How one moldy Petri dish launched antibiotics and changed medicine forever.

[00:00.21]At the turn of the 20th Century, infections are among humanity's fiercest enemies.
[00:05.92]Even a simple cut or a routine surgery could prove fatal.
[00:09.69]Doctors have little more than crude antiseptics at their disposal.
[00:14.03]Harsh chemicals like carbolic acid or even mercury-based compounds, risking as much harm as healing.
[00:21.18]Diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and syphilis claim millions of lives worldwide.
[00:28.19]Medical wards fill with patients suffering from sepsis and the grim reality is that there is no way to kill the bacteria inside a living body without also harming the patient.
[00:38.68]The global scientific community is desperate for a solution, a medicine that can target and destroy harmful germs without poisoning human tissue.
[00:48.54]In this world, bleak and full of uncertainty, for both doctors and patients, the stage is quietly set for a discovery that will change everything.
[01:00.43]Most have no inkling that salvation is waiting to emerge from an accident in an ordinary laboratory.

At the turn of the 20th century, infections are among humanity’s fiercest enemies. Even a simple cut or a routine surgery could prove fatal. Doctors have little more than crude antiseptics at their disposal; harsh chemicals like carbolic acid, or even mercury-based compounds, risking as much harm as healing. Diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and syphilis claim millions of lives worldwide. Medical wards fill with patients suffering from sepsis, and the grim reality is that there is no way to kill the bacteria inside a living body without also harming the patient. The global scientific community is desperate for a solution, a medicine that can target and destroy harmful germs without poisoning human tissue. In this world, bleak and full of uncertainty for both doctors and patients, the stage is quietly set for a discovery that will change everything. Most have no inkling that salvation is waiting to emerge from an accident in an ordinary laboratory.

The Discovery of Penicillin

A World Before Antibiotics