Stuff You Missed In History Class

The development of penicillin started – but definitely did not end – with the chance discovery of some mold in a petri dish. There is so much more to the story. Research: Bernard, Diane. “How a miracle drug changed the fight against infection during World War II.” Washington Post. 7/11/2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/07/11/penicillin-coronavirus-florey-wwii-infection/ British Library. “Inventor(s) of the month, Alexander Fleming and the story of Penicillin.” 7/28/2021. https://blogs.bl.uk/business/2021/07/inventors-of-the-month-alexander-fleming.html Chain, E. et al. “Penicillin as a Chemotherapeutic Agent.” The Lancet. Vol. 236, Issue 6104. 8/24/1940. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(01)08728-1 Fleming A. On the Antibacterial Action of Cultures of a Penicillium, with Special Reference to their Use in the Isolation of B. influenzæ. Br J Exp Pathol. 1929 Jun;10(3):226–36. PMCID: PMC2048009. Gaynes, Robert. “The Discovery of Penicillin—New Insights After More Than 75 Years of Clinical Use.”