For centuries the underdeveloped countries of the world made little change in the way of living for most of the people. Poverty, hunger, disease, and lack of education were accepted as inevitable. It is only very recently that these countries have learned that general poverty can be overcome. Drugs have been made from plants and from animal tissues for a long time. In recent years, scientists have discovered how to make miracle drugs from moulds and bacteria.
Some minerals have common uses as drugs.
Some of the most modern drugs are synthetic. The active principles of many natural drugs have been discovered, and the chemists have learned how to manufacture the drugs under carefully controlled conditions. A powerfully situated minority is often more potent than a majority. Carbon 14, radioactive carbon, is contained in charcoal, vegetable matter, shell, and bone. Because it disappears from dead organic tissue at a constant rate, the amount of carbon 14 in the speciman studied gives a good estimate of the age of the material.