2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Entry of the antimalarial drug precursor semi-synthetic artemisinin into industrial production is the first major milestone for the application of synthetic biology. In this Review, Paddon and Keasling discuss the metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches that were used to engineerEscherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiaeto synthesize a precursor of artemisinin, which should aid the development of other pharmaceutical products.

Long ignored by pharmaceutical companies and global health agencies alike, 'neglected tropical diseases' devastate people in the poorest parts of the world. But they're finally getting the attention they deserve, reports Apoorva Mandavilli.

In this Science and Society article, Carl Nathan reviews historical collaborations between industry and academic instiutions that developed antimicrobials, and discusses similar strategies that have recently emerged to tackle the crisis of antimicrobial resistance.

The screening of natural products for lead molecules is an attractive strategy, as most natural products fall within biologically relevant chemical space. In this Review, Harvey, Edrada-Ebel and Quinn discuss how advanced screening, metabolomics and metagenomics approaches can be used in the identification, validation and production of naturally sourced compounds, and highlight examples of naturally derived antimicrobials and inhibitors of protein–protein interactions.