[Torg] Penicillin aside

[Travis James Hall]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: torg-bounces at justintimeadventures.com 
> [mailto:torg-bounces at justintimeadventures.com] On Behalf Of 
> Jon Woodman
> 
> Penicillin first was discovered in the 1920's and used 
> clinically as an antibiotic in the 1930's.
> 
> I would think, and its merely my opinion, that penicillin's 
> properties as an antibiotic when it works from its unpurified 
> form from fungal cultures would not actually be tech 
> specific.  In that case its naturally occurring and would 
> simply be an accident.

If you are deliberately using it, knowing (or at least correctly expecting)
that it will have an effect, that would fall under the Tech axiom.

> Prior to its discovery, people did 
> not go around applying penicillium cultures to wounds for use 
> in fighting infection.

Apparently they did. They didn't use a refined form (so less effective), and
didn't fully understand how it achieved the effect that it did, but there's
evidence that various moulds were used to treat wounds and other ailments.

But that's not a big deal in terms of the Tech axiom chart. It just means
that there was at least one pre-cursor discovery that came before refined
penicillin, and the existing entry applies to true refined penicillin. Any
such pre-cursor to penicillin is also a Tech axiom tool with a lower axiom
requirement (or the same, just an earlier discovery within the same level).

Travis Hall