High-throughput screening

So, you know how when you're at the grocery store and you go through the checkout, the cashier scans each item's barcode so they can quickly and easily see what it costs?

Well, scientists do something kind of similar when they're working on finding new medicines to help people. They have lots and lots of little test tubes with different chemicals in them, just like you might have lots of different kinds of food in your grocery cart. But instead of using a barcode scanner, they use a special machine that can test lots of tubes all at once.

This machine is called a high-throughput screener, and it lets scientists quickly test many different chemicals all at the same time. They can see which chemicals might be the most effective at treating different diseases. It's like having a bunch of cashiers scanning all your groceries at the same time!

Once the scientist has found a chemical that looks promising, they can test it more closely to see if it might make a good medicine. And if it does, it could go on to become a real medicine that can help people feel better!