Back to: Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
S1E3
Alexander Fleming's Messy Desk Leads to a Major Discovery
May 25, 2021
Alexander Fleming's untidy desk becomes the key to a major scientific breakthrough when a particle of bacteria from his laboratory floats onto a petri dish on a desk in his study. This accident in a petri dish leads to his discovery that naturally-occurring mold could be a bacteria killer, setting the stage for the invention of penicillin further down the line.