Penicillin
Once upon a time, there was a man named Alexander Fleming who lived in London, England. He was a very smart man and studied tiny things called germs. Germs can make you sick if they get inside your body. Alexander spent a lot of time in his laboratory doing experiments to learn more about germs.
One day, in September 1928, Alexander was working in his laboratory with some bacteria called staphylococci. He left one of the laboratory plates containing the bacteria open beside a window. Little did he know that this little mistake would change the world forever.
Later, when Alexander returned to the plate, he noticed that some mold had blown in through the open window and had contaminated the bacteria. Most people would have thrown the experiment away because it was “spoiled,” but Alexander didn’t give up. Instead, he looked closer and noticed something very special. He saw that the mold was actually killing the deadly staphylococci bacteria! This was a huge discovery because it meant that the mold could be used to make a medicine that could kill harmful germs.
Alexander’s discovery was called penicillin. It was a lifesaving drug that could cure infections caused by germs. Other researchers at Oxford University, like Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, helped to develop penicillin into the medicine we know today. They worked very hard to make sure that penicillin could be used to help people all over the world.
In 1945, Alexander, Howard, and Ernst were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for their amazing discovery. Thanks to their hard work, doctors in the United States write over 80 million prescriptions for penicillin each year! This medicine has saved millions of lives and helped prevent people from getting sick.
So, next time you get a cut or a cold, remember Alexander Fleming and his amazing discovery. He showed us that even the tiniest things in the world can make a big difference.
