Public library book sales. They often have like-new books that people have donated, but that didn't fit on their shelves; or books retired from the shelves. Prices are generally reasonable because the primary goal is to get the books moved and raise donations for the library.

Guess it's worth a try. Just gather up a bunch of plants, throw the kitchen sink at it, and see what works.

Odds are against it getting from this early cell-culture thing to an actual pharmaceutical. But if a lot of people are testing a lot of different substances, you never know... in the end you might end up with a useful medication.

At least they remembered to control for multiple comparisons.

I think it's just because they don't like the idea of either using a real place, or making up a name. So the characters' letters are "redacted for privacy", removing some place names and some people's names too, as though they were actually written by the characters and published.