Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Great Mistakes: A Microscopic Discovery (Premium)

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more and thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. Over the years, Penicillin has saved innumerable lives and changed the course of history as we know it. But this miracle drug, heralded as the world's first antibiotic, was invented completely by accident. We'll begin by taking a closer look at the mistake maker himself, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming. He was born in 1881, in Darval, Airshare, Scotland, as the seventh of eight children. The son of a farmer, his childhood was every bit as rural as you might expect. He spent many happy hours roaming

Starting point is 00:01:41 through the countryside with his siblings, nurturing a fondness and respect for the natural world that would last a lifetime. At school, Alec, as his family called him, showcased obvious case obvious academic potential. He was awarded a scholarship to learn at Kilmarna Academy and enrolled there in 1894. In 1895 he moved over 400 miles away to London. His older brother, Tom, was already studying medicine there and would eventually open up his own oculus to practice. Alec continued his own education there at the Royal Polytechnic Inst institution in Regent Street. Then he spent four years working at a shipping office, a job that paid the bills, but didn't exactly inspire him much. It wasn't until 1901 that he began to seriously consider

Starting point is 00:03:04 his options. Having received a 250 pound inheritance following his uncle's death, he was able to quit his job and return to his studies. Encouraged by his brother Tom, whose practice in London was thriving, Alec figured a career in medicine seemed like the natural choice. And so, he enrolled at St Mary's Hospital Medical School. He graduated with distinction in 1906 and later earned a gold medal, recognizing him as a top medical student. When he finished his studies, he initially hoped to become a surgeon. However, as luck would have it, things didn't quite play out that way. That's because Alec was a member of the London Scottish Regiment, a voluntary force of reserve infantry in the British Army. He was also a member of the Medical School's Rifle Club. It was there that he proved himself to be a skilled marksman.

Starting point is 00:04:38 So talented that the club's cutting couldn't bear to lose him from the team, which would have been the case had Alec pursued a career in surgery. He nudged Alec in another direction, arranging a position for him in the inoculation department at St. Mary's, so that he could also keep up membership at the Rifle Club. He worked under Sir Almroth Wright, a pioneer in the world of vaccines and immunology. Of course, Alec excelled just as he always had, even more so under the expert tutelage of right. Over the decades that followed, Alec would attain a Bachelor of Science degree in bacteriology and lecture at St. Mary's.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Before continuing his medical research on the frontlines of World War I in France, as a captain in the Army Medical Corps. Many of the bacteriology staff, led by Wright, worked together to establish a battlefield hospital lab where Alec focused on studying infections. Returning home after the war, he was promoted to assistant director of the inoculation department. By 1928, he had a master wealth of knowledge, experience and skills, though his modest manner might perhaps suggest otherwise. Picture him now, if you will. This rather quiet and unassuming man, at the age of 47.

Starting point is 00:07:01 He wears a smart, tailored suit, a waistcoat, shirt and trousers, underneath a coat of brilliant white. At his neck, he has a patterned blue bow tie that brings out the colour of his bright eyes. They are rather intense and standing contrasts to his short grey hair. His very neat and tidy in appearance, which is somewhat ironic, being that he's known around the lap for being rather untidy. The month is September.

Starting point is 00:07:53 Alec is returning to work after a family holiday in Suffolk on the east coast of England. England.

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Great Mistakes: A Microscopic Discovery (Premium)

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