All Three Episodes

Ancient Roots, Modern Medicine is a three-part series that explores this amazing convergence of ancient healing arts with modern medical practices. These documentaries, produced by the award-winning Leading Object Media Group, present fascinating insights into cultures around the globe that still practice ancient ways. The series also tracks intrepid scientists in their exploration for new cures based on ancient medicinal plants.

Visit the Ancient Roots Modern Medicine website for more information and outtake videos.

Episode 1: Jordan: The Middle East

Travel to the unforgiving Badia Desert of Jordan where Bedouin nomads still battle diseases with age-old treatments. This is a world of black-robed healers, wise herbalists called attars and mysterious plants that survive in harsh, Middle East sands. Enter Dr. Sawsan Oran whose research with the black iris, her country's national flower, is netting astonishing results. This showy bloom, used medicinally for centuries by the Bedouin, has delivered strong, anti-leukemic effects in early laboratory trials. in early laboratory trials.

Episode 2: Borderlands: USA / Mexico

Venture to the USA / Mexico border, where people have been using medicinal plants for thousands of years and continue today. It is a land of cacti, intense sun, and curanderos - those who heal with desert roots and herbs. Now, American scientists are tapping into that precious knowledge - from an innovative program at New Mexico State University to clinical tests at a cutting-edge Seattle research lab. Student researchers are discovering the power of nature's wonders, and perhaps the next

Episode 3: Curacao: The Caribbean

Journey to the exotic Caribbean island of Curacao, where healer Dinah Veeris is on a one-woman crusade to preserve her homeland's threatened, medicinal plants. She is also saving the wisdom of a vanishing generation of healers whose practices are steeped in African and Native American lore. And see how scientists are unlocking the power of the island's botanical wealth - from the divi divi tree's amazing ability to fight staph infections to Mermaid's Hair, a coastal blue-green algae with the promise of cancer cures.

For more information contact mmedia@nmsu.edu.