Medicine: The Good Wizard

The Spanish Biscayan port of Gijón (pop. 110,000) was decked out in its fiesta best last week. Even its waterfront slums were bravely decorated with fish nets, crossed oars and ships' wheels laced with flowers. As the guest of honor, a smiling widow from Britain, entered a mean little square, she looked into the eyes of a blown-up photograph of her husband bearing the inscription: "To the Holy Virgin we pray: for us, many sardines; for the wizard who gave us penicillin, glory."

The widow was Greek-born Lady Fleming, 42, second wife of Bacteriologist Sir Alexander Fleming and a bacteriologist herself. Scientists...

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