The intersection between botany and medicine ft. Dr. Aidan Kaye

Bark of the willow tree is turned into Aspirin. Bark of the Cinchona Tree is turned into Quinine- the anti-malarial drug you enjoy in your average gin and tonic. Tonic water is sugar mixed with cinchona bark. But British colonizers liked to get drunk while they medicated themselves from the parasites spread by the mosquitoes of India.

The main premise of the episode is that bugs eat plants and die BECAUSE they are small. But a certain arthropod used to be GIGANTIC. 400 million years ago, scorpions used to be three feet long. And like all scorpions, they glow under UV light. I for one welcome out glowing scorpion overlords. But our atmosphere needs A LOT more oxygen to bring them back. Plant a tree. Listen to our episode about planting trees to learn more.

Pour yourself a nice G&T and enjoy.

For more of Dr. Aidan Kaye follow @TroveoftheSacred on Instagram