The art of using chemical agents for medication dates back into antiquity, although most of the earliest examples used plants, herbs, and other natural materials. The old Egyptian medical papyri, which date from before 1400 B. C., contain dozens of examples of such medicinal plants and animal extracts. In the Old Testament of the Bible, we can find references to using oil to soften the skin and sores (Isaiah 1:6), the use of tree leaves for medicine (Ezekiel 47:12) and various medical balms (Jeremiah 8:22). Not all these recipes were effective in curing the ailments for which they were used...

Proceedings from the September 1988 meeting. The major emphasis is on new polymeric materials, and papers are grouped into sections on various applications: opthalmic; surgical, dental, and diagnostic; and controlled release and bioactive polymer applications. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Considers several applications of biotechnology in the field of polymers. The 27 papers are presented in sections covering biotechnology-derived polymers, and systems based on polysaccharides and on proteins and enzymes. A sampling of titles turns up vernonia oil as a new reactive monomer, bacterial