Scientific Discoveries That Impacted the World

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Since the beginning of time, man has studied the mysteries of nature and Earth. The human raced has pursued, with vigor, knowledge of the world around them. This pursuit of knowledge is what we call science. Without science, mankind would not progress. Without scientific discoveries, man would be nothing. In the twentieth century, Great Britain received much recognition by the scientific community due to their discovery of penicillin, creation of the first programmable computer, and groundbreaking work with nuclear transfer. In the early twentieth century, Alexander Fleming made a mistake in a lab that saved hundreds of thousands of lives throughout the world. “Fleming was born on August 6, 1881 in Lochfield, Ayrshire, a remote part of rural Scotland (“Alexander Fleming”).” As a boy, he attended school at Kilmarnock Academy until he was 13. He then went to live with his uncle in London, due to his father passing away, and he attended the polytechnic school there. After a brief period of serving in the London Scottish Regiment, during the Boer War, Fleming attended St. Mary’s Medical School at London University. In 1928, Fleming became a professor at St. Mary’s. One day, while cleaning Staphylococcus covered petri dishes, he noticed a strange mold growing on one of the cultures. As he examined it closely, Fleming recognized that no bacteria grew in close proximity to the mold. After further experimentation, he discovered that the mold could kill bacteria even after being diluted 800 times! Due to scientific limitations of the time, Fleming could not create a drug out of, what he discovered to be, the Penicillin mold. However, he still received a Nobel Prize in 1945 along with the scientists who refined Penicillin into the useful su... ... middle of paper ... ... would not be as advanced as it is today. So for that, we are obliged to say, “Cheers Brits!” Works Cited "Alexander Fleming." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. Fridovich-Keil, Juidith L. "Britannica School." Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. . "Penicillin." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. Rogers, Kara. "Nuclear Transfer." Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. . Stocum, David. "Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer." Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.. Trueman, Chris. “Tommy Flowers.” Tommy Flowers. Chris Trueman, Dec. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .

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