Sea sponges happened to be a gold mine for new and interesting sterols, and Bergmann intended to learn all he could from them.īut this new sponge, now known as Tectitethya crypta, was different. In the chemistry world during the 1940s, sterols, like cholesterol, were still largely an unknown. They are also a treasure trove of biochemical compounds.Īfter collecting a new species of sea sponge off of Elliot Key in 1945, Bergmann, an organic chemist, began the search for his true passion-new types of the fat molecules called sterols. But, in fact, they are likely one of the oldest lineages of animals on the planet. An amorphous and unmoving blob of porous tissue on the seafloor, it is easy to assume they aren’t even an animal. But an unassuming trip to the Florida Keys to collect sea sponges would prove to be a crucial point in a search for new medicines. Werner Bergmann did not mean to discover a lifesaving drug.
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