The discovery of streptomycin by microbiologist Selman Abraham Waksman in the mid-1940s led to the taming of one of the most dreaded diseases of modern times--tuberculosis (TB). Streptomycin, an effective and safe antibiotic, has also been found effective in treating several of other infectious diseases.

Waksman, a Russian-born American microbiologist on the faculty of Rutgers University, had been engaged in the study of soil microbes for a number of years. One of his students, French-born René Jules Dubos (1901-1981), was occupied with a search for antibacterial substances in soil. In 1939, Dubos discovered what turned out to be the first antibiotic drug, gramicidin. Although it fought pneumococcus, staphylococcus, and streptococcus bacteria, it was too toxic for use in humans.

Inspired by Dubos's discovery, Waksman, with the support of the Merck pharmaceutical company, turned his attention to antibacterial substances found in soil. He dubbed these substances antibiotics in...