Medical defense history

Selman Waksman changed the course of medical history while investigating how soil microbes defended themselves against invaders. He and coworkers isolated twenty-two new defensive compounds produced by soil microbes and in the process discovered streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis. For his discovery of streptomycin, Waksman received the 1952 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. 

FN22. Senator Javits, an active proponent of the legislation, obviously viewed the BFOQ defense as a narrow one when he explained that it could be proved when the employer can demonstrate that there is an objective, factual basis for believing that virtually all employees above a certain age are unable to safely perform the duties of their jobs and where, in addition, there is no practical medical or performance test to determine capacity. 123 Cong.Rec. 34319 (1977), Legislative History 506. See also H.R.Rep. No. 95-527, pt. 1, p. 12, Legislative History 372. 

---