episode_0069

Episode 69. Fleming, Alexander Fleming (4)

****

It was a rare, sunny, maritime west coast summer, but it was too busy to go out.

This class should inform the world that antibiotics, substances that kill bacteria even in very small amounts, do not have any adverse effects on humans.

For that reason, I was preparing for class with Istina. Istina was handing over the materials to be used in class with a very serious expression.

“It’s a bit disappointing.”

“What?”

“The fact that blue mold produces antibacterial substances is not deductively provable, right? It’s not like there’s any clear logic to it.”

“If we compare, yes.”

“Shall we take the culture dish?”

“That’s okay.”

There is no point in debating for a hundred days whether there is a black swan or not. Someone has to catch a black swan, or at least pluck its feathers, before the academic world can acknowledge its existence.

The theoretical background that black swans could exist is important, but no one will believe it until it comes.

First of all, let’s focus on bringing up the topic today. After all, it’s important to present this on a large stage outside of the academy, an academic conference.

****

And the next day.

It’s class time.

Today’s class had a specific purpose: to plant the idea that such a thing could exist before presenting a paper on antibiotics.

Fleming is said to have had the idea that there might be a substance that selectively kills bacteria after seeing that bacteria cultured in nasal mucus he accidentally spilled died. From a modern perspective.

Tears and nasal mucus contain an enzyme called lysozyme, which has a mild sterilizing effect. It is like a natural antibiotic produced by the body.

“Istina. Attendance.”

“All here.”

“Okay.”

I looked around the classroom. There weren’t many strange people today. The professors and graduate students who used to come every time I had class were nowhere to be seen.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

“It has recently been discovered that alcohol kills bacteria. This has a significant impact on hygiene management in hospitals and infection control during surgery.”

-I hope it helps by some miracle. I don’t know if it actually did. I trailed off a bit this time.

“I think it will be helpful.”

anyway.

“Drinking alcohol does not kill the bacteria in your body. It can make your illness worse.”

“This has to do with concentration. Even if you drink an entire bottle of vodka, your blood alcohol concentration will not exceed 0.1 percent. You need at least 1 percent to kill bacteria.”

This is the important thing.

“Then. Is there a substance that can kill bacteria and is safe to administer to humans?”

Of course it exists. It’s an antibiotic. But it’s not an easy substance to find.

“Mr. Oliver. What do you think?”

“Well, there is no substance that selectively kills bacteria while leaving human tissues intact, but there seem to be many things that can restore vitality.”

There is something like that.

For example, herbal medicine. Although it may be effective, its mechanism and operating principle are very different from antibiotics. It’s just a different story.

“That’s true too. Do any other students have any opinions?”

I looked around the classroom.

“No. What if there was a substance that could kill bacteria in extremely small amounts without causing significant harm to humans?”

It was kind of funny even after I said it.

Whatever, it’ll be good.

“To conclude, my lab discovered a strain of fungus a few days ago that produces a substance that specifically kills bacteria.”

Oliver flinched, seeming to give up on asking a question. I looked at Oliver.

“Mr. Oliver, please speak.”

“Does that make sense?”

“Why doesn’t it make sense?”

“The mold itself is the cause of decay and disease. Does it kill bacteria?”

“What… … . Now is it.”

In a word, that’s it.

“Bacteria compete with fungi for limited resources. Bacteria reproduce faster, but fungi respond with more complex structures. This is one of them.”

“A poison that selectively kills bacteria?”

“Yes.”

The classroom was still buzzing with noise.

Well… … . It’s just that the research hasn’t been completed yet. When it’s time to present at the Whitby conference, we’ll be able to discuss things like how to cultivate blue mold, instead of things like this.

“Let me explain the experimental method. We inoculated the mold in the center of a culture dish, and then grew bacteria on the same dish. In some dishes, the mold actively inhibited the growth of bacteria.”

This time, Istina raised her hand.

“Is there any evidence that this is a substance?”

“The mycelia of the mold are visible under a microscope. So we should assume that the substances secreted by the mold spread and exert their influence.”

Istina nodded.

I thought about it some more.

If you observe the moment when penicillin is administered through a microscope, you can see that the bacteria exposed to penicillin burst.

It’s possible if you extract penicillin, but it’s not impossible. After all, seeing it with your own eyes is the most certain thing.

We might be able to directly observe the structures that secrete penicillin. I’ll have to think about this some more. Irrefutable proof.

This time, Anne, a graduate student of Professor Kropelter’s who was sitting in the back, raised her hand.

“Are you saying that there really is a substance that can selectively kill bacteria?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that the dream of silver bullets? I think it’s a bit of an absurd goal.”

That’s not a question.

Because you seem like a shameless student.

It may be a long way from commercialization, but discovery and proof will be possible soon.

I shook my head. I know why Anne said that, but she was wrong.

“No, we have already done the searching. The question is not whether it exists, but whether it is a discovery that can be used in a clinical setting.”

Whether commercialization is actually possible.

I’ve been thinking about this myself. Can we really extract penicillin from a strain of blue mold? In a few years?

It was something unknown.

“The plan is to grow a blue mold strain and isolate the substance within a few weeks. Growing it won’t be difficult.”

Chemical extraction will be difficult for the time being. The classroom was buzzing again, and Istina looked at me from the front seat.

“Excuse me, Professor.”

In the very back, a woman in a gray robe raised her hand. I turned my head toward the voice. It was Violet.

“You’re working hard, Violet.”

Well, Violet doesn’t work at the palace. It might be more helpful for her to be here. She listens to her classes more diligently than most students.

“Professor, are you saying that you have already discovered a toxic substance that selectively kills bacteria and not humans?”

That’s what I came here to talk about. I nodded.

“Oh, yes.”

“Show me too.”

“You don’t like it?”

“Just once.”

Isn’t this a bit of a crazy symbol?

Now that I think about it, Violet was crazy to begin with. She wasn’t a sane person to begin with.

I sighed.

“I plan to submit a paper to the Witby Society.”

“Okay.”

Violet put her hand down.

****

Class was over, but Violet followed me to the lab.

“Professor.”

“Yes.”

“I have to report to the Imperial Medical Corps, so. Could you please show me what you’re doing? Seriously, I’ll just watch.”

“Um… ….”

Okay. If it takes 20 years to commercialize, it won’t make a difference if you tell Violet a week early. More than that.

“Then please help me get some research funds.”

“Research expenses?”

“Yes.”

Violet hesitated a bit at these words.

“Okay. I’ll tell the royal family next time. Professor, please give me some research funding for this. This is research that will truly change the world.”

“Okay… … .”

“Then you show me?”

I nodded.

“Follow me.”

I brought Violet into the lab. In one corner of the lab, the problematic blue mold was growing in an incubator.

I took out a petri dish.

“Look.”

“Is this it?”

Violet carefully took the petri dish. As in the previous experiment, she was inoculating the blue mold in the center of the petri dish to see how much the bacteria would not grow.

“Ah. Are you saying that bacteria can’t grow near mold? So it has to do with substances that have sterilizing properties… …?”

“You can see it.”

“It’s interesting, but can this be used as medicine? I don’t know if there’s any use for it.”

“You’ll know if you research it.”

Violet nodded.

“Please give me just one.”

“No, I never saw Violet working when I was working at the palace.”

“Well… … . Right now, there is no one in the royal family smarter than me, so that’s why.”

Violet is a really strange person. At first glance, she’s a total loser, but she does well when it matters, and she’s good at dealing with people. Despite her loser status, she’s a character that’s hard to completely hate.

I put a piece of moldy bread into a glass jar and handed it to Violet.

“Okay? Take it to the Imperial Medical Corps.”

“Oh my. On behalf of the Imperial Government, I would like to express my gratitude to the Professor for his hard work.”

Ah, that’s right. Violet carefully placed the sample of the blue mold in question into her pocket.