Question: Why is penicilium useful but dangerous

Samuel Bloomfield answered on 18 Mar 2026:

It gets a bit confusing because of the names. Penicillium is a fungus that produced a molecule called penicillin that kills of some bacteria. Penicillium the fungus can occasionally cause infections, so should be avoided. Penicillin the chemical can help treat infections, but if it is used too much it will select for bacteria that are resistant to penicillin, making it useless in the future