Fleming came back from the First World War focused on the problem of infection, and he spent the next decade studying the body’s…

Alexander Fleming came home from the First World War convinced infection killed more soldiers than enemy fire. A decade of searching for a non-toxic bacterial killer ended, in September 1928, with a contaminated petri dish and a clear ring where staph should have been.

By The Artful Age Editorial Team · Sep 10, 2026