80 The Discovery Of Penicillin Trivia Questions with Answers
80 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
In what month and year did the first human trial of penicillin begin?
Answer
February 1941
Who first synthesized penicillin in a laboratory?
Answer
John C. Sheehan
Which species of Penicillium was used in large-scale penicillin production?
Answer
Penicillium chrysogenum
What unit was originally used to measure penicillin potency?
Answer
Oxford unit
Which mycologist identified Fleming's original mold as Penicillium notatum?
Answer
Charles Thom
Who devised the extraction method that made penicillin purification possible?
Answer
Norman Heatley
What did Alexander Fleming name the enzyme that can destroy penicillin?
Answer
penicillinase
From what fruit was the high-yielding Penicillium strain isolated?
Answer
Cantaloupe
At which US laboratory was the high-yield penicillin strain discovered?
Answer
Northern Regional Research Laboratory
What did Fleming initially call the penicillin extract?
Answer
Mould juice
What method did Dorothy Hodgkin use to solve penicillin's structure?
Answer
X-ray crystallography
Who determined the molecular structure of penicillin?
Answer
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
What species of Penicillium did Fleming originally discover?
Answer
Penicillium notatum
What chemical class does penicillin belong to?
Answer
Beta-lactam antibiotics
What was the name of the first patient treated with penicillin?
Answer
Albert Alexander
Who led the Oxford team that purified penicillin for medical use?
Answer
Howard Florey
What is the name of the hospital where Fleming discovered penicillin?
Answer
St. Mary's Hospital
During which global conflict was penicillin first mass-produced?
Answer
World War II
What prestigious award did Fleming, Florey, and Chain receive for penicillin?
Answer
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
In which city was penicillin discovered?
Answer
London
What common bacterium did Fleming observe being killed by the mold?
Answer
Staphylococcus aureus
What genus of mold produces penicillin?
Answer
Penicillium