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Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 after noticing a mould had grown on some petri dishes and killed the bacteria on them except near the mould. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later discovered how to produce penicillin in large enough quantities to treat people, with the first human treated being a policeman who initially improved but later died when supplies ran out.

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17 views4 pages

Helo

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 after noticing a mould had grown on some petri dishes and killed the bacteria on them except near the mould. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later discovered how to produce penicillin in large enough quantities to treat people, with the first human treated being a policeman who initially improved but later died when supplies ran out.

Uploaded by

2200203
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Penicillin: The truth

Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic


penicillin (in 1928) after leaving some petri
dishes in a sink in his laboratory whilst he went
away on a 2 week holiday.

When he returned from holiday, he noticed that


some mould had accidentally grown on the petri
dishes, along with some bacteria called
staphylococci.

This bacteria continued to grow on the petri dish


and covered the whole area, except for the area
around the mould.

Fleming thought that the mould must have released a chemical that had stopped the
growth of the bacteria.

He discovered that an antibacterial chemical was released by the mould called


Penicillium notatum. Therefore, named this chemical “penicillin”.

Howard Florey and Ernst Chain

It wasn’t until 1940 that penicillin started to be made in large enough amounts to
treat sick people. It was 2 scientists, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain that discovered
a way to make enough of the chemical to treat people. Florey injected eight mice
with a deadly bacteria. 4 of the mice were given penicillin and 4 were not. The 4 mice
that had been given penicillin survived, the other mice died after 15 hours.
Penicillin: The truth
The first human to be treated with penicillin was Albert Alexander, a policeman who
was dying of a very serious bacterial infection. He started to improve after being
given penicillin, however supplies of the penicillin ran out and he eventually died.

The 2 scientists eventually worked out a way to make larger amounts of penicillin
and, as a result, it saved many soldiers’ lives during World War II. Fleming, Florey
and Chain all received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 for their work with
Penicillin.
Penicillin: The truth
Questions

1 Write a definition for the words underlined in the story of penicillin.


Perti dishes: A perti dish is a flat shallow dish used to culture and grow
microorganisms such as bacteria and cells.
Mould: Mould is one of the structures fungi can form. It breaks down dead
organic material.
Antibacterial: A substance that prevents the growth or spread of bacteria. It
kills bacteria or stops them from growing and causing disease.
Infection: The growth of germs in the body. The germs can be bacteria,
viruses, fungi, or other microorganisms.

2 What type of microorganism made the chemical that killed the bacteria on the
petri dish?
The type of microorganism that made the chemical that killed the bacteria on
the petri dish is fungi.

3 What is the scientific name of the mould that grew on the plate?
Penicillium notatum.

4 What happened to the mice that were not given penicillin? Why did this happen?
The mice that were not given the penicillin died after being infected by a
deadly bacteria. They were not given the antibacterial chemical caused by
penicillium notatum that stopped the bacteria form growing and spreading.

5 Who was the first person to receive penicillin and what happened to him?
The first person who got treated by penicillin was Albert Alexander who was
dying of a very serious bacterial infection. He started to get better after given
the antibacterial substance called penicillin. However, supplies of the penicillin
ran out and he eventually died.

6 Why do you think the discovery of penicillin was so important?


The discovery of penicillin was very important since it can be used to treat
bacterial infections. It is a antibacterial chemical released by a type of mold
called penicillium notatum that prevents the growth and spread of bacteria,
saving many peoples lives. Also, since many bacterial infections such as
Penicillin: The truth
Botulism and Pseudomonas infection are very deadly and cost many people
and animals (such as the rats in the story) their lives, the discovery of penicillin
was very important.

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