Today in History: Penicillin Discovered

[Callalily]

Penicillin Discovered

September 28, 1928

In the early fall of 1928, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, had just returned from vacation to a messy lab. An uncovered sample of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus had been left near an open window and opportunistic mold had taken root. But upon closer examination, Fleming realized something extraordinary was taking place — he had accidentally made one of modern medicine’s greatest discoveries. “When I woke up just after dawn on September 28, 1928, I certainly didn’t plan to revolutionize all medicine by discovering the world’s first antibiotic,” Fleming later said. “But I suppose that was exactly what I did.”

As Fleming gazed at his small Petri dish under a microscope, the mold — identified as Penicillium notatum — prevented the growth of the staphylococci bacteria. Fleming knew that if scientists harnessed this mold’s natural ability, it would become an invaluable ally in the fight against infectious disease. It took 14 years to administer the first life-saving antibiotic, after which the world was never the same. In 1945, the newly knighted Sir Alexander Fleming received the Nobel Prize for Medicine, a small accolade compared to the estimated 200 million lives saved since his surprise discovery.

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1. Kick and recommend. Yay science!!!!

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2. K&R