Discovery of the Antibiotic Streptomycin

Researchers at Rutgers identified a substance that became important in the treatment of tuberculosis.

On 19 October 1943, Albert Schatz, a graduate student in Selman Waksman's laboratory at Rutgers University, isolated streptomycin. The research grew from a systematic search for substances produced by soil microorganisms.

Unlike penicillin, streptomycin proved active against the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. This was especially significant at a time when tuberculosis remained widespread and often fatal.

The path from laboratory discovery to widespread treatment required extensive testing of effectiveness, toxicity and methods of production. Other members of the research group, including Elizabeth Bugie, also contributed; the later allocation of credit became controversial.

Streptomycin became one of the symbols of the early antibiotic era. The history of its discovery is a reminder that scientific breakthroughs are rarely the work of only one person.

Source: View historical source ↗