**5. Cancer**

are discovered from microorganism that lives in natural environments, this chemical can be

Now, the new drugs and innovative procedures are usually able to keep people alive for a long time with better conditions that would have previously been rapidly fatal, such as can‐ cer and end-stage heart, liver, lung, kidney, and neurologic diseases. As a result, most peo‐ ple in modern countries die from long-term chronic conditions that are characterized by a

According with World Health Organization (WHO) of "*57 million global deaths in the last re‐ port in 2008, 36 million (63%), were due to no communicable diseases (NCDs). The four main NCDs reported are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic lung diseases. The burden of these diseases is rising disproportionately among lower income countries and populations. In 2008, nearly 80% of no communicable disease deaths -- 29 million -- occurred in low- and middleincome countries with about 29% of deaths occurring before the age of 60 in these countries. The leading causes of NCD deaths in 2008 were cardiovascular diseases (17 million deaths, or 48% of all NCD deaths), cancers (7.6 million, or 21% of all NCD deaths), and respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (4.2 million). Diabetes caused another 1.3 mil‐ lion deaths*" [3]. As we can see, in the WHO's statistic data, there are less number of people that die with microbial infection, it can be said to thanks to the constant development of

The discovery of new bioactive compounds from microorganism present in the ambient, needs the previously determination of diversity, because by knowing the kind of microbes that live in a certain site, we can be able to design strategies and culture methods adapted for the different types of microorganism present in nature [4]. We can be able to screen chemical bioactivity only if we can culture the microorganism, because we need the microbi‐ al biomass to obtain the compounds. To culture microorganism from natural sources is not an easy topics, because, when we try to cultivate bacteria or fungi from substrates and con‐ ditions that are in constant change, and incubate them in a static temperature and nutrients;

Some Bacteria can innately be resistant to one or more types of antimicrobial compounds and other can be capable of acquired. In actuality, it is well know the factors that provoke mutations in bacteria that create stronger species that are able to survive to the effects of cur‐ rents drugs. Examples of these factors are the unnecessary use of antibiotics by humans, the use in animal feeds in low doses, availability over-the-counter in many countries, misuse by health professionals, patient failure to follow prescribed treatment, antibiotic use in agricul‐

It can be describe several strategies of antibiotics resistance in different bacterial genera. Pathogens bacteria that have become resistant to the current antibiotic drug are an increas‐

many microbes don't resist this transformation of circumstances and die.

ture, aquaria and family pets, eating raw or undercooked foods.

prolonged period of distressing symptoms and progressive loss of function.

exploited industrially and generate more jobs.

pharmaceutical drugs.

310 Drug Discovery

**3. Drug resistance bacteria**

Cancer is an illness that comprises more than hundred types. This disease appears when old cells are not replaced by new cells and are accumulated in a mass of tissue known as tumor" [4]. To cite some statistics data; cancer is responsible for one of every four deaths in the United States. It's second only after heart disease as a cause of death in this country. About 1.2 million Ameri‐ cans were diagnosed with cancer in 1998. Of that number, more than 500,000 are expected to die of this disease. Cancer can attack anyone, but the chances of getting the disease increase with age. The most common forms of cancer are skin, lung, colon, breast and prostate cancer. Cancer is a disorder that affects the genes. There were an estimated 12.7 million cancer cases around the world in 2008, of these 6.6 million cases were in men and 6.0 million in women. This number is ex‐ pected to increase to 21 million by 2030. Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide con‐ tributing nearly 13% of the total number of new cases diagnosed in 2008. Breast cancer (women only) is the second most common cancer with nearly 1.4 million new cases in 2008 and colorectal cancer (Figure 1) is the third most common cancer with over 1.2 million new cases in 2008 [8].

chanical movement. Plants, soil, water, and animals (including humans) all serve as sources

Air, Water and Soil: Resources for Drug Discovery

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/52659

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Microorganisms are frequently considered passive habitants of the air, dispersing via air‐ borne dust particles (Figure 2). However, latest studies suggest that many airborne microor‐ ganisms are metabolically active, even up to altitudes of 20,000 m. Also, it has been

of bioaerosols and are present in most places where any of these sources live.

suggested, that some airborne microbes may modify atmospheric conditions [9].

**Figure 2.** Fungal strains from air samples in Valle de las Palmas, Mexico.

**Figure 1.** Cancer Colorectal HCT-116 cell culture in McCoy medium at 40 X amplification
