This introduction covers Setting the Scene within Magic Bullets for GCSE History. Revise Magic Bullets in Medicine Through Time for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 3 flashcards. This topic appears less often, but it can still be a useful differentiator on mixed-topic papers. It is section 1 of 10 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 1 of 10
Practice
8 questions
Recall
3 flashcards
📖 Setting the Scene
By 1900, doctors could identify germs and prevent some diseases with vaccines. But what about CURING people already infected? Enter Paul Ehrlich, working in Robert Koch's laboratory. He dreamed of a "magic bullet" — a chemical that would kill germs in the body without killing the patient. In 1909, after testing 606 different compounds, his team found one that killed the syphilis bacterium. They called it Salvarsan (Compound 606). It was the first drug to target a specific disease — the dawn of chemical medicine.