Scientists are like treasure hunters looking for hidden gems that can help people feel better.
Imagine you have a box full of different colored candies, and each candy is a possible new drug. Scientists don’t know which one will make someone happy or healthy, so they try them all out, just like tasting each candy to see which one tastes the best.
Testing the Candies
Scientists start by testing these candies (drugs) on tiny helpers, like bacteria or cells in a dish. If a candy makes the helper feel better, scientists think it might work on people too.
Sometimes they test them on animals first, like mice who are very curious and love to eat candies too!
Making the Best Candy
Once scientists find a good candy that works, they make more of it and try it on people, just like you would taste-test your favorite candy with your friends.
If everyone loves it, they give it a name, like chocolate or vanilla, and it becomes a new drug to help people feel better!
Examples
- They try different medicines on mice to find the best one.
- A new drug is discovered by accident when a researcher changes a formula.
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See also
- How AI is accelerating drug discovery - Nature's Building Blocks | BBC StoryWorks?
- How AI Is Making Drug Discovery Faster and More Precise?
- How Does Machine Learning for Drug Discovery (Explained in 2 minutes) Work?
- How Does Space medicine: staying healthy in space Work?
- How Does Revolutionizing drug discovery with artificial intelligence Work?