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Penicillin - the wonder drug
Penicillin, the “wonder drug,” was the first antibiotic discovered. Though Alexander Fleming discovered the antibacterial properties of penicillin, it was Howard Florey and his team that completed the complex steps of isolating and purifying it, and how to mass produce it.
Ernst B. Chain was a critical member of this team who theorized the structure of penicillin, developed the method of isolating it from ether, and helped develop the unique “freeze drying” method to reduce gallons of mold broth into a potent drug. For these contributions, he shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1945 with Fleming and Florey. Sadly, he passed away today, Aug 12, in 1979. Because of his contributions, minor infections that could once be fatal are easily treated now-a-days.
Ernst Chain
Unfortunately, doctors gave away penicillin like it was water and soon enough bacteria evolved immunity to it. According to one source, ninety percent of S. aureus strains are now resistant to penicillin-family of antibiotics (Huemer and Challem, 1997). So, scientists come up with new types of antibiotics to kill them and of course bacteria fought back. There is a massive war going on in that microbial world, right under your nose!
If this is not concrete enough evidence for evolution, I don’t know what is…
If you would like more information on Penicillin resistance, click here.
References:
Heumer, Richard P. M.D., and Jack Challem. Guide to Beating The Supergerms. New York: Pocket Books, 1997.
