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How it relates to past and future research

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How it relates to past and future research

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Alexander's work in discovering penicillin has greatly expanded the world's knowledge on medicine. "The discovery and scale up of penicillin sparked the hunt for further antibiotics and most of the antibiotics used today use the fermentation technology that is used from penicillin. There are about 100 antibiotics available today, and about half of them are descendants from penicillin. The technologies that were used and refined for penicillin now are used for many other applications such as cancer drugs, autoimmune diseases and vaccines (https://howpenicillinchangedourlives.weebly.com/)". The discovery of penicillin introduced antibiotics into the world which have revolutionized modern medicine treating life threatening and formerly incurable illnesses. Drugs in the penicillin family are Amoxicillin, Ampicillin, Bacampicillin, Carbenicillin, Cloxacillin, Dicloxacillin, Flucloxacillin, Mezlocillin, Nafcillin, Oxacillin, Penicillin G, Penicillin V, Piperacillin, Pivampicillin, Pivmecillinam, and Ticarcillin. They are all antibiotics that specifically treat certain infections; for example, amoxicillin is used to treat throat, nose, lung and ear infections. These discoveries could not have been made if it weren't for Alexander Fleming's work.

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Proving that Antiseptics did More harm than Good- "There, in a series of brilliant experiments, he established that antiseptic agents used to treat wounds and prevent infection were actually killing more soldiers than the infections were...Fleming demonstrated that antiseptic agents were only useful in treating superficial wounds, but were harmful when applied to deep wounds (famousscientists.org)". This greatly benefited society because before this discovery, people were using antiseptics for all their wounds and his work showed that antiseptics were killing more people than the actual infections were. Showing the harm of antiseptics made people less inclined to use it for deep wounds, causing less deaths, especially during the war.
Discovering lysozyme- "He named his newly discovered enzyme lysozyme. The effect of lysozyme was to destroy certain types of microbe, rendering them harmless to people...It gives us natural immunity to a number of diseases...Today, lysozyme is used as a food and wine preservative. It is naturally present in especially large concentrations in egg-whites, offering protection against infection to chicks. It is also used in medicines, particularly in Asia, where it is used in treatments for head colds, athlete’s foot and throat infections.(famousscientists.org)". Although lysozyme can't be used for treating serious infections like penicillin can, it was an advancement in discovering the natural immunities in our bodies. It is used as a preservative, and medicine for minor ailments such as head colds.

Discovering Penicillium notatum and Creating Penicillin- "... penicillin killed a variety of bacteria which were then the scourge of humanity, including those responsible for scarlet fever, pneumonia, meningitis and diphtheria. Furthermore, penicillin was non-toxic and it did not attack white blood cells...Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, whose use has saved untold millions of lives (famousscientists.org)." This shows penicillin's huge impact on society because it treated many fatal infections that would often lead to death. Saved countless lives and was a huge step forward in the medical field as medicine similar to penicillin could be discovered and created after it.
Penicillin in World War II: "It is thought that if the allies had not invented and mass-produced penicillin by D-Day, they may not have won the war. The Germans used predominantly sulfonamides or iodine to cure their diseases and infections, however it was an inferior product to penicillin.  All of a sudden, the allies could patch up a soldier with a simple infection and he would be ready to fight again in a few weeks. The germans however still used antiseptics like iodine or sulphonamides, and if that didn’t work the soldier would either die or loose a limb. By D-Day, enough penicillin had been produced to use on all 40,000 soldiers (https://howpenicillinchangedourlives.weebly.com/)". Penicillin was a huge advantage for the Allies in World War II as it treated the infections quicker and with less fatal side affects; such as death or loss of limbs like the Germans. Because of this, it is believed that Penicillin was a factor in the Allies' victory.
Summary: Alexander Fleming's research and discoveries of lysozyme, penicillium notatum, the harm of antiseptics, and the creation of the antibiotic Penicillin have saved countless lives and further advanced the knowledge of bacteria and medicine.

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bacteriology: the study of bacteria
bacteria: microscopic single-celled organisms
antiseptic: antimicrobial substances applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection
immunity:  the ability of an organism to resist a particular infection or toxin by the action of specific antibodies or sensitized white blood cells
inoculation: immunization or vaccine
lysozyme: an antiseptic enzyme found in tears, mucus, egg whites and certain plants that is destructive to bacteria
enzyme: any of various proteins, as pepsin, originating from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical changes in organic substances by catalytic action
Penicillium notatum: a fungi that produced penicillin
antibiotic: a group of chemical substances produced by microorganisms and fungi used to stop or kill bacteria and treat infectious diseases
Penicillin: an antibiotic used to kill or stop bacteria
rector: head of certain universities, colleges or schools

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- Proving the antiseptics were harmful from 1901-1918
- discovered lysozyme in 1921
- discovered Penicillium notatum in 1928
-contributed to creating the antibiotic Penicillin, first used in 1942

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Born on August 6, 1881 in Lochfield, Scotland, Alexander Fleming was the bacteriologist who revolutionized modern medicine with the discovery of penicillin. Fleming began studying medicine at the St. Mary's Hospital Medical School at the University of London in 1901 and graduated at the top of his classes. Initially, Fleming had intended to become a surgeon but later decided to switch to the new field of bacteriology. During his time serving as a bacteriologist in World War I, he studied wound infections and discovered that the antiseptics used during that time had more harmful effects than helpful ones. Those antiseptics were unable to kill bacteria and it weakened the body's immunity against bacteria, by killing white blood cells. Fleming believed that the best way to heal the wounds was to just keep it dry and clean and allow the body to naturally heal instead but his idea was largely ignored. In 1918, after the war, Fleming returned to St. Mary's as the assistant director of the Inoculation (immunization, vaccine) Department. Fleming made his first great discovery in November of 1921, while suffering from a cold. He accidentally discovered lysozyme, an antiseptic enzyme found in bodily fluids, while experimenting with bacteria and mucus from his nose. He'd thought the mucus would affect the growth of bacteria but it ended killing it; this discovery greatly expanded the world's knowledge on the human immune system. In 1928Fleming discovered a mold called Penicillium notatum which had the ability to kill bacteria; this became one of the first antibiotic discovered. He then recruited two other researchers to convert Penicillium notatum into a medicinal form, called Penicillin. It was the University of Oxford scientists, led by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain that discovered a way to turn Penicillium notatum into a drug that could be taken topically. Penicillin transformed the infection control field and greatly improved battlefield medicine. In 1945, Fleming, Florey and Chain were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine but because Fleming was accredited to most for Penicillin, their relationship took a turn for the worst. Fleming became the head of the Inoculation Department in 1946, succeeding Almroth Edward Wright. The Department was renamed to the Wright-Fleming Institute, after the two heads respectively. Fleming served in almost every single medical or scientific society in the world, was rector of Edinburgh University, and received many awards and honors for his work. He died on March 11, 1955 of a heart attack in his London home.
*Note: bolded words' definition can be found in the vocabulary section

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https://www.nobelprize.org/
https://www.biography.com/people/alexander-fleming-9296894
http://www.dictionary.com/
https://www.famousscientists.org/alexander-fleming/
https://howpenicillinchangedourlives.weebly.com/
http://www.wpro.who.int/china/mediacentre/releases/2015/20151119/en/
http://www.emedexpert.com/lists/antibiotics.shtml#7

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"for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases"

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Name: Alexander Fleming
Award Received: Physiology and Medicine
Year Received: 1945
Co-Recipients: Ernst Boris Chain and Howard Walter Florey