20th & 21st Century - Fleming, Florey and Chain

Question 1

Who was Alexander Fleming? (3)

Answer 1

1. WW1 army doctor who noticed that more soldiers died from things like staphylococcus than bullets
2. 1928: accidentally discovered penicillin growing as mould that was killing bacteria in a Petri dish
3. Noticed the antiseptic properties of penicillin but didn’t know that if injected, it could act as an antibiotic, and eventually gave up on further research into the uses of penicillin

Question 2

Who were Florey and Chain? (6)

Answer 2

1. Scientists investigating substances which killed bacteria - were offered £25 by the British government to fund their research, but this was not enough
2. Grew penicillin and successfully tested the drug on mice
3. 1941: First human trial of penicillin - worked but they ran out of penicillin so the man died.
4. WW2 helped develop penicillin - US government invested 80 million into the mass production of penicillin
5. 15% more soldiers would’ve died without penicillin
6. 10% of the population IS allergic to penicillin, but other antibiotics have been developed since