The Factor of War in the Development of Penicillin
The discovery, development and subsequent use of penicillin can be
considered to be one of the most important breakthroughs in medical
history. There were many factors, which were involved in the
development of penicillin, and it could be argued that war was the
most important, but other factors were also responsible.
Alexander Fleming was working in London as a bacteriologist in 1928
when he noticed that a growth of a mould called penicillin produced a
substance that actually killed the germs he was working on. He
realised that this might be very important and a year later he wrote
an article about his findings. However, Fleming did not have the
facilities or the support to develop and test his idea that penicillin
could fight infection, and he didn't develop it further. This was a
factor that was based on chance, as the penicillin (mould) had
probably blown through a window. In my opinion Fleming didn't have
much do to with the development of Penicillin, but he did recognise
its importance and published his findings.
Florey and Chain were scientists. They stumbled across Fleming's
research papers and were intrigued by his findings. They were sure
that, if Fleming was right, this discovery could save a lot of lives,
prevent pain and make it much easier to fight infectious diseases and
prevent other infections. Florey and Chain developed a system of
growing penicillin: which was complicated initially, and tested its
effectiveness on mice. The tests were successful and the two men
became convinced that the drug would cure many people who would
otherwise die.
Florey and Chain were unable to expand on the development of the drug,
as mass production was not financially feasible at the time. In June
1941, Florey travelled to America to try and interest drug companies
there in developing penicillin. Due to the bombing of Pearl Harbour,
the United States became involved in the Second World War. Once
involved in the conflict, the Americans were easily persuaded to
America being innocent seems to be a common theme in majority of American history classes. Truth be told, there is never an innocent side to a war. Americans treated their own soldiers and people unjustifiably cruel during this time period, to say the least. Soldiers and civilians from other countries that had a form of participation in this war were
History has proven the use of chemical weapons ranging back for decades. From the Greeks in ancient Europe using Greek fire to South American tribes using a form of tear gas made of grounded up hot chili peppers to scare away enemy tribes. As well as dipping the tips of spear heads with a poisonous toxin. Poisonous toxins used from live reptiles like frogs and venom from the snakes found from whichever region had enough potency venom to exterminate. The past has proven, that in order for Armies to survive and win, it relied on out smarting the enemy. New technologies and the evolution of weaponry were left to the brightest minds from those eras to develop.
Eventually they negotiated a treaty with the North and completed the process of Vietnamization (“Vietnamization”). Overall, US involvement in the Vietnam War polarized American citizens into two categories. They either supported involvement in the war against the communists or they disapproved of US intervention in the war. Points against the war included the heavy economic debt, thousands of lives lost and soldiers wounded, and events like the My Lai Massacre. Points for the war included the desire to prevent the spread of communism, avenging the shot fired at the US ship, and evidence in the public opinion wars that showed Americans, overall, supported US involvement in the war.
Fleming reasoned that the fact that it killed the bacteria in the lab, that it could also be used to kill bacteria in humans, but after attempting and failing to grow more penicillin, he eventually gave up on the idea.
Chemical Warfare in WWI World War I was beginning to invent new ways to produce more casualties to the enemy’s force and reduce the probability of losing Soldiers from their own line of defense or offense. They did this by conducting extensive research in chemical warfare. At the same time, it will motivate the troops and win the hearts and minds of the people of their country if they had new ways of ending the war quickly. Chemical warfare affected tactics and techniques of warfare and almost changed the outcome of World War I. (LTG Carl E. Vuono) The French were the first to start experimenting on chemical agents in 1912.
Although some of you might say that wasn’t and say it was because of imperialism but in reality it was just nationalism. Think about it because we americans have a lot of pride. all the propaganda all the things the press would publish, it all got to the heads of the americans and made them want to fight in a war that's why so many people actually ended up joining and fighting. They show a good looking woman saying “I WANT YOU” but so they read it and notice the bottom says “for The Navy” then they join because they think good looking woman are in The Navy.
Even though the United States said it might have been an accident on board, the US citizens were sent into a frenzy by “yellow journalism” that was published by men like Pulitzer and Hearst. The information posted by these yellow journalist increased the anti-Spanish feelings and made more and more people favor war. Also, when Congress passed the Fifty Million Dollar bill, which gave the president 50 million dollars to prepare for a war before it is declared, it made people more and more ready for a war and it also made them support it.
The reasons that Americans were motivated to fight the war was because of the feelings on Communism throughout American society, the attitudes of the 1950's, and the fact that there was a common belief among American citizens that we could beat anybody in war, especially a tiny country like North Vietnam which most Americans had never even hear...
18). Even though those diseases were not his goal to cure it still made penicillin revolutionary for the time being. Fleming now knew how to make penicillin and started to mass produce it. In the 1930s during the upgrading process of penicillin Fleming himself was cured of severe conjunctivitis. Then in the 1940s the fully developed penicillin was created. The creation of penicillin cured a wide variety of diseases, which led to the world excelling in growth, and penicillin improved the way of medicine at the time. The variety of diseases cured by penicillin made it a must have antibiotic. Penicillin was used to cure multiple diseases including syphilis, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, gangrene, pneumonia, diphtheria, and scarlet fever ( Common Antibiotics ). All the diseases have one thing in common, they all have the ability to spread, some faster than others. When a disease is discovered people tried to make a cure. When penicillin was made diseases that were thought to never have a cure were cured. People began to demand that penicillin be sold in local pharmacies. Penicillin was released to help people with the variety of diseases curable by
Penicillin, derived from the mold Penicillium, is the first antibiotic to successfully treat bacterial infections on humans. It was accidentally discovered by scientist, Alexander Fleming. While Fleming was growing Staphylococcus, a serious and often deadly infection, in a dish, he noticed the bacteria had stopped growing after a mold found its way
Throughout history, the American people have, for the most part, stood united during times of war. The people of America always seemed to rally behind each other. Most people were either willing to fight in the war or willing to take up the responsibilities of those who left for war. The majority of Americans support the decisions of our nation’s government. This was not the case during the Vietnam War.
World War One, in its own time, was the most destructive war Earth itself had ever seen, and this was due to the new technology. “There are two groups of people in warfare – those organized to inflict and those organized to repair wounds – and there is little doubt but that in all wars, and in this one in particular, the former have been better prepared for their jobs.” There were many advancements, disadvantages, and foundations involving medicine in World War I. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 started the war, and things spiraled out of control from there. With there being so many existing alliances with countries all over, almost all of Europe became involved. Eventually two sides emerged which were the Central Powers and the Allies. America had tried to stay out of the war, but when Russia backed out in 1917 America slipped in.
...ing sealed his place in history with the discovery of lysozyme, it was his discover of Penicillin in 1928 that started the revolution of antibiotics and sealed his lasting reputation within the medical world. In 1945, Fleming was recognized for his achievements and he reached the Nobel Prize for Physiology. On March 11, 1955, Fleming died in London, England. (Brown, 2013)
Thesis: With the advent of antibiotics in 1929 Fleming said, "The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops.Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant."With the overuse of antibiotics today we have seen this very idea come to be.Over usage is caused most prevalently by a lack of education on the part of the patient.Thus stated, the way to overcome such a circumstance is to educate, not only the patient but also the physician.
The discovery of antibiotics is attributed to Alexander Fleming who discovered the first antibiotic to be commercially used (Penicillin) in approximately 1928. An antibiotic, also known as an antimicrobial, is a medication that is taken in order to either destroy or slow the growth rate of bacteria. Antibiotics are integral to the success of many medical practises, such as; surgical procedures, organ transplants, the treatment of cancer and the treatment of the critically ill. (Ramanan Laxminarayan, 2013)