Finding new ways to treat illness is big business. It takes thousands of tests and millions of $ to figure out if a compound is effective.
Then, researchers must discover whether there are any side effects. If there are, how bad are they? Will a person get back aches, grow hair in their ears, or experience life threatening side effects (i.e., the treatment is worse than the illness/disease)?
In April, I will be looking at clinical trials and drug discovery. there is a lot of information about this critical tool in the health improvement arsenal. To get started, check out the Nature articles dealing with this subject.