Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Sir Alexander Fleming

  • Serendipity in science and medicine

    JMS Pearce Hull, England, United Kingdom   Photo by Tyler Merbler on Flickr. CC BY 2.0. The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not “Eureka!”, but “That’s funny…” – Isaac Asimov   Horace Walpole (son of the first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole) coined the word…

  • Sir Alexander Fleming: A microbiologist at work and play

    Jayant Radhakrishnan Darien, Illinois, United States   “Seemingly Simple Elegance” by Arwa Hadid. American Society for Microbiology Agar Art 2019 Professional. Undergraduate MLS student, Oakland University, Rochester Hills, MI, United States i Sir Alexander Fleming had many talents. His discoveries of lysozyme in 1923 and in 1928 the antibiotic effect of the fungus Penicillium notatum are…

  • Penicillin’s unique discovery

    Emmanuel Ugokwe Nigeria Southeast & South South   Sir Alexander Fleming, (1881–1955) Scottish-born Alexander Fleming spent almost his entire life as a doctor in London, studying the problems of infection and the use of antiseptics. In 1922 he made a remarkable observation. He took a test tube containing water mixed with inoffensive bacteria that turned…