Genetics and Penicillin
Development of Genetics
Watson and Crick: Worked together =, saw x rays. Built model of DNA. Able to solve mystery of structure of DNA. 1953 - Published paper
Penicillin
Discovered by Alexander Fleming 1928
Found a petri dish with mould growing on it, was penicillin
Mould had killed bacteria
Tested it
Worked out what bacteria it could kill
Abandoned research into penicillin as didn't believe it could work to kill bacteria in humans
Florey and Chain
Proved penicillin was effective
Made aware of it through Fleming's findings
Showed it was effective through testing it on infected mice
Human trail = effective, hard to make huge quantities
Florey- went to America, wanted to convince companies to begin penicillin production
Growth in penicillin
British factories = couldn't produce it, involved in WW2.
America - first produced in 1941
Only made enough for 10 people
1944 - Penicillin production increased, impact of it could be shown
US gov - funded 21 companies to begin mass producing it
Use of penicillin
Effective in treating diseases caused by certain family of bacteria
Used to prevent infection
Encouraged scientists to look for other moulds that could fight infection
Impact of Penicillin
Chemical structure of penicillin mapped
Then able to work on synthetic versions of it that were changed to treat specific diseases
Confidence in medical treatments increased
Some bacteria - had become immune to penicillin through mutilation