In Our Time: Science - Penicillin

Download Penicillin

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. It is said he noticed some blue-green penicillium mould on an uncovered petri dish at his hospital laboratory, and that this mould had inhibited bacterial growth around it. After further work, Fleming filtered a broth of the mould and called that penicillin, hoping it would be useful as a disinfectant. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later shared a Nobel Prize in Medicine with Fleming, for their role in developing a way of mass-producing the life-saving drug. Evolutionary theory predicted the risk of resistance from the start and, almost from the beginning of this 'golden age' of antibacterials, scientists have been looking for ways to extend the lifespan of antibiotics.

With

Laura Piddock
Professor of Microbiology at the University of Birmingham

Christoph Tang
Professor of Cellular Pathology and Professorial Fellow at Exeter College at the University of Oxford

And

Steve Jones
Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College, London

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Published on Thursday, 9th June 2016.

Available Podcasts from In Our Time: Science

Subscribe to In Our Time: Science

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the In Our Time: Science webpage.