One of the single greatest leaps forward in human healthcare happened because of an accident in a laboratory. This serendipitous event was the result of a summer vacation in Scotland and an unattended experiment. Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, one of the first antibiotics, in 1928 when he noticed that mold had gotten into a petri dish and it had prevented bacteria from growing. This book explores Fleming's accidental discovery, the science behind antibiotics, and the dawn of the era of antibiotics.
How can medicine that tastes like bubble gum make you feel better so quickly? It has penicillin in it--an antibiotic that helps treat bacterial infections. But we wouldn't have the drug without the work of Alexander Fleming. With historical images and details about key events before and after his discovery, this book will help kids understand the lifesaving impact of penicillin on the practice of medicine. Uncover the details of events that changed your world in this Pebble Explore series.
How many items can you think of that are made of plastic? It's seemingly everywhere. It might be difficult to imagine a world without plastic, but until about 100 years ago, plastic as we know it today didn't exist. The word "plastic" wasn't even used until the 1920s. Readers will learn how many types of plastic were invented accidentally by scientists who were trying to make something else. Accessible, fun content describes how these discoveries were made and how they would go on to change the world in ways both big and small.
Boom! Dynamite can blast away mountainsides and bring down buildings. This powerful explosive was discovered over 150 years ago, but it wasn't always safe to use. That's because dynamite contains nitroglycerin, a very dangerous explosive. In the late 1860s, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel accidentally invented dynamite while he was working on a way to make nitroglycerin safer to handle. This book takes an in-depth look at the science behind dynamite, as well as its role in the past, present, and future of demolition. Readers will have a blast learning about this explosive discovery.
The foundation of the human body is our bones. Whether it's in regard to health or even a skeleton costume on Halloween, the discovery of the X-ray machine has greatly improved our understanding of the human body and its bones. The technology for X-rays dated back to the late nineteenth century but was in plain sight for years until their true potential was discovered by accident. This volume introduces readers to the story of their discovery and how they've changed medicine for the better ever since.
Travel through history and around the world to learn about the greatest mistakes, blunders, and bloopers of all time! Everyone makes mistakes and nearly everyone likes to know about them, especially when made by someone else! The Worst Blunders of All Time: Shocking Tales from Pandora's Box to Putin's Invasion presents some of our most notable blunders, from the silly to the consequential, from ancient history to current events. It offers the pleasure of Schadenfreude and of an easy-going reading experience, as well as—here and there—some learning opportunities. The reader will see when relatively big things have gone wrong and couldn’t be called back, such as iconic, mythical blunders like Pandora opening that troublesome box and Eve taking her ill-advised bite, to great historical oops such as Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812, as well as some less monumental but nonetheless exemplary mistakes, such as the “Curse of the Bambino,” when the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth—at the time, a pitcher—to the New York Yankees. These and other exemplary oops are presented in a light-hearted way, with some exceptions being catastrophic, current catastrophes, such as Trump’s egregious mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Author David P. Barash will take readers from the tragic to the whimsical, with the latter represented by, for example, “Wrong Way Corrigan,” an early twentieth century aviator who thought he was flying nonstop from New York to California, but, confused by a heavy fog, ended up in Ireland. Pointing out these and other mistakes will be an exercise in Monday morning quarterbacking and 20-20 hindsight. Thus, The Worst Blunders of All Time shall “backstrapolate”: looking in the rear-view mirror at mistakes made by others. The Worst Blunders of All Time is neither an advice book nor a series of cautionary tales. It’s an easy and accessible read, especially useful as therapy in these difficult times. However, its nonetheless accurate and informative, giving rise to some potentially useful take-home messages, keyed to its material. Ideally, we should all benefit from our own mistakes, making lemonade out of lemons, while also following Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice: “Learn from the mistakes of others. You cannot live long enough to make them all yourself.”
Every time your heart beats, an electrical current has been sent from certain cells to the rest of the heart muscle tissue, triggering your heart to contract and push blood through your body. When these signals go awry, major health issues such as heart attacks can occur. Enter the pacemaker, a small implanted device that keeps your heart beating. Did you know, implantable pacemakers were invented by accident? This volume explores the history, struggles, and the accidental invention of the pacemaker, a device that beats hundreds of thousands of times each year to save people's lives.
Science has made some incredible things possible. Many medications, technology, and scientific theory are well known, while others remain inventions of the imagination. Through engaging text enhanced by whimsical color illustrations and a fun quiz, readers can discover just how much they know about the history of science.
See some of the world's most messed-up medical mishaps at a microscopic level. Find out how each procedure, tool, or surgery failed, the basic science that was missed, and what doctors learned from their mistakes.
Years of using, misusing, and overusing antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant 'superbugs.' The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats held a public workshop April 6-7 to discuss the nature and sources of drug-resistant pathogens, the implications for global health, and the strategies to lessen the current and future impact of these superbugs.
