Accident or design?
The well known story of Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin
has the whole thing a lucky accident - but was it really like that?
Of course we shall never know, but there are a number of things which
might suggest that finding penicillin was not just an accident - that
it happened to someone who was looking for exactly what he found!
- As early as 1920, Fleming was actually searching for substances
which would destroy bacteria. This was influenced by his war time
experience. During the First World War, Fleming had witnessed the
deaths of many soldiers that died not from the wounds that were received
during combat, but from septicemia or in layman's term, blood poisoning
following successful operations on those wounds.
- It was only recently that surgeons had adopted Lister's concept
of antiseptic surgery and Fleming argued that the antiseptics also
had an adverse effect on the patient. So without a doubt Fleming was
searching for antibacterial agents which didn't harm the patient when
he discovered penicillin.
- In 1922, Fleming discovered lysozyme, enzymes present in biological
substances as varied as egg whites, tears and mucus, that cause bacteria
to lyse or burst. The first biological substance that he tested was
mucous from his nose (he was sick with a cold at the time). This would
later be a major discovery, but at that time, lysozymes were seen
as interesting, but not with a great deal of applications since only
the less virulent bacteria would respond to these enzymes.
- His natural untidiness and rather messy way of working meant that
he was prone to getting moulds and other microorganisms growing on
his plates - it wasn't a one-off chance.
- A paper had been published several years earlier by Andre Gratia
and Sara Dath on the effect of Penicillin mould on bacterial growth.
Had Fleming read it? Did it trigger a memory when he saw his own plates?
Or did he simply see what he was looking for - a substance which killed
bacteria?
In the end, it doesn't really matter whether Fleming trying to find
something like penicillin or stumbled on it completely unsuspecting.
What is important is that this lifesaving drug was discovered and made
available to everyone!
The germ theory of disease
Finding out about Fleming
Florey, Chain and large-scale production
The unsung heroes
Penicillin - the true story?
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