<a href="#">How Dirty Dishes And Stale Bread Saved The World</a><br>
Doug Smith<br>
<br />
<p><p> Copyright 2005 by Doug Smith<br><br>Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks?<br><br>That's what I recently asked myself. Myths and legends often<br>have their basis in a grain of truth. So I wondered if home<br>remedies, alternative treatments, and folklore cures might<br>also be based on truth. A little research provided some<br>astounding results!<br><br>He Was No Martha Stewart<br><br>In fact, Alexander Fleming had no housekeeping skills<br>whatsoever. During the early 1900s, Petri dishes, beakers,<br>and test tubes were piled around his lab like dirty dishes<br>in a bachelor's sink. That may be appropriate, because he<br>was studying the growth of bacteria and molds. I'm sure he<br>had no trouble getting either of those to grow in his lab.<br>I'm not sure how he kept his experiments separate.<br><br>Cashing In On Some Bread<br><br>Fortunately, there was at least one experiment that got<br>contaminated. He discovered that a mold growth called<br>Penicillium (because the cells are pencil-shaped) had<br>killed the bacteria he was culturing in one of his test dishes.<br>The Penicillium mold is often found on bread. He was able to<br>isolate the chemicals in the mold which killed the bacteria,<br>which are now known as penicillins.<br><br>A Miracle Cure Is Born<br><br>The antibiotic effects of penicillin, and its cousin<br>cephalosporin, proved to be a great aid to the medical<br>community in fighting bacterial illnesses and diseases.<br>Over the years these molecules have been enhanced to help<br>them fight bacteria which had become resistant. Penicillin<br>is still saving lives today, simply because Al Fleming was a<br>slob. Thankfully, he was smart enough to notice his mistake<br>and understand what it meant.<br><br>Eating moldy bread isn't going to cure your illness. Instead,<br>you might need a shot of penicillin to fight the effects of<br>your ill-advised snack! In this case, however, this home<br>remedy discovery is definitely a fact.<br><br>(You may reuse this copyrighted article provided no content<br>is changed - other than line length - and the author's box is<br>intact. All links must be active hyperlinks or made active.)<br><br>=================================================================<br>Doug Smith is a Chemical Engineer and the webmaster of<br><a href="http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com">http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com</a> You get free & natural home<br>remedies for fungus, lice, acid reflux, cold sores, yeast & more<br>at <a href="http://www.superhomeremedies.com">Home Remedies</a><br>Stay up to date with our Home Remedy News Blog at <a href="http://www.superhomeremedies.com/blog/">Home Remedies News</a><br>=================================================================<br><p> About the Author 
<p>Doug Smith is a Chemical Engineer and the webmaster of<br><a href="http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com">http://www.SuperHomeRemedies.com</a> You get free & natural home<br>remedies for fungus, lice, acid reflux, cold sores, yeast & more.<p><p><p><p><p> 
 

<p><br>