The air we breathe is chock -
full of organic compounds, tiny liquid or solid particles that come from hundreds of sources including trees, volcanoes, cars, trucks and wood fires.
Once a
compound from the NCI bank shows promise, larger quantities
of the drug are synthesized in the laboratory - a task that is relatively easy for Simon, who is trained as an
organic chemist and has amassed a lab
full of elaborate glassware and vials filled with mysterious powders.