The pharmacy of life – exploring the function and biochemistry of natural products

Harvard FAS

Life has evolved countless bioactive molecules, or “natural products”, that act like pharmaceuticals to affect the cellular processes of other organisms, and many of these molecules serve as critical medicines and research tools. In this course, we will explore the diverse functions of natural products – including many important medicines like plant-derived chemotherapeutics, fungal psychedelics, and cone snail venoms – as case studies to teach fundamental principles of biochemistry and cell…