Antibiotics – a standard in modern medicine. Without means of directly attacking bacteria and parasites harmful for the human body humanity would be in a bind. Antibiotics have changed the way we treat dangerous diseases; they have almost completely eradicated some illnesses in the developed world – such as tuberculosis. Discover of penicillin ushered in a new era in medicine – it became standard treatment for pneumonia, rheumatic fever, staph infection, gonorrhea. It's also one of the most known accidental discoveries of our time.
Alexander Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital in London found out that penicillin was effective at treating microbial infections, essentially, due to poorly managed workplace. His work 'On the Antibacterial Action of Cultures of a Penicillium, with Special Reference to Their Use in the Isolation of B. influenzae', published in 1929 is believed to be the first report on using penicillin, or rather, the Penicillium fungi as medicine.
While working with staphylococcus variants a number of culture-plates were set aside on the laboratory bench and examined from time to time. In the examinations these plates were necessarily exposed to the air and they became contaminated with various micro-organisms. It was noticed that around a large colony of a contaminating mould the staphylococcus colonies became transparent and were obviously undergoing lysis. Subcultures of this mould were made and experiments conducted with a view to ascertaining something of the properties of the bacteriolytic substance which had evidently been formed in the mould culture and which had diffused into the surrounding medium. It was found that broth in which the mould had been grown at room temperature for one or two weeks had acquired marked inhibitory, bacteriocidal and bacteriolytic properties to many of the more common pathogenic bacteria.
In layman's terms, Professor Fleming discovered that a simple mold – the bane of groceries – could be used to kill of bacteria. However, he did not believe it to be a true breakthrough – the professor managed to identify the strain of mold, called the antibacterial agent penicillin, but could not produce a drug effective enough to be used on humans. His scientific discovery largely went unnoticed until 1940.
The research picked up at Oxford University. Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and colleagues at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology managed to transform penicillin from an interesting lab sample into a life-saving drug. Scientists were able to produce a drug that kept its antibacterial power for longer than a few days – thankfully, it was also safe for human consumption.
After the wonder-drug received the recognition it deserved, it was quickly picked up for mass production. Interesting fact – after a worldwide search for the best strain of the fungi to use by allied troops in the World War II, in 1943, a moldy cantaloupe from Illinois was found to contain the best and highest-quality penicillin. I wonder how many moldy foods that committee had to go through.
Professor Fleming was later quoted as saying:
“I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to the young laboratory worker, it would be this—never neglect an extraordinary appearance or happening. It may be—usually is, in fact—a false alarm that leads to nothing, but may on the other hand be the clue provided by fate to lead you to some important advance.”
So there you have it. Life is full of accidents, both good and bad – but it's up to us to make something out of them.
