Alexander Fleming’s mold could not produce penicillin fast enough for mass production; it wasn’t until 15 years later that lab worker ‘Mouldy’ Mary Hunt tested a moldy cantaloupe in a grocery store and discovered the strain that is used to produce all penicillin today
Mouldy Mary and the Cantaloupe It’s a well known story and example of medical serendipity. Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) a Scottish microbiologist who returned to his laboratory following his summer holiday and found his growth plates of Staphylococcal bacteria had been contaminated with mould. Wherever the mould was growing the bacterial cells had been killed. Antibiotics […]