Tag: Alexander Fleming
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Albert Alexander: Unsung hero of penicillin
JMS PearceHull, England Hartnup disease, Christmas disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease are instances of the rare naming of diseases after the patients so afflicted. There are other medical discoveries, disorders, or treatments in which the crucial part played by the patient is unattributed. One example relates to the early days of penicillin. The story of…
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Propagating penicillin in Peoria: From discovery to mass production
Julius BonelloMichael NeffZoe DemkoPeoria, Illinois, United States One of the greatest medical achievements of the twenty-first century was the creation of penicillin. The road to this great achievement began almost 300 years ago when Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), a draper by trade who had no science background, wished to assess the quality of his threads.…
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Recognition at last
Jayant RadhakrishnanDarien, Illinois, United States “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” — William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream The adage “out of sight, out of mind” appears to have been coined for microbes. We only think about them when they cause havoc, as in the current pandemic. Lately the situation seems to be…
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Sir Alexander Fleming: A microbiologist at work and play
Jayant RadhakrishnanDarien, Illinois, United States Sir Alexander Fleming had many talents. His discoveries of lysozyme in 1923 and in 1928 the antibiotic effect of the fungus Penicillium notatum are well known.1 Less well known is that he was a skilled marksman and a member of the London Scottish Regiment during World War I. There is…
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St. Mary’s Hospital, birthplace of penicillin
Anabelle S. SlingerlandLeiden, NetherlandsKevin BrownLondon, England On April 23, 2018, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge left the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London with their new baby boy. Fans of the Royals, who had been camping outside St. Mary’s for weeks, and the crowds and photographers who had gathered for the…
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Chance in the origins of antibiotics
William KingstonDublin, Ireland The discovery of antibiotics has been described as the “domestication of microorganisms” and ranks in importance with the domestication of animals as part of settled agriculture about 10,000 years ago. It depends upon antagonism between bacteria, which had been noticed as early as 1874, and Pasteur commented then that if we could…
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Looking back 175 years
Biji T. KurienOklahoma, USA It was a time when surgery was performed in the raw. Obviously a horrendous nightmare for both patient and surgeon, it was performed only in do-or-die situations. The odor of pus in various stages of decomposition pervaded hospitals. Deaths from various diseases and surgery were common. Treatment of ailments with mercury…