The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of Penicillin and the Modern Age of Medical Miracles

The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat tells the story of penicillin's discovery and development, the scientists involved, and its impact on modern medicine. Eric Lax reveals the actual history behind the discovery, explaining why development took longer than expected and why credit was misplaced. Despite earning a Nobel Prize, the doctor who discovered penicillin and the team that developed it received no financial rewards. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in his London laboratory in 1928. Four years later, a team of Oxford scientists led by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain developed it into the first antibiotic and the most important family of drugs of the twentieth century. The discovery transformed the world by defeating major bacterial infections including blood poisoning, pneumonia, scarlet fever, diphtheria, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Penicillin sparked both a medical and sexual revolution. The book chronicles the transition of medicine between eras and profiles the eccentric individuals whose contributions to this achievement have remained largely unknown until now.