Question

9
vinblastine is a medicine that is used to treat certain kinds of cancer. it is made from compounds extracted from the leaves of madagascar periwinkle plants. a lot of plants are needed to make a small amount of vinblastine.
scientists want to find a way to make vinblastine cheaper and more easily available. which of the following are they most likely doing to try to accomplish this?
a. using chemical reactions to convert vinblastine to other chemicals
b. researching other medicines that could be used to treat cancer
c. harvesting the leaves from all madagascar periwinkle plants
d. looking for ways to produce vinblastine from other resources

Explanation:

The problem states that vinblastine is costly and scarce because it requires many Madagascar periwinkle plants to produce a small amount. To make it cheaper and more available, scientists would target the source limitation. Option A converts vinblastine to other chemicals (not helpful for availability). Option B researches alternative medicines (does not address vinblastine's production). Option C harvests all plants (unsustainable and would deplete the source). Option D looks for other production resources, directly solving the scarcity issue by reducing reliance on the limited plant source.

Answer:

D. looking for ways to produce vinblastine from other resources