Penicillin: The Accidental Antibiotic

Alexander Fleming returned from vacation in 1928 to find mold contaminating a staph plate and bacteria dying around it. The mold released penicillin, a molecule that jams the enzymes bacteria use to build cell walls. Florey and Chain scaled production, helped by corn steep liquor in Peoria. Penicillin launched the antibiotic era and saved countless lives..

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