Biomimicry

"A rare tree found in Malaysia and Borneo holds the secret to greener chemical production, according to researchers from the Research School of Chemistry. The research team, led by Professor Michael Sherburn and Dr Andrew Lawrence from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at ANU, have created a new, environmentally friendly method to replicate molecules found in the Medang tree. These molecules, known as kingianins, have shown promise as a lead in anti-cancer drug development, but research has been hampered due to the vanishingly small quantities that can be extracted from the Medang tree."