What did Waxman discover?

Discovered a medicine to cure tuberculosis from a microbe called actinomycetes

In 1943, Waxman succeeded in discovering streptomycin, a drug that cured tuberculosis. Streptomycin is made from a mold-like microorganism called actinomycetes.

At the time, penicillin had already been developed as a drug for tuberculosis (TB), but Waxman was working on a drug with more powerful effects.

Streptomycin, discovered after years of research, was extremely effective. Its power saved the lives of many tuberculosis patients around the world.

Selman
Abraham
Waksman
(Selman Abrahambr
Waksman)
1888-1973
American, microbiologist
(microbiologist)

Actinomycetes are packed with antibiotics Antibiotics are substances produced by microorganisms to kill bacteria. Antibiotics are used as raw materials for medicines because of their strong efficacy against infectious diseases.
Streptomycin, discovered by Waxman, is one of the antibiotics produced by actinomycetes. Actinomycetes are actually a treasure chest of antibiotics, and today 70-80% of all antibiotics are produced by actinomycetes.

What is actinomycetes?

Actinomycetes are microorganisms that live mainly in the soil.
When Waxman was a student, he collected soil from various depths on a university farm to examine for bacteria and fungi for a report. He noticed that there was a microbe in the soil that was neither bacteria nor mold. It was actinomycetes.
In soil with actinomycetes, the number of other bacteria decreases. This led Waxman to believe that the actinomycetes had the power to kill other bacteria, and he studied them and discovered the antibiotic streptomycin, which is effective against tuberculosis.

Waxman is the godfather of antibiotics. It was Waxman who gave the name "antibiotics" to substances such as streptomycin, which kill other bacteria and molds. When he mentioned the name to a journalist, it became widespread and took root.
Later, Waxman used the money he earned from the development of streptomycin to establish the Waxman Institute for Microbiology. He devoted himself to training researchers in order to eliminate as many diseases as possible.

Why did Waxman decide to create a drug for tuberculosis?

While Waxman was studying microorganisms, World War II was about to begin.
When the war broke out, many soldiers would die from various infectious diseases. Waxman, who believed that he would need a medicine that would be more effective against infectious diseases, was eagerly researching microorganisms in an attempt to find a substance more potent than penicillin.
In 1952, Waxman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of streptomycin, an antibiotic effective against tuberculosis.

Penicillin was the catalyst for research in the soil. Penicillin , a remedy for infectious diseases, was discovered by Fleming and successfully mass-produced as a medicine by British researchers Florey and Chane.
Penicillin is made from a familiar substance called penicillin mold, which grows on bread. Waxman thought, "There must be other substances around us that have not yet been discovered," and began research on microorganisms in the soil.