Discussion Questions: The Discovery of Penicillin
- What world event inspired Fleming to conduct his research experiments? Why were soldiers especially prone to infection?
- What roles did a) luck and b) scientific reasoning play in Fleming's discovery?
- Why did Fleming give up his work on penicillin?
- What next steps do you think had to occur before penicillin was used regularly to combat infection and disease?
- Why is it important for scientists to work together as a community, sharing ideas in scientific publications?
