Let’s see what you know about these scientific breakthroughs that changed the world.

The discovery of penicillin is one of the most important medical breakthroughs in history. It marked the beginning of the antibiotic era, saving millions of lives and revolutionizing the treatment of bacterial infections. Penicillin is the first true antibiotic—a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. It is produced naturally by a type of mold called Penicillium notatum. Who discovered it?

The general theory of relativity, published in 1915, is a revolutionary theory of gravity. It describes gravity not as a force, but as the curvature of space and time (spacetime) caused by mass and energy. Who is responsible for this great discovery? 

Dialysis is a medical treatment that performs the function of the kidneys when they can no longer work properly. Normally, the kidneys filter waste and excess fluids from the blood, balance electrolytes and control blood pressure. The first dialysis machine was invented by Dr. Willem Johan Kollf. He was known as “the father of artificial organs.” What is another artificial organ he developed?

The Internet began in the late 1960s as a U.S. government project called ARPANET. It was created to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network, originally connecting four universities – UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford and the University of Utah. The domain name system was first implemented in 1985 and the world-wide web was developed in the late 1980s by Tim Berners-Lee. On August 6, 1991, what happened?

Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. It mainly infects young children and can lead to paralysis, permanent disability, or even death. It spreads via contaminated food or water, sneezing and coughing. In 1955, the first polio vaccine was made public and this became highly effective in preventing paralytic polio. Within 25 years, polio had been eliminated in the US. Which famous doctor is responsible for its development?

Bonus Question:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines — enabling them to perform tasks like learning, reasoning, problem-solving, understanding language, and recognizing patterns. In the 20^th century there was a great deal of optimism concerning the development of the human level thinking machine but these were considered overly ambitious and funding diminished. A revival occurred in the 1990s – 2010s which focused on giving computers the ability to learn. In 1997 IBMs Deep Blue stunned the world by defeating Garry Kasparov in what game?