 2025. , Over half of the warheads on approved ADCs are based on the dolastatin antitumor agents from marine cyanobacteria as seen in the vedotin class of ADCs (Figure ), showcasing that critical health treatments come from seemingly esoteric natural resources.

3.

Structure of dolastatin 10 and the ADC brentuximab vedotin comprising the dolastatin analogue monomethyl auristatin E attached to a cleavable linker and the cAC10 anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody (mAb).

Another such obscure natural source of a blockbuster drug that has recently captured society’s attention comes from a very reclusive animal, Heloderma suspectrum, better known as the Gila monster. In the venom expressed by this toxic lizard, there are four bioactive peptides, one of which, exendin-4, helped spawn the development of popular GLP-1 (aka glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist medications to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. GLP-1 analogs, or incretin mimetics, like exendin-4 from the Gila monster, act (in humans) by activating the GLP-1 receptor complex thus mimicking the endogenous hormone GLP-1 in reducing blood sugar levels. Currently there are ten FDA-approved medications based on the GLP-1 and exendin-4 peptide sequences (Exenatide, Byetta; Liraglutide, Victoza/Saxenda; Dulaglutide, Trulicity; Lixisenatide, Adlyxin; Tirzepatide, Mounjaro/Zepbound; Albiglutide, Tanzeum; Semaglutide, Ozempic/Wegovy) (Figure ). Tirzepatide is uniquely a dual-action fatty acylpeptide that targets both GLP-1 and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptors that leads to improved blood sugar regulation and appetite suppression. These medications have changed the landscape of weight-loss management and generated extensive excitement the world over.

4.

Structures of natural exendin-4, GLP-1 and several GLP-1 peptide drugs. Standard one-letter amino acid codes are used, including αA (alpha-methyl-alanine/alpha-aminoisobutyric acid).

GLP-1 drugs, however, require administration by (mostly) weekly subcutaneous injections of modified peptides with fatty acid alterations that allow for an extended half-life. Orally active variations have the potential to displace the original injectable variants, which could make this popular medication more widely available. Currently, there are 63 oral GLP-1 receptor agonists in active drug development, four of which in Phase III clinical trials. Two of these are oral tablet forms of semaglutide from Novo Nordisk – Rybelsus has already received FDA approval for cardiovascular risk and type 2 diabetes, while NN-9932 is expected to be launched by the end of 2025 for obesity. Lilly’s candidate, orforglipron calcium, was the first oral GLP-1 receptor agonist to successfully complete a Phase III trial for obesity, with a projected launch in 2026. Significantly, orforglipron is not a peptide like all other presently approved GLP-1 drugs but is rather a small molecule drug. The fourth compound at this level is HRS-953 from the Chinese company Jiangsu Hengrui. This GLP-1 peptide mimic, if approved, has the potential to “upset” the usual sources of such drugs, as the company is an “unknown” in the major pharmaceutical field. Assuming all are approved, the success of these drugs highlights their potential as treatments for obesity, which is endemic in the U.S., with a report in the New England Journal of Medicine projecting that half of all U.S. adults will be obese by 2030. From WHO data, 43% of adults were overweight and 16% were living with obesity worldwide in 2022.

These two modern success stories involving ADCs and GLP-1 drugs reflect an evolving trend in the current direction of natural product research as it pertains to molecules with therapeutic potential. While small molecules continue to play a substantial role in the drug discovery landscape, especially with the inclusion of AI technology, interest continues to build for macromolecules like antibodies, peptides and other biologics as highlighted in Table . This trend toward biologics is being fueled by technical advancements in biotechnology that has made complex macromolecular medications industrially practical. Consequently, students interested in natural products have many more choices today than ever before in their training as they prepare themselves for a career in science.

Looking Forward – Reinvigorating Infectious Disease Research

Though one may think that effective infectious disease drugs (antibiotics and antifungals) are widely available for general use, this assumption is completely incorrect when the world situation is considered. Due to the ease of international travel, infections do not “respect borders”, and as a consequence, it is essential we understand and monitor emerging diseases in other countries. With respect to bacterial infections, the need for novel, active antibiotics is paramount when contemplating infections by currently known microbes let alone “not yet recognized microbes”. While the number of new antibacterials may look high (Table ), in practice very few are directed against ESKAPE pathogens, a group of six serious disease-causing bacteria (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.). The significant rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in sepsis deaths from 1990 to 2021 together with increasing resistance to front-line antibiotics is frankly alarming. Although infection prevention and vaccination practices have shown to be highly effective globally in reducing AMR mortality, especially in children younger than 5 years, forecasting models to 2050 suggest a frightening trend of AMR burden for our aging global population. The WHO lists carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms and multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis as particularly worrisome bacterial pathogens with low treatability options.

While the outlook for antibacterials is grim, with respect to antifungal agents, the prognosis is much worse. Because fungi and humans share similar cellular structures, unlike bacteria, it is inherently much more difficult to selectively kill fungal infections. The WHO published a fungal pathogen priority list in 2022 that was recently reappraised to identify pathogens associated with serious health risks. Remarkably, only two “new agents” have been approved, one that took well over 30 years to develop to approval in 2021 and the other in 2023 which was a derivative of a well-known class, the echinocandins. Both ibrexafungerp (a novel semisynthetic triterpenoid) and rezafungin (a long-acting echinocandin) are semisynthetic agents directed against the glycans in the fungal cell wall (Figure ). The scarcity of novel agents (and the concomitant lack of work by “Big Pharma”) has hastened the problem in which many infections do not currently have effective treatments. A recent review examined the challenges that need to be overcome when searching for antifungal agents and discussed the potential of reinvestigating older antifungal classes as well.

5.

Structures of recently approved antifungal agents ibrexafungerp and rezafungin.

Where does that leave us? New anti-infective agents are desperately needed to keep pace with ever mutating bacterial, fungal, and parasitic diseases the world over. Frustratingly, U.S. science is ill-prepared and will not be able to meet the challenge head on if current research work continues to not seriously engage major Western pharmaceutical companies. China, Japan and India, on the other hand, are investing in programs utilizing natural product resources as the major input to screen against infectious diseases, as recognized with the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Japanese, American and Chinese scientists for their discovery and development of natural product anti-parasitic drugs (ivermectin and artemisinin) that have treated millions. While there are technical and business challenges in working with naturally occurring molecules over synthetics, history has proven over and over the remarkable success in translating the evolution-guided wisdom of Nature into life-changing health remedies. So, let us look at some of the modern challenges in face of the promising solutions and opportunities on the horizon.

Modern Challenges and Opportunities in Applying Nature’s Chemistry to Support Human Health

Clearly, human ingenuity has transformed Nature’s chemistry into lifesaving medicines and essential materials that continue to improve our health, fuel the economy and nurture society. The examples presented above are just a mere snapshot of Nature’s miraculous chemical gifts to humankind. Whether scientists can maintain such success in the future is in jeopardy. Not because of inherent limitations of human ingenuity, but rather because of human interference on a variety of fronts, including a lack of public understanding and support.

On the bright side, recent innovation breakthroughs have transformed the way in which scientists search for inspirational bioactive molecules from Nature to enable biomedical success. Incredibly sensitive analytical techniques combined with modern computational prowess involving AI methods have dramatically expanded the reach of science to scrutinize virtually any biological material, no matter the size or quantity. These approaches for instance are deciphering the metabolic importance of the human microbiome in health and disease. Similarly, the power of genomics is resolving the complexities of how millions of molecules are produced across life, from the microbes in our bodies to exotic organisms from the deep ocean. This emerging knowledge is not only accelerating new chemical discoveries from Nature but also creating new biotechnology to design molecules never before seen in Nature. The ability to detect and engineer molecules from Nature has never been better.

So, what are the challenges? There are many. Big Pharma has largely abandoned the business of discovery science and left it to universities, research institutes, and startup companies. The modern technological breakthroughs discussed above have taken academic scientists’ decades to develop. In the meantime, industry pivoted away from natural product research to other platforms, such as combinatorial chemistry (combichem) and diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS), to produce the large chemical libraries needed for today’s high-throughput paradigms of modern drug discovery. One major advantage of those synthetic methods is that they provide easily patentable compounds in contrast to natural molecules that are no longer patent-worthy due to current U.S. patent laws. Transformative discoveries of long ago, like penicillin and taxol, would not be patentable today. Unfortunately, the substitution of combichem and DOS structures for products from Nature that have undergone millions of years of evolutionary perfection has met with limited success, especially in the area of anti-infectives. What can be done by talented synthetic chemists when working with a microbial product is stunning as exemplified by the modification of the “antibiotic of last resort” vancomycin to overcome resistance profiles. Both natural and synthetic chemicals have their advantages (and disadvantages) and often work best in synergy. The larger point is that all forms of basic research are hard to advance, and we should be looking at other ways beyond Big Pharma to develop innovation.

A second major challenge we face is a race against time. The natural world is experiencing an increased rate in the loss of species diversity across the planet. From terrestrial Earth to the oceans, entire genera have been lost to time in what has been called a “biological annihilation” of the tree of life. What’s unique about this ongoing mass extinction, which has been referred to as the Holocene or Anthropocene extinction, is that it is entirely the cause of human activities. In the context of the human experience, with species loss comes the loss of future discoveries of Nature’s molecules and their functions that ultimately spark innovation. Each time a species goes extinct, so does the knowledge entwined in its genome for how that organism evolved chemical solutions to its specialized lifestyle. This loss of chemical knowledge of the natural world cannot be simply offset through genome harvesting. There is no substitute to being able to observe how an organism, especially those not yet known to science, thrives in interactions with other species in order to hone new discoveries to support humankind.

Perhaps the greatest challenge we face at this moment in time is the diminution of resources for current and future scientific endeavors in the U.S. during the first four months of 2025. , These are not only financial in terms of grants and contracts but have been amplified by removing public access to scientific data. One such example involves the removal of disease tracking and their concomitant data collections both in the U.S. and other parts of the world. This action has the potential to materially impact the health of both military personnel and civilians not only in the U.S., but also when military and concomitant U.S. forces are posted to other parts of the world. One only has to look at the problems with diseases that affected U.S. forces in desert and tropical areas of the world in recent years, and for which there were few to no effective treatments. Such loss of resources will jeopardize over 80 years of multigenerational investment by the U.S. government that built the most successful and innovative research enterprise in the world.

Recently, nearly 2000 members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine took the rare step in writing an open letter to the American People to warn that the “nation’s scientific enterprise is being decimated.” Irrespective of politics, the generous support of basic and applied sciences by the American people through the U.S. government has saved and enriched the lives of all. Moreover, it has resulted in the generation of the most precious commodityknowledge. Through knowledge comes the power to control destiny.

As a result of studying the chemical and biochemical wonders of life, scores of scientists have contributed to generational knowledge that has made each of us healthier, more secure and happier. We believe that the answers to many of our needs, whether they be in health, food security or sustainable materials, will continue to be found in Nature, albeit with a dose of human ingenuity. Although challenges persist, as they have throughout history, it is abundantly clear that the study of the chemicals of life has profoundly impacted our health, society and economy and will continue to do so. What’s different at this moment is an urgency against time.

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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Retired Chief.