Into the 1900's

• Magic bullets: Following Louis Pasteur’s germ theory and Robert Koch’s work on identifying specific bacteria, researchers began to find ways of killing germs inside the body without harming healthy human tissue. This idea was called a ‘magic bullet’.
• Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata: Paul Ehrlich had worked with Koch on research using industrial dyes to stain bacteria to make them easier to identify. Ehrlich wanted to take this idea further. He had a theory that some chemicals might be able to kill specific germs without harming healthy human tissue.
• Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata: Ehrlich investigated chemicals that would kill syphilis germs without harming human cells. He tested various substances by infecting rabbits with syphilis, then giving them a chemical to see whether the rabbit would be cured without the medication making them ill.
• Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata: Ehrlich and his assistant, the Japanese bacteriologist Sahachiro Hata, tried hundreds of different compounds. Eventually, when retesting some of the chemicals they had already tried, Hata discovered that the compound salvarsan was effective. As it was the 606th compound they had tried, it was named Salvarsan 606.
• Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata: After successful human trials, Salvarsan 606 was made available. It was the first magic bullet - a chemical that could cure people of syphilis.
• Magic bullets: Significance - Salvarsan 606 was a key breakthrough. It led to research into other chemicals that might be magic bullets.

  In 1935, Gerhard Domagk discovered Prontosil - an antibacterial drug - which became the second magic bullet. Prontosil killed a type of bacteria known as streptococcal, which could cause life-threatening infections.
• Magic bullets: Significance - The discovery of magic bullets by Ehrlich’s research team also led to work on finding natural substances that could target infections in the body. This work led to the discovery and development of penicillin.
• Antibiotics: Alexander Fleming -  A Scottish doctor who worked for most of his career at St Mary’s Hospital in London. In 1928, he went on holiday while researching Staphylococcus bacteria. When he tidied his laboratory after his holiday, he discovered that a mould had grown on one of his Petri dishes. The bacteria around the mould had gone.
• Antibiotics: Alexander Fleming -When he investigated the mould, Fleming realised it was Penicillium fungi. He researched further and discovered that it killed Staphylococcus bacteria. He wrote about his findings in a medical journal.
• Antibiotics: Howard Florey and Ernst Chain - researchers at the University of Oxford. In 1935, they used Fleming’s work as a basis for trying to purify penicillin so it could be given as a medicine. By 1941, they had managed to achieve this and were ready for a human trial.
• Antibiotics: Howard Florey and Ernst Chain - Albert Alexander was the first person to receive penicillin, he was a policeman who had cut his cheek while gardening:

  • the wound had become infected
  • he was very ill in hospital
  • after receiving penicillin he regained consciousness and started to recover
  • there was not enough penicillin to continue treating him
  • he became ill again and died
• Antibiotics: World war two - When World War Two broke out, Florey and Chain travelled to America and were given $3 million in funding by the US government. They found a way to grow and mass produce purified penicillin. The US government paid for enough penicillin to be produced that every American soldier injured on D-Day could be given penicillin.

  After World War Two, new methods were developed. These meant people could routinely be given antibiotics to deal with infection.
• Development of drugs since 1945: DNA - Rosalind Franklin was an English researcher and an expert in the use of X-rays. During the 1950s, she used X-rays to take images of DNA. This work was crucial in enabling researchers to start to understand the structure and composition of DNA.
• Development of drugs since 1945: DNA - In 1953, Francis Crick (a British researcher) and James Watson (an American geneticist) built on the earlier work done by Franklin. They were able to discover the double helix structure of DNA. They wrote about their findings in the medical journal Nature.
• Development of drugs since 1945: DNA - The discovery of DNA’s structure was significant in helping researchers to understand the causes of some diseases. It also allowed a new field of medicine to evolve. This field focused on developing treatments based on the structure and make-up of people’s DNA.
• Development of drugs since 1945: Modern surgery -

  • In 1967, Christiaan Barnard, a South African cardiac surgeon, carried out the world’s first heart transplant.
  • In 2005, a partial face transplant was completed for the first time in France. In 2010, the first full face transplant was carried out in Spain.
• Development of drugs since 1945: Modern surgery -

  • Laser surgery has a wide range of uses, including eye surgery, cancer treatments and control of bleeding.
  • Keyhole surgery uses microscopic cameras. With this technique, operations take place with just a small cut to allow the cameras to be inserted and the procedure to be completed. This reduces the risk of infection and speeds up recovery times.
• Development of drugs since 1945: Modern treatments -

  • The use of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) led to the birth of Louise Brown in England in 1978.
  • New vaccines have been developed. For example, the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine is now routinely offered to young people in Britain. This reduces their chance of developing certain cancers.
• Mainstream medicine: Treatment and care are provided by a trained doctor or nurse. This usually relies on using scientific methods to diagnose and treat patients. Most treatments and care provided by the NHS would be described as mainstream medicine.
• Alternative medicines: They include some ideas and methods that are believed to be effective but that lack the evidence base or testing that apply to a mainstream treatment.
• Alternative medicines: Acupuncture - using needles inserted into specific parts of the body to help with pain relief
• Alternative medicines: Yoga - exercises and movements that are believed to help improve mental health and improve strength and flexibility
• Alternative medicines: Hypnotherapy - using relaxation and focusing of thoughts to support people with mental health challenges or help them change their behaviour - for example, to help them stop smoking.
• Alternative medicines: Herbal remedies - people take herbs to help with a range of medical issues, including mental health challenges, pain or a low immune system
• Antibiotic resistance: In recent years, a problem has emerged with some bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics. One example bacterium is MRSA. These bacteria are sometimes referred to as superbugs. Some of the potential causes of antibiotic resistance include:

  • patients not fully completing a course of antibiotics
  • overuse of antibiotics
  • use of antibiotics in some farming
• Antibiotic resistance: In the medical community there is a concern that antibiotic resistance could grow, so more bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Many infections have been treated straightforwardly with antibiotics since the discovery of penicillin. However, superbugs could make these infections life threatening again. To deal with this, research is being done to try to discover new antibiotics and ways of dealing with superbugs.