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Alexander Fleming
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Alexander Fleming Article

How did Alexander Fleming discover penicillin?

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In 1928 Alexander Fleming noticed that a culture plate of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria had become contaminated by a fungus. The mold, later identified as Penicillium notatum (now classified as P. chrysogenum), had inhibited the growth of the bacteria. He later established that the mold prevented bacterial growth because it produced an antibiotic, penicillin.