Too many of us, too often, think of pain as something that needs to be eliminated, at any cost. But we — doctors, patients, drug makers, and all of us — can be part of a much-needed shift that questions this attitude, says bioethicist Travis Rieder.

From aspirin to anticoagulants, penicillin to cancer treatments, some of our most important human medicines come from plants. But extracting the medicinal compounds from plants can be complex, costly and unreliable. Which is why scientists are trying to brew them instead. Inside the hunt to brew an opioid painkiller from common ingredients such as sugar and yeast.