<iframe src="https://www. npr. org/player/embed/nx-s1-5677266/nx-s1-mx-5677266-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> In 1928, a chance contaminant in Scottish physician Alexander Fleming's lab experiment led to a discovery that would change the field of medicine forever: penicillin.

Hebrew University of JerusalemJan 4 2026 New study reveals that bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment through two fundamentally different "shutdown modes," not just the classic idea of dormancy.