Stepping toward ideality
James Mitchell Crow wonders what would make the perfect organic synthesis
In the ongoing hunt for better cancer treatments, the bottom of a boat might not sound like a promising place to start. But that is where you might find a seaweed-like organism called Bugula neritina happily growing. To the shipping industry, the organism is a troublesome foulant of ships, piers, and buoys exposed to warm marine waters. But Bugula neritina also produces some of the most potent anti-cancer compounds known.