This essay discusses the rediscovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928 after initially discovering it by accident in 1922. It describes how Fleming noticed a mold growing in one of his culture dishes that was preventing the growth of the staphylococci bacteria. While he documented his observation, he did not pursue developing penicillin at the time. The essay then outlines how Howard Florey and Ernst Chain helped revive interest in penicillin in the late 1930s and worked to extract and concentrate the active ingredients from the mold. Their work culminated in the first patient being treated with penicillin in 1941.
In 1922, Scottish scientist