| At sometime or another, almost every physician | | | | project, and over the next few days he noticed |
| has prescribed an antibiotic. Their uses range from | | | | that tiny droplets of fluid began to form on the |
| treatments of lacerations to infections to | | | | mold. Could this be the chemical that was killing |
| pneumonia. The controversy over their usage | | | | off the germs? |
| possibly ensures that they may not be used | | | | Fleming drew off a sample of the liquid and tried it |
| much longer. But what could possibly replace | | | | on a sample of more germs in a test tube, where |
| them? | | | | it had the same germ-vanquishing effect. The |
| The story of antibiotics starts more than three | | | | name of the mold colony was Penicillium notratum, |
| thousand years ago, when ancient people | | | | so called the liquid penicillin! Later, other scientists |
| stumbled over the discovery that some molds | | | | tested the newly found microbial weapon on |
| could be used as a cure. No one is sure if it was | | | | infections in mice and rabbits. It was indeed an |
| the Egyptians, the Chinese, or Indians of Central | | | | excellent cure, and yet it did not harm the animals |
| America who first used molds to treat infected | | | | in any way. |
| wounds. At that time they did not understand | | | | Soon after penicillin came the next milestone in |
| microorganisms or the war of cells that was going | | | | fighting infections, the invention of the sulfa drug. |
| on in the body. The then-current common | | | | It comes from Prontosil, which was a substance |
| wisdom held that the benefits were anything | | | | used as a dye. When put into the body, Prontosil |
| from driving away evil spirits to curing the | | | | changes into the active germ-killing drug called |
| imbalance of humours in the body. | | | | sulfonilamide. It was eventually found that this |
| As time went on, people began to gain some | | | | drug could cure blood poisoning, scarlet fever, and |
| insight into the nature of disease. In the 1860's, | | | | pneumonia. Soon other laboratories started |
| Louis Pasture was the first to show that many | | | | making other drugs in the same family, which |
| diseases were caused by bacteria. Later he | | | | became known as sulfa drugs. But drugs had |
| discovered that we may be able to fight germs | | | | some serious drawbacks: if not enough of the |
| using other microbes. The first to make an | | | | drug was given, the disease would return and get |
| effective medication from microbes was two | | | | worse; but giving too much of the drug would |
| German doctors, name of Rudolf Emmerich and | | | | upset the body's natural defense system. So |
| Oscar Low, who conducted their experiments in | | | | scientists continued their search for other |
| the 1890's. They proved that, simply put, the | | | | antibiotics. |
| germs that would cause one disease may be the | | | | The next breakthrough was by Selman |
| cure for another. | | | | Waksman, who discovered a drug called |
| What the men did was to take germ samples | | | | streptomycin. It originated from microbes found |
| from a specimen of infected bandages and then | | | | naturally in soil and it proved to be a cure for |
| grow the germ colony in a test tube. They would | | | | many intestinal diseases. Now we had penicillin and |
| then isolate a particular germ that causes, for | | | | steptomycin; each relatively affective against |
| instance, a kind of infection in open wounds. The | | | | certain diseases, but there was still no |
| first lucky microbe was a bacteria called Bacillus | | | | broad-spectrum drug. The search was on for a |
| pyocyaneus. Then they put this into another test | | | | new panacea - one antibiotic to rule them all. By |
| tube containing other types of bacteria, and | | | | 1949, various laboratories had discovered a series |
| witnessed the Bacillus pycyoneus wiping out the | | | | of antibiotics which had wider and wider |
| other disease germs. The germs that it killed | | | | implications. This time period gave rise to |
| were those that caused cholera, typhoid, anthrax, | | | | Aureomycin, Chloromycin, and Terramycin, all of |
| and diphtheria. | | | | which had broader ranges of bacterias they could |
| From this sample, the team created a medication | | | | kill off. The age of the antibiotics had officially |
| that they named "pyocyanase", which became | | | | begun. |
| the first antibiotic to be used in hospitals. | | | | Today, the importance of antibiotics to medicine |
| Unfortunately, it did not work consistently on all | | | | has led to much research towards producing |
| patients; some were cured, some only became | | | | them. The process of production typically involves |
| sicker, so the new miracle drug was abandoned. | | | | screening wide ranges of microorganisms, then |
| Going forward to 1928, a research scientist by | | | | isolating them for testing and modification, and |
| the name of Alexander Fleming made the next | | | | using a fermentation process to carry out |
| real milestone in antibiotics. At the time, Fleming | | | | production. |
| was on the staff of a hospital in London. He was | | | | The problem stems from the matter of each |
| studying a germ called "staphylococcus aureus", | | | | antibiotic only killing off a certain percentage of |
| growing colonies of the germ in a petri dish. | | | | the targeted bacteria, which is a long-term |
| One day Fleming found a spot of green growing | | | | formula for disaster. The surviving germs breed |
| on the gel that was among the germs in one petri | | | | antibiotic-resistant offspring, and then the antibiotic |
| dish. On examination, he noticed a clear, | | | | has to be discarded because it is no longer |
| germ-free ring of gelatin around the mold. This | | | | effective. Eventually, given the finite bounds of |
| meant that the mold had killed the germ colony | | | | the universe, we will run out of new antibiotics... |
| that was there. As Fleming watched, the more | | | | and if we still have germs then, that leaves us |
| the molds spread, the more of the germ that | | | | behind the 8-ball! |
| was liked off. Fleming made this a new full time | | | | |