Matthew highlighted how penicillin completely changed the world by comparing the time periods before and after its discovery at the Dunn School. Most of us, he said, “wouldn’t remember the time when some things that these days we consider completely trivial, like maybe a sore throat or a little skin infection, a boil or a spot could kill you”. All these things are now “completely treatable, and that’s entirely down to antibiotics, of which the first was penicillin, discovered here in Oxford”.
Benny Chain, son of Ernst Chain, one of the Dunn School scientists responsible for the development of penicillin into a therapeutic drug, also shared some of the history of the discovery of penicillin’s therapeutic benefits through a pre-recorded interview that aired alongside.
Throughout the day, several University of Oxford professors were interviewed about other aspects of medical research conducted at the University, as part of a broader segment on medical sciences in the UK.
To listen to a recording of the show, visit the BBC website.
Written by Derek Xu (@derekcxu)