The sparks from the spirit of science include not only new knowledge but also innovations, the major ingredients of development and sustainability. This book creates an understanding of science and its role in innovation and sustainable development and points out unfilled gaps in human development. It highlights opportunities for societies to overcome obstacles in development. The book is written in an easy-to-understand manner, avoiding technical jargon, and contains case studies, practical examples, and historical perspectives. It is intended for a general, especially young readership and will appeal to those curious about the nature of science and its benefits, together with its possible pitfalls.

This book is for readers with some background in science, concerning the search for drugs, starting from molecular diversity in nature or molecular wilderness. Drug molecules may be used as such, or as starting points for improved drugs obtained from the interface of chemistry and biology. In some cases, the essential molecular features for drug properties from natural molecules may be identified and modified to more effective ones. In other cases, nature provides the targets, such as essential enzymes from infectious microorganisms, from which synthetic drugs can be designed. The mechanisms of action of drugs can be discerned by studying target-drug interactions. Nature may fight back, as in cases when microorganisms become resistant to drugs, but we can again use the chemistry-biology interface to obtain drugs which overcome the resistance. The battle goes on, hopefully with victory for both humans and balance of nature. This book differs from those available on the subject of natural products and drugs derived therefrom in that it looks at the broad picture on how materials and organisms from nature affect our health and how we have combined our knowledge in chemistry, biology, and biodiversity to promote our wellness from resources in the "molecular wilderness," with caveats on sustainable utilization of these resources. It is therefore suitable, not only for readers interested in science and medicine, but also for those with interest in policy issues concerning sustainable development, environment, and issues concerning interaction of science and society in general.