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Where was penicillin first discovered?

Quick Answer

Penicillin was first discovered at St Mary's Hospital in London, England, in 1928. Alexander Fleming noticed that a mold had killed bacteria in a petri dish.

The Full Story

Penicillin was first discovered at St Mary's Hospital in London, England, by Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming in 1928. He noticed that a mold, later identified as Penicillium notatum, had contaminated one of his culture plates and created a bacteria-free zone around it. This observation launched the antibiotic era and transformed medicine in the 20th century. The drug was later developed for mass use during the 1940s by scientists including Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain. Fleming, Florey, and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Key Facts

1.Discovery year: 1928
2.Place: St Mary's Hospital, London
3.Nobel Prize year for key developers: 1945

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Suggested video title for this topic:

"The hospital bench where modern antibiotics began."

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