EPISODE · Jul 29, 2025 · 44 MIN
How animals use natural medicine to heal themselves
from Big Ideas · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms and sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites. Many animals use medicine to treat themselves — something that for a long time has been thought to be the exclusive domain of humans. Now scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs.Presented at the Free Library of PhiladelphiaListen to Big Ideas: SpeakerJaap de RoodeSamuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Biology at Emory UniversityAuthor of Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves
What this episode covers
Meet apes that swallow leaves to dislodge worms and sparrows that use cigarette butts to repel parasites. Many animals use medicine to treat themselves — something that for a long time has been thought to be the exclusive domain of humans. Now scientists are turning to the medical knowledge of the animal kingdom to improve agriculture, create better lives for our pets, and develop new pharmaceutical drugs. Presented at the Free Library of Philadelphia Listen to Big Ideas: Insects — nature's ultimate superheroes Speaker Jaap de Roode Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Biology at Emory University Author of Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes, and Other Animals Heal Themselves
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How animals use natural medicine to heal themselves
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