Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:15PM EDT

By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - At least 70 percent of all new drugs introduced in the United States in the past 25 years come from nature despite the use of sophisticated techniques to design products in the lab, researchers reported on Monday.
Their study indicates that a back-to-nature approach might yield better possibilities for companies looking for the next blockbuster drug. Full story...
 

March 16, 2007 - STACEY EIDSON Herald Staff Writer
BRADENTON - Linda Walker doesn't know the names of the tropical plants in her office but that doesn't mean she loves them any less. She is convinced the palm trees, potted plants and vines wrapped around the bookshelves in Mike Carter I, Inc. offices at 417 12th St. W. in Bradenton not only brighten up the place but help her staff relax and breathe a little easier. Full story...

February 23, 2007 — By Libby Quaid, Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The nation's biggest milk company, Dean Foods, said Thursday it will refuse milk from cloned cows. The Food and Drug Administration gave preliminary approval to meat and milk from cloned animals and could grant final approval by the end of the year. Federal scientists say there is virtually no difference between clones and conventional cows, pigs or goats. Full Story …

February 01, 2007 — By Jeff Donn, Associated Press

BOSTON -- The fine grit in polluted air raises the risk of heart disease in older women much more powerfully than scientists realized, a big U.S.-funded study has found, raising questions of whether U.S. environmental standards are strict enough. Full Story…