Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first pharmacology department was established by Rudolf Buchheim at the University of Tartu in 1847. This event marked the transition of the field from herbalism to a rigorous biomedical science based on scientific experimentation.
Pharmacokinetics describes the journey of a drug through the human system including liberation, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Pharmacodynamics focuses on how the drug interacts with the body's biological machinery by binding to specific cell receptors to produce a response.
The process of bringing a new drug from the laboratory to the pharmacy shelf can take a decade or more and cost over one billion US dollars. Only one out of every 5000 potential new medicines ever reaches the open market after extensive animal and human testing.
The word pharmacology originates from the ancient Greek term pharmakon which meant both drug and poison. In ancient Greece the concept of pharmakon was so deeply tied to ritual sacrifice that it referred to the scapegoat or the human victim cast out to cleanse a community of its sins.
Modern pharmacology includes sub-disciplines such as neuropharmacology which studies the effects of drugs in the central and peripheral nervous systems and psychopharmacology which studies drugs that affect the psyche and behavior. Other areas include pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics, pharmacometabolomics, and pharmacomicrobiomics.
Photopharmacology is an emerging approach where drugs are activated and deactivated with light to change their shape and chemical properties. This method allows for control over when and where drugs are active in a reversible manner to prevent side effects and environmental pollution.