Apologia biology: Penicillin

                                               
     1.) Who is Alexander Fleming?

     2.) How did he discover penicillin?
                   
     3.) What is penicillin?

    
     4.) What would have happened had Fleming tested guinea pigs rather than mice with  penicillin?           
   






       
     1.)  Who is Alexander Fleming? Alexander Fleming was born in Scotland on August 6, 1881. He had 4 siblings plus 4 half-siblings. His parents were farmers. Alexander was a professor of bacteriology.

     2.) How did he discover penicillin? In September 1928 Alexander returned to his laboratory after a month away, he noticed that a culture of  Staphylococcus Aureus ( a common bacterium found on the skin and in noses) he had left out had become contaminated with mold. He also noticed that the colonies of Staphylococci surrounding this mold had been destroyed.

     3.) What is penicillin? Penicillin is a antibiotic treatment prescribed for bacterial diseases. It helps your natural immune system fight the bacterial infections such as typhoid fever, and pneumonia.


     4.) What would have happened had Fleming tested guinea pigs rather than mice with  penicillin?  Penicillin  is very toxic to guinea pigs and not to humans. Guinea pigs are one of the few species which have a adverse reaction to the drug. Guinea pigs differ in reaction because the have mostly Gram-positive bacteria. Overgrowth of gram-negative and gram-positive organisms can result to diarrhea or even death. Antibiotics that strongly effect gram- positive bacteria like penicillin, are toxic to guinea pigs. So if he used guinea pigs instead of mice we wouldn't have penicillin.

Here is a video of Alexander Fleming discovering Penicillin.