The blogs are kindly sponsored by The Energy Brokers
The diverse plants and animals found in the rainforest have a multitude of uses for people, including for food, clothing, building materials, and medicines.
Most people who have heard of curare know it as an arrow poison of indigenous people in South America. It is derived from woody vines found in the rainforest. What is less well known, is that the curare compound D-Tubocurarine has been used as a muscle relaxant in surgery since the 1940s. More recently, scientists have synthesised curare-like agents, such as pancuronium, which have a similar pharmaceutical function but fewer side effects. Pancuronium is one of a number of medicines to have been developed as a result of rainforest research.
Facts on the diverse plant and animal species found in the rainforest (its biodiversity):
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At least 6 million different species live in the world’s rainforests
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A single hectare of tropical rainforest may contain more than 480 species
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99% of rainforest species have still to be studied by science
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137 species of plants, animals and insects become extinct every day in the rainforest.
This week’s Issues information has been taken from the Prince’s Rainforest Project’s free booklet on rainforests: “The Burning Issue
” - see here.








I look forward to your emails and often wonder how you
are managing to survive your amazing journey. Also, you are providing much needed information on the destruction of the rainforest’s plants, animals, trees and its effects on the world.
Thank you for all you are contributing to us.
Sending all the best for you, each day.
Sandra
Oh my gosh, I checked your blog today like usual, read the title, and thought something bad happened and you had to have surgery. Scary!
Ed my friend,
Congrats on keeping alive so far on this trip.When you get to Manaus give me a call so we can have a few beers together. My mobile is 8114 7641
Hi,I came across an article about your amazing adventure. Its inspiring, best of luck, I hope you will write a book!
Dear Ed and Cho
We have been following your trip. We are putting on a rainforest exhibition.
Are you being sponsored?
What inspired you in the first place?
What is the longest amount of time you have not eaten for?
Any favourite creatures?
How do you communicate with the tribes?
To all of Class 5/6 w,
Thanks for the message. We are being sponsored by lots of people now! Our main sponsors had some problems with their clients not paying them - so they’ve not been able to pay for a while.
Inspiration came from having been lucky enough to lead expeditions for the former charity Trekforce. Bruce Parry used to work with them too. It made me fall in love with the jungle and want to help preserve it. It also made me want to exploer more of it.
The longest time Cho and I have gone without any food is only about 20 hours. We’ve always found something. Palm hearts, Brazil nuts, fish or seasonal fruits. Mostly we don’t run out of food though as we try and plan to carry enough to tske us to the next jungle town.
I would LOVE to see a jaguar. In Guyana with the BBC we filmed one but I was not there. Cho and I see tracks all the time but they are very secretive beasts. Locals think we will be eaten by jaguars but Cho and I know hat they are more scared of us than we are of them.
We communicate with the tribes in Portuguese. I speak English, Spanish and bad Portuguese! In Peru we learned a little Quechua in the mountains and Asganinka in the jungle but there are so many dialects that basically you have to use Spanish in Peru and Colombia and Portuguese in Brazil.
Good luck with your expedition!
Ed x
articulo muy impactante me interesaria que escribieran mas articulos asi volumen de semen