Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

Alexander Fleming's Messy Desk Leads to a Major Discovery

Clip: Episode 3 | 4m 58s  | Video has closed captioning.

Alexander Fleming's untidy desk becomes the key to a major scientific breakthrough when a particle of bacteria from his laboratory floats onto a petri dish on a desk in his study. This accident in a petri dish leads to his discovery that naturally-occurring mold could be a bacteria killer, setting the stage for the invention of penicillin further down the line.