The first statin was discovered in 1972 by two Japanese scientists, Akira Endo and Masao Kuroda. They reasoned that a microorganism's ability to make materials that block the synthesis of cholesterol would help it suppress the growth of other competing organisms that depend on this synthesis for growth. Endo and Kuroda searched for a natural material with this property in hopes that it could be used to lower cholesterol in humans. Remarkably, they succeeded in finding a material that worked exactly as predicted: by lowering cholesterol, it helped prevent heart disease. Things don't always work out so neatly: Another medication with potent cholesterol-lowering effects quickly disappeared from the market after researchers discovered that it lowered cholesterol in the blood by depositing it on the lining of the arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack.