Project Penicillin

The gripping true story of how a team of scientists developed a drug that saved 500 million lives

Experience the greatest breakthroughs in science, with the DK Science Stories series.

On the battlefields of World War I, soldiers are dying from infected wounds. A young doctor witnessing the devastation vows to find a cure. In his messy laboratory a decade later, he makes an accidental discovery - a miracle mould that kills bacteria. But try as he might, he cannot turn his amazing find into a useful medicine.

This is the story of that chance discovery and the brilliant scientists who took Alexander Fleming's miracle mould and worked tirelessly to turn it into a treatment that doctors could use. As another war broke out in Europe, they found themselves in a race against time to grow enough penicillin and create the first antibiotic. Their teamwork and determination led to a class of drugs that saved countless lives and paved the way for modern surgery and other life-saving treatments.