Ch2 notes in RoTM

Some Key Points in Chapter 2:
*Earliest antibacterial compounds such as mercury and derivatives from arsenic were to toxic for human body use.

*Rene Dubos
-Research scientist that experimented with Streptococcus pneumoniae (cause of bacterial pneumonia)
-mixed aqueous extract of soil and S.pneumoniae to see if the bacteria in the soil would kill or inhibit the growth of the S.p b/c the ecologibal balance would be maintained only if such microorganisms existed. (initially found antibacterial compound that was "crude brown material..sticky..and an earwaxy material")
-The ear waxy material extract was found to inhibit the growth of S.p
-also found a material to toxic for human use in the ear wax goo called Gramicidin.

Sulfa Drugs
-sulfonamides (prontocil) contained an active component that could cure some cases of S.p
-Prontocil converted human cells into an antibacterial coupound.

*discovered (disputably by Alexander Fleming)
-put some Staphylococcus aureus on an agar place where it had an area of no bacteria growth, which was Penicillium notatum-(almost thrown away with a ton of other agar plates*)

Tuskegee Study
-arsenicals could treat some cases of syphilis
-tested on a group of "syphalitic African American sharecroppers in Alabama, where they would not be treated but instead give samples of their blood as they slowly died.(thought nurses that came on a weekly basis were "helping"…..not so much)
-only a few survivors were ultimately treated years later.

*AZT (azidothymidine) is and anti-HIV compound that does not cure HIV or AIDS, but slows it down.
