Malaria is caused by a tiny parasite spread by mosquitoes, and it has killed millions over the centuries. In the 1970s a Chinese scientist named Tu Youyou took an unusual approach. Instead of starting from scratch, she studied traditional herbal medicines. Her search led her to sweet wormwood, and from it she managed to extract a substance called artemisinin, which attacks the malaria parasite. Drugs based on artemisinin have helped millions of people survive and recover. In 2015 she shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Sometimes the answer we need is not something brand new. It has been there for a long time, waiting for someone humble enough to look. God’s Word is like that for a searching heart.
