Tobacco kills 8 million people worldwide every year, but imagine if it could be used to make medicine. The idea isn't unheard ...

Designating the tree as “threatened” would have required ... that there would continue to be sufficient Pacific yew to provide taxol, but to interfere with the harvesting of old-growth forests.

Taxol, the anti-cancer drug, is produced naturally in the bark of Pacific Yew trees, which take 80 years to grow. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news ...