Penicillin

In 1932, Gerhard Domagk discovered that the red dye Prontosil could treat bacterial infections in mice. Its subsequent use in people, including against blood poisoning and puerperal fever after childbirth, showed the possibilities of chemical medicines. These treatments were important predecessors of antibiotics, although they were not penicillin.

Penicillin and lung cancer show different aspects of medical progress in modern Britain. Penicillin illustrates how an individual discovery became an effective treatment through scientific teamwork, funding and industrial production. The fight against lung cancer shows how technology can improve diagnosis and treatment while government action attempts to prevent disease.