How Dirty Dishes And Stale Bread Saved The World
Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks?
That's what I recently asked myself. Myths and legends often have their basis in a grain of truth. So I wondered if home remedies, alternative treatments, and folklore cures might also be based on truth. A little research provided some astounding results!
He Was No Martha Stewart
In fact, Alexander Fleming had no housekeeping skills whatsoever. During the early 1900s, Petri dishes, beakers, and test tubes were piled around his lab like dirty dishes in a bachelor's sink. That may be appropriate, because he was studying the growth of bacteria and molds. I'm sure he had no trouble getting either of those to grow in his lab. I'm not sure how he kept his experiments separate.
Cashing In On Some Bread
Fortunately, there was at least one experiment that got contaminated. He discovered that a mold growth called Penicillium (because the cells are pencil-shaped) had killed the bacteria he was culturing in one of his test dishes. The Penicillium mold is often found on bread. He was able to isolate the chemicals in the mold which killed the bacteria, which are now known as penicillins.
A Miracle Cure Is Born
The antibiotic effects of penicillin, and its cousin cephalosporin, proved to be a great aid to the medical community in fighting bacterial illnesses and diseases. Over the years these molecules have been enhanced to help them fight bacteria which had become resistant. Penicillin is still saving lives today, simply because Al Fleming was a slob. Thankfully, he was smart enough to notice his mistake and understand what it meant.
Eating moldy bread isn't going to cure your illness. Instead, you might need a shot of penicillin to fight the effects of your ill-advised snack! In this case, however, this home remedy discovery is definitely a fact.
Doug Smith is a Chemical Engineer and the webmaster of http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com. You get free & natural remedies for fungus, lice, acid reflux, cold sores, yeast & more. Stay up to date with our Natural Remedies News
Copyright 2005 by Doug Smith. You may reuse this copyrighted article provided no content is changed - other than line length - and the author's box is intact. All links must be active hyperlinks or made active.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting
More Alternative Information:
Related Articles
Quit Smoking Through Hypnosis
You have seen and heard the warnings. You know what smoking is doing to your lungs.
Jesus Diet - Lifestyle Changes That Will Boost Your Energy
Drawing on the inspiration of loaves, fish, and wine, a doctor from Florida has published a self-help manual called "What would Jesus Eat?". After the launch of this unique book, Jesus officially joined the US fight against fat.
Natural Alternatives vs. Prescription Drugs
Natural Alternatives: A growing phenomenon across this world which is a very diverse concept yet very divine and instrumental in healing health diseases. It might be thought as any health care which is not a part of the mainstream medical establishment.
Laxatives You Find In The Drugstore
A laxative is defined as,A substance that is used to promote a bowel movement when you are constipated.Laxatives work by starting and stimulating peristaltic action.
Benefits of Alternative Medicine
With the growing number of people being affected by newly discovered chronic degenerative diseases such as AIDS and chronic fatigue syndrome, Are you worried or wondering..
Holistic Health
Holistic Health involves natural treatment options like holistic health nutrition, herbology, environmental medicine, energy work, mind-body medicine, anatomy, and many other holistic health practices.Holistic health allows an individual to be treated naturally and establishes a positive balance between body, mind and spirit.
Everything Old Is New Again: Rebuilding Your Vision
Glasses, contacts, or surgery. These are the usual choices offered to those of us with bad vision.
Herbs - Natures Potent Remedies
Use of herbs for health and as a medicine has a history dating back to man's evolution on the planet. From times immemorial, man has experimented and used botanicals to heal and provide remedial treatments.
Evening Primrose Oil Benefits
The evening primrose oil which we use is extracted from the seeds of Oenthera biennis, a plant native to North America. The evening primrose plant resembles a primrose but is related to the willow herb group.
Aromatherapy - Essential Oils for Physical and Psychological Well-being
What is Aromatherapy?It is the practice of using volatile plant oils (and essential oils) for physical and psychological well-being.Before I get started take note that fragrance oils (fragrances) are not essential oils.
Chiropractors: Theyre on My Team!
Whenever I see the title "men's health", it conjures up a couple of images in my mind, and as far as most of the articles I see on the subject, they fall into one of two distinct and very different categories. It's either a sort of bodybuilding bust-your-buns biceps and washboard abs type deal with the fake tan and the body oil and the ubiquitous smile or it's the serious senior, Alan Alda persona doctor advising on the necessity of enduring an examination with a latex glove and all the guilt you have to endure if you don't.
Cause Of Stuttering
When a person has a stutter or a parent realises that their child is developing a stutter they often want to find out the cause.So what causes a stutter?The answer is many things can trigger someone starting to stutter.
Muget Des Bois: A Healing Victory
Known by its other name as Lily of the Valley or May Lily, muget des bois is an English plant used commonly as a perfume. Since the discovery of its virtues in aromatherapy, the use of muget des bois for healing has been increasingly widespread.
Tips for Staying Young Eternally
What is something that goes up but never comes down? Your age!Aging is something that humans would love to conquer. Everyone seems to be obsessed in staying young.
Health in the Self
What is health?Is health the absence of disease? Is health a birth right or simply luck? According to Ayuveda, India's ancient art of healing, the meaning of health is a single word: Swastha. Swa = self + Stha = established.
Home Remedies
Ever have a bee sting? Try rubbing an aspirin on it.Gum in hair? Soak the gum-coated hair in CokeŽ and it should wipe out easily.
Allergy Approaches through Lifestyle
What we do is just as powerful as what we eat to keep ourselves operating at our very best health. This applies to taking care during allergy season as well.
Ayurveda - Principles & Practice
Ayurveda which has been evolved around 600 BC, apart from treating ailments concentrated more in its prevention. This was followed by the Aryans & Dravidians who were inhabiting India and has been practiced ever since.
Sports Massage
What is Sports Massage? Rapidly gaining in popularity, Sports Massage is a massage technique that utilizes a system of movements including gliding, compressings, stretching, and other innovations. Sprots massage primarily focuses on the management, maniputaion and rehabilitation of the body's soft tissues.
Green Bamboo: Strength in Flexibility
Those who have watched the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" would be familiar with the imagery of bamboo: flexible yet firm, delicate yet strong. These unique qualities make the bamboo fit snugly into ancient Chinese philosophy and endow the health benefits of the bamboo with an air of wisdom and grace.