Penicillin

[united4Peace]

We all know about Penicillin, one of the best inventions of our time...however did anyone know that thousands of years before Fleming, Mold was used to fight off infections...Ancient Egyptians would hold a moldy piece of bread to a wound to help it heal...

Ya...okay, so this is probably old news to many, but I thought it was neat
As one who dreaded Biology in highschool I am actually starting to find it quite interesting...still not a fan of chemistry, math, english....

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/nyregion/10papyrus.html

 

[pgp_protector]

If I recall correctly One of the Molds in Moldy Bread is Penicillium, so it doesn't surprise me that it would work.

Yummy

 

[united4Peace]

Yup...just shows that science is very important to humankind

 

[jayem]

Quite a few medical discoveries developed out of observing traditional folk practices. Quinine was found in cinchona bark that indigenous South American peoples used to prevent fever (malaria.) Cocaine, of course, was discovered in the coca leaves that other tribesmen chewed for energy and alertness. The foxglove plant was a folk remedy for "dropsy" (edema.) Which is how digitalis was found. And it was known for years that something in fresh fruits and vegetables prevented scurvy on long sea voyages. Though it wasn't until the 1920s that vitamin C was finally identified.

 

[LifeToTheFullest!]

Not to mention willow tree bark for it's analgesic (aspirin) properties.

 

[sfs]

Current standard treatments for malaria all rely on derivatives of artemisinin, which is found in Chinese herbal remedies.

 

[Spacewyrm]

If I recall correctly One of the Molds in Moldy Bread is Penicillium, so it doesn't surprise me that it would work.

Yummy

Yeah. Those actually do look pretty tasty...