Penicillin
Penicillin changed the world in 1928
The future then...
Penicillin transformed the treatment of infectious disease and saved countless lives around the world. The first of our modern antibiotics, it was a powerful weapon against diseases such as pneumonia and syphilis. Thanks to drugs like penicillin, we lead longer, healthier lives.
The future now...
Many scientists believe stem-cell therapy will transform the future of medicine. Stem cells can be grown into any type of cell in the body, so they could be used to grow new muscles, nerves and blood cells - or even complex organs.
'Without penicillin, I probably wouldn't be here. I had to take it for the first three years of my life - I have a hole in my heart and the doctors worried it could get infected.'
Jessie Swisher, Senior Fundraiser
See other Icons
Stephenson's Rocket
It's the most famous steam locomotive in the world... but what makes it so special?
Electric Telegraph
Using only 20 letters, how did this odd-looking machine make the world a smaller place?
X-ray Machine
Looking inside the body was tricky before the discovery of X-rays. What did it mean for medicine?
Model T Ford
Motoring for the masses begins. Imagine swapping your horse for this handsome creature...
V2 Rocket Engine
The Nazis built it to fire missiles at London. So why have we chosen a weapon of war to celebrate our centenary?
Pilot ACE Computer
In a world where computers could only do one thing, how slow could you bear to go?
DNA Double Helix
Imagine how you'd feel if you thought you had discovered the secret of life...
Apollo 10 Capsule
How far? How fast? How on Earth? Forty years later we ask: would I have been as brave?
Add your own Icon
We want to know what invention or discovery has changed your life... Could it be the iPod, IVF or the internet? What would you choose?