My favorite organic molecule

There are many organic molecules that I enjoy but the one that I feel is one of the most unrecognized is penicillin. The molecule is by far one of the greatest discoveries the world has ever seen. It has helped save countless lives and affected so many people worldwide. Yet with every great discovery comes consequences. This miracle drug has been used for many years as a "wonder drug" and over time the bacteria penicillin was used to combat have developed ways of becoming resistant. In 1928 as scientist Alexander Fleming, of the United Kingdom, was sorting through petri dishes that had been streaked with Staphylococcus, an area in which mold was growing seemed to secrete a liquid that was able to inhibit the bacterial growth. This discovery would prove vitally important 15 years later as the United States was in the midst of World War II. This drug helped to cure many injured soldiers from foreign strains of bacteria as well as helped soldiers who were suffering from poor, unsanitary living conditions. After the war, this "miracle drug" was sought after by many pharmaceutical companies due to its high success rate overseas. The war acted as a catapult for the penicillin industry and has been used for many uses by the general public ever since. Though it was developed in the United Kingdom, the United States' involvement in WWII helped to promote the drug's use that is still used all over the world today.

Citation:
American Chemical Society International Historic Chemical Landmarks. Discovery and Development of Penicillin. http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/flemingpenicillin.html (August 30, 2014).