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solonavi 23 April 2008 Endangered & Extinction, Technology 296 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

BBC

A new generation of medical treatments could be lost forever unless the current rate of biodiversity loss is reversed, conservationists have warned.

They say species are being lost before researchers have had the chance to examine and understand their potential health benefits.

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“While extinction is alarming in its own right, the book demonstrates that many species can help human lives,” said co-author Jeffrey McNeely, chief scientist at IUCN (formerly known as the World Conservation Union).

“If we needed more justification for action to conserve species, it offers dozens of dramatic examples of both why and how citizens can act in ways that will conserve, rather than destroy, the species that enrich our lives.”

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First described in 1973, the frogs, which were only found in Australia, interested researchers because they raised their young in the females’ stomachs.

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Further research could have lead to new ways of preventing and treating stomach ulcers in humans, but the amphibian was last recorded in the wild in 1981.

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For example, they said some bears’ ability to maintain bone mass when they entered a dormant state could lead to a better understanding of diseases such as osteoporosis.

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Mr Steiner said: “The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has achieved a great deal but it needs to achieve more if it is to meet the international community’s goals and objectives.

“We need a breakthrough in Bonn on all three pillars of the convention: conservation, sustainable use, and access and benefit sharing of genetic resources.”

The physiology of bears could lead to a better understanding of some diseases