What did Penicillin directly address concerning the major threats to human life in the pre-modern era?
Minor cuts, common infections, or routine surgeries that often meant death sentences
Penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming and later mass-produced by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, stands out when measuring inventions by their capacity to save lives and extend longevity. In the pre-antibiotic era, the vast majority of bacterial infections, whether stemming from minor injuries, everyday illnesses, or necessary surgical procedures, carried a high risk of fatality. Antibiotics fundamentally altered the human relationship with infection by neutralizing these primary killers. This development, coupled with public health measures, is largely responsible for the dramatic increase observed in average global life expectancy over the last century.
