3. The first use of penicillin (1928)

The British bacteriologist Alexander Fleming discovered that penicillin could be used to cure infections. This discovery also initiated a new way of treating patients who suffer from disease. Antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and vaccines are now routinely used to save lives, prevent diseases, and improve the quality of life. Many "wonder drugs" were discovered by isolating active substances from natural sources. Others were identified from folk medicines or by examining the effects of chemicals synthesized in the laboratory. 

 

Marianna A. Busch is the Chair and a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Baylor University. Her Top 10 list centers on the most important scientific events of the 1900's. She discusses what these events meant to scientists and society in general. She calls attention to a number of the groundbreaking scientists who left their mark on the world of science in this century. 
1. The discovery of the molecular structure of DNA (1953)
2. The invention of the transistor (1947)
3. The first use of penicillin (1928)
4. Development of the atomic bomb (1940's)
5. The launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union (Oct. 4, 1957)
6. Construction of the first laser (1960)
7. The development of new plants and the Green Revolution (mid-1900's)
8. The beginning of nuclear physics (early 1900's)
9. The development of quantum theory (early 1900's)
10. The publication of Silent Spring (1962)