Smart Animal Crackers: Paclitaxel Mystery Cache
Smart Animal Crackers: Paclitaxel
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
The cache is not on the coords listed above. You must answer the questions about the anticancer drug from natural product to get to the real coords.
Before the development of chemistry as a science, drugs that had been used were either natural organic products or inorganic materials. Over 40 years ago, the NCI initiated a program to explore natural sources for potential new anticancer agents.The discovery of one of the most exciting new drugs in recent history, paclitaxel (taxol), was a direct result of this effort. Although it took 15 years for the true benefit of paclitaxel to be fully realized, it was approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer in 1992 and for breast cancer in 1993, and is a rare example of the clinical use of the unaltered plant derived natural product.
Happy caching!
N 42 ab.cde W 071 vw.xyz
a= number of acetyl group
b= number of phenyl group times 2
c= number of rings
d= number of oxygen divided by 2
e= number of chiral center minus 6
v= number of nitrile group plus 2
w= number of nitrile group
x= number of hydroxy group
y= number of alkene group times 2
z= number of alkyne group plus 7
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1, Sebz gur ovt qbhoyr cvar gerr, jnyx nobhg 12 cnprf gbjneq abegu abegu jrfg.
2, N tebhc bs fznyy gerrf