Species Loss Represents a Dark, Mysterious Debt

\What does species loss cost us? In other words, who cares if another bug or frog is wiped out? The short answer: we have no idea. Until we've had a chance to fully study creatures and their unique adaptations, we'll never know whether or not they hold answers to some of the medical problems facing human beings. This according to a report at the BBC.

In one example, an Australian frog that "raised their young in the females' stomachs" was wiped out in the early eighties. If we had spared the species, we may have learned how the youngsters avoided being digested. Perhaps, such an understanding "could have lead to new ways of preventing and treating stomach ulcers in humans."

Another example, bears. By studying how they maintain bone density during periods of hibernation, we may find new ways to fight osteoporosis.

Isn't it alarming that this is news? Why does this need to be explained to people in a newspaper?

One expert told the BBC, "Societies depend on nature for treating diseases; health systems over human history have their foundation on animal and planet products that are used for treatment."