(90) The doctor gave sulfas to all the patients, but the drugs did not have the effect they should have. The wounded, one batch after another, were brought from the battlefield, but they had to wait for death there.
(91) One day, a young doctor came to the hospital. With the cooperation of the other doctors, he chose 19 patients who faced certain death, and put them on a drip with a liquid medicine made of yellow powder.
(92) People paid close attention to the changes of these patients. Time passed by hour by hour, miracles began to happen. The patient's eyes sparkled with vitality. 12 of the 19 recovered from the brink of death.
(93) It was a fierce combat with death, what a miracle it was at that time! All the people were talking about this magical light yellow powder. This powder was “penicillin”.
(94) Penicillin was first discovered by Alexander Fleming of England, a conscientious lecturer in bacteriology. Over the years, he developed a close relationship with microbes to study ways to protect human life.
(95) Fleming's laboratory equipment was pretty simple. In 1928, he began studying staphylococcus, which has been responsible for many human diseases. Fleming cultivated a dozen types of staphylococcus and observed them every day.
(96) When he opened a dish, there were so many naughty bacteria in the air hampering the experiment. One day, he found a culture dish with green mold, in which the staphylococcus around the molds had disappeared.
(97) Fleming, an observant and conscientious man, took this incident very seriously, and immediately began to cultivate the “uninvited guest” with his assistant with great interest.
(98) It turned out that penicillium can secrete a strong substance that dissolved staphylococcus and even killed numerous germs. It was such a valuable discovery. Fleming and his team published an article and named this bactericidal substance “penicillin”.
(99) Coincidence? No, nothing is impossible for a willing mind. But Fleming's discovery was neglected, because the penicillin was found in very little amount in penicillium, and “606” and “sulfa” were so popular around the world.