You're listening to TED Talks Daily. I'm your host, Elise Hew. Mother Nature, it's the most common source of our medicines, medicines that heal us, reduce pain, and save lives. But one part of the planet is vastly under-explored for its medicinal possibilities.

In his talk from TEDx Galway in 2021,

scientific diver Sam Afflews makes a compelling case for finding the medicines of the future in the oceans.

Who here, a year or two ago,

thought that they'd be living through a global pandemic,

a new virus that spread across the world and killed millions.

One of the scariest things about this virus is that when it broke out,

we are next to no cures or treatments to fight against COVID-19.

But viruses, new and old, aren't our only worries.

From infectious bacteria that have become immune to our antibiotics

to increase rates of cancers,

humanity is struggling to find solutions to our ever-evolving medical needs.

To find our medicines of the future,

we're turning to Mother Nature for help. My name is Sam Affelous, and I'm an underwater alchemist.

But instead of turning lead to gold, I'm turning Ireland's hidden treasure, deep-sea coral reefs,

into our medicines of the future.

For thousands of years, we have turned to natural remedies made from the plants and

animals that surround us to cure us of our ailments. Put your hand up if when you have a cold

or a cough, use natural treatments like honey or ginger to help relieve your symptoms.

Hot whiskeys?

The reason why these natural remedies work is they rely on molecules called specialised metabolites

that are mainly produced by organisms that can't move, like plants and mushrooms,

...