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How Did Alexander Fleming Contribute To The Discovery Of Penicillin

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When one hears the term wonder drug, most people would not realize it refers to the first antibiotic developed, penicillin. Penicillin began with Alexander Fleming, and has since caused the development of related antibiotics that have all had a major impact in modern day medicine. Alexander Fleming was one of the most influential individuals associated with the discovery of the pharmaceutical penicillin. Alexander Fleming was born on August 6th, 1881, in a farmhouse in remote Scotland (Mulcahy). When he was thirteen, Fleming left his native country to live with his brother in London. He studied at the University of Westminster, in the applied science school of Regent Street Polytechnic (“Alexander Fleming” Scientists). Alexander worked as a clerk in a shipping …show more content…

A type of mold, Penicillium notatum, secreted a substance, penicillin, which obstructed the bacterial growth (“Discovery and Development of Penicillin). After Fleming identified that penicillin could kill bacteria, he started experimenting with mold to discover the extent of its properties. Fleming observed that although it took roughly four hours to counteract the infection, the body cleansed penicillin from the blood stream within two hours (Mulcahy). Fleming published his discoveries, but again was dismissed by other scholars. Eventually he halted his research on manufacturing penicillin as an antibiotic when several from the team of chemists assisting him relocated (“Fleming Discovers Penicillin”). Penicillin was commercially developed during World War II when two Oxford chemists came across Fleming’s publishing about penicillin. They were able to purify penicillin and establish mass production of the antibiotic (Mulcahy). Although Alexander Fleming was the pioneer who discovered penicillin, penicillin has been the foundation of discovery for other similar

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The war also affected the mass production of penicillin. The military had no other way of treating infection quickly or any other wounds so it was vital for penicillin to be abundant. All in all this time was one of the most influential time during technology and all other advancements in the current time. Could imagine life without the things we have today? Bird, Kai, and Martin J. Sherwin. "

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While looking through petri dishes containing “colonies” of a bacteria that caused boils, sore throats and abscesses, Alexander Fleming found that one petri dish had a mold growth that appeared to hinder bacterial growth (“Discovery and Development of Penicillin”). Fleming established that this mold had the ability to eliminate harmful bacteria, including the bacteria that he was originally researching, before tasking his assistants with isolating “pure penicillin” (“Discovery and Development of Penicillin”). Rickets, a disease that softens the bones in children due to vitamin D deficiency, was much more prominent back then compared to modern times. This is due to the discovery of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is historic for its ability to prevent Rickets which had been around for hundred of years

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Moreover, Penicillin, a group of antibiotics, was discovered during this time, specifically in the 1928s by Alexander Fleming (ACS, 2023). Although the first dose of penicillin was used in 1941 by Albert Alexander, it was still a life-changing discovery as it changed the lives of many - even after the period of 1918s1939s (Wood, 2010). The discovery of penicillin allowed a lot of life-threatening diseases to be treated, such as bronchitis, tonsillitis, and pneumonia. Penicillin is known to save millions of lives. Indeed, in just World War Two, the death rate because of bacterial pneumonia would go from 18% to 1%, because of the invention of penicillin.

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“World War II also saw advances in medical technology. Penicillin was not invented during the war, but it was first mass produced during the war, the key to making it available to millions of people” (Mindell). The invention of penicillin greatly reduced diseases and helped save many lives. Advancements in blood transfusions greatly helped save troops

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They found many new chemicals and compounds to help the soldiers such as Sulfanilamide. Sulfanilamide was given to soldiers to sprinkle on wounds to help prevent infections. There was a great demand for antibacterial medicine, Alexander Fleming began his work on finding an antibacterial solution in World War I and by World War II he discovered Penisillin. Penisillin is known to be the most active and safe antibacterial available, even today. Penisillin was produced in mass quantities to help with United State’s war efforts and was shipped and used on D-Day and also for the rest of the war.

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Technology has been used by humans since the beginning of our existence, but the things that we see as technology in the modern day are not the same as they were in the beginning of time or even one hundred years ago. During the 1920s, an era of the roaring 20s and the great depression, a numerous amount of new technologies were created with a multitude of reasons as to why, but mainly to advance society. New types of technology were created for health and medicine, cars, and everyday household and entertainment. There were two major advancements in health and medicine in the 1920s and that was the discovery of penicillin and the invention of band aids. The person attributed with discovering penicillin, a type of drug that is used in antibiotics

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Penicillin was the first mass produced medicine during the war. This was key for making it available to everyone. Penicillin is still used today, but it also help further other antibiotics that are taken today for small infections that may become a life threatening disease. Medicines that were made to fight off tropical diseases became critical for the United States. Pesticides like DDT played a crucial role in killing mosquitoes.

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At the time not even the most straightforward diseases, for example,not even the common cold was curable. Until the best medicinal disclosure at the time was accidently found in 1928. Starting its potential amid World War 2, the entire world needed its hands on it. It was Penicillin. Penicillin left an imprint in our history, it expanded medicinal innovation, manufacturing and even diminished diseases.

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William Clowes found an unsettling cure to the sexual disease, syphilis. Clowes discovered the chemical mercury could cure the patient by poisoning the disease. The downfall was that patients were dying from the mercury (Lace 73). Another discovery came from Frenchman, Ambroise Pare. He discovered a better way of treating a ligament after an amputation was done.

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It was an immediate success and the drug was sold all over the world. After this discovery other researchers were encouraged to search for drugs to treat and cure bacterial diseases resulting in the development of penicillin Before the treatment of Ehrlich and the discovery of antibiotics in the mid-twentieth century, other resources were used resulting in treatments often worse than the disease. (Wikipedia) (People and discoveries) Nowadays there are no home remedies that will cure syphilis, but syphilis is easy to cure in its early stages. A single injection of Benzathine penicillin G, will cure a person who has primary, secondary or early latent syphilis.

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1940’s - Lilly was one of the leading businesses to establish a mass-produce penicillin. 1950’s- the company launched two different antibiotics;

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The discoveries that Pasteur made were very significant. According to my reading, “it triggered a hunt for pathogens: within 20

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As society continuously advances, so does the medical knowledge; from the creation of vaccinations, to the newest discoveries of diseases and advancements of technology/treatments. In 1796, the first medical breakthrough was founded and created by an english physician named Edward Jenner. He had discovered that the use of inactive strains of diseases can lead to the immunity of that specific pathogen or bacteria, thus discovering vaccinations. After the creation of vaccinations for smallpox, multiple breakthroughs have started to surface. The results from early experimentation on animals, the creation and advancement of medical technology, and the discovery of theories of nature and the human body, have led to multiple countries having access

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Since as long as human life has been recorded, humans have been creating and inventing countless things to suit each need. Whether that be how we shelter ourselves, to how we hunt, or now in day, how we can provide a cure to live a little longer. Or as some people call it- medicine.

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Eli Lilly and Company were founded in the year of 1876 in Indianapolis, IN by Colonel Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist, who was 39 years old by that time. Colonel Lilly was a member of the army during the US Civil War. He committed himself to creating and developing innovative medications to help others. According to Pharmaphorum article, that Colonel Lilly was disappointed by the poorly prepared drugs of his day and assured himself that he would “Found a company that manufactured pharmaceutical products of the highest possible quality.” He wanted his development of medicines to reflect high-quality drugs that suggested by the doctors; he wanted to “Develop only medicines that would be dispensed at the suggestion of physicians rather than by eloquent sideshow

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