Antibiotics and Other Medicines

Question 1

What are antibiotics?

Answer 1

Antibiotics are CHEMICALS that KILL or INHIBIT the GROWTH of BACTERIA.

Question 2

Why are antibiotics useful?

Answer 2

They’re USED by humans as DRUGS to TREAT BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. They’re useful because they can usually TARGET bacterial cells WITHOUT DAMAGING human body cells.

Question 3

Why is Penicillin still remembered today?

Answer 3

PENICILLIN was the FIRST ANTIBIOTIC to be ISOLATED (by Alexander Flemming in 1928)

Question 4

When were Antibiotics widely used?

Answer 4

Antibiotics use became WIDESPREAD from the MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY -partly thanks to the successful treatment of soldiers with Penicillin in the Second World War.

Question 5

The use of antibiotics has decreased the …. rate in the population?

Answer 5

For the PAST FEW DECADES, we’ve been able to deal with bacterial infections PRETTY EASILY using ANTIBIOTICS. As a result of this, the DEATH RATE from INFECTIOUS BACTERIAL DISEASE has FALLEN DRAMATICALLY.

Question 6

Do Antibiotics have drawbacks?

Answer 6

Despite their usefulness, there are RISKS to using antibiotics. For example, they can cause SIDE EFFECTS and EVEN SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTIONS in some people.

Perhaps the biggest risk though is from antibiotic resistance.

Question 7

Why is Antibiotic resistance seen as a problem?

Answer 7

There is GENETIC VARIATION in a population of bacteria. Genetic MUTATIONS make some bacteria NATURALLY RESISTANT to an ANTIBIOTIC.

Question 8

Why is it a problem when bacteria become naturally resistant against an antibiotic?

Answer 8

For the BACTERIUM, the ability to RESIST AN ANTIBIOTIC is a big ADVANTAGE.

It’s better able to SURVIVE, even in a host who’s being treated with antibiotics to get rid of the infection, and so it lives for longer and REPRODUCES many more times.

Question 9

How is antibiotic resistance spread throughout the population of bacteria?

Answer 9

This leads to the ALLELE for ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE being PASSED ON to lots of OFFSPRING.

It’s an example of NATURAL SELECTION.

This is how antibiotic resistance SPREADS and becomes more common in a population of bacteria over time.

Question 10

Why is it a problem when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?

Answer 10

This is a PROBLEM for people who become INFECTED with these bacteria because you CAN’T EASILY GET RID OF THEM with antibiotics.

Question 11

What does the increase in antibiotic intake mean?

Answer 11

INCREASE USE of ANTIBIOTICS means that ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE is INCREASING.

‘SUPERBUGS’ that are resistant to MOST KNOWN ANTIBIOTICS are becoming MORE COMMON.

This means we are LESS ABLE TO TREAT some POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING bacterial infections.

Question 12

Examples of ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT bacteria: MRSA: what is MRSA?

Answer 12

MRSA (meticillin-resistant STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS) causes SERIOUS WOUND INFECTIONS and is RESISTANT to SEVERAL ANTIBIOTICS, including METICILIN (which used to be called METHICLLIN)

Question 13

Examples of ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT bacteria: CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE: What is clostridium difficile?

Answer 13

CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE infects the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, usually causing problems for people who have ALREADY BEEN TREATED with ANTIBIOTICS.

It is though that the HARMLESS BACTERIA that are NORMALLY PRESENT in the digestive system are KILLED by the antibiotics, which C.difficile is RESISTANT to. This allows C. difficile to FLOURISH

C.difficile produces a TOXIN, which causes severe DIARRHOEA, FEVER and CRAMPS.

Question 14

What are two ways of overcoming antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

Answer 14

DEVELOPING NEW ANTIBIOTICS and MODIFYING existing ones. are two ways of OVERCOMING the current problems of antibiotic resistance.

Question 15

What are Doctors doing is mainstream healthcare to prevent antibiotic resistance?

Answer 15

To reduce the likelihood of antibiotic resistance developing in the first place, DOCTORS are being encouraged to REDUCE their USE OF ANTIBIOTICS, e.g. NOT to prescribe them for MINOR INFECTIONS and NOT to prescribe them to PREVENT INFECTIONS (except in patients with already weak immune systems,e.g. the elderly or people with HIV).

PATIENTS are advised to take ALL of the antibiotics they’re PRESCRIBED to make sure the infection is fully cleared and all the bacteria have been killed (which reduces the likelihood of a population of antibiotic-resistant bacteria of developing).

Question 16

How are medicinal drugs manufactured?

Answer 16

Many MEDICINE DRUGS are manufactured USING NATURAL COMPOUNDS found in PLANTS, ANIMALS or MICROORGANISMS. E.G. PENECILIN is obtained from a FUNGUS, some CANCER DRUGS are made using SOIL BACTERIA, and DAFFODILS are now being grown to produce drugs used to treat ALZHEIMERS DISEASE.

Question 17

Have all microorganism been investigated to produce antibiotics?

Answer 17

Only a SMALL PROPORTION of organisms have been investigated so far, so it’s possible that plants or microorganisms EXIST that contain compounds used to treat CURRENTLY INCURABLE diseases, such as AIDS.

Others may produce NEW ANTIBIOTICS.

Question 18

Why is conserving biodiversity an important factor?

Answer 18

Possible SOURCES OF DRUGS need to be PROTECTED by MAINTAINING BIODIVERSITY ( the variety of different species) on Earth. If we DON’T protect them, some species could DIE out before we get a CHANCE to study them.

Even organisms that have ALREADY been studied could still be proved to be USEFUL sources of medicines as NEW TECHNIQUES are developed for identifying, purifying and testing compounds.

Question 19

How are personalised Medicines influenced by your genes?

Answer 19

Your GENES determine how your body RESPONDS to certain DRUGS. DIFFERENT PEOPLE respond to the same drug in DIFFERENT WAYS - which makes certain drugs MORE EFFECTIVE for SOME PEOPLE than others. This is where PERSONALISED MEDICINES come in.

Question 20

How are personal medicines tailored by an individuals DNA?

Answer 20

Personalised medicines are medicines that are tailored to an individuals DNA. The theory is that if doctors have your GENETIC INFORMATION, they can use it to PREDICT how you will respond to different drugs and only prescribe the ones that will be MOST EFFECTIVE for you.

Question 21

What are scientists hoping to achieve in the future by studying genetic makeup?

Answer 21

Scientist hope by studying the RELATIONSHIP between someone’s genetic makeup and their responsiveness to drugs. thus MORE EFFECTIVE DRUGS can be produced in the future.

Question 22

What is synthetic biology?

Answer 22

Synthetic biology involves using TECHNOLOGY to DESIGN and MAKE things like ARTIFICIAL PROTEINS, CELLS and even MICROORGANISMS.

Question 23

Does synthetic biology have many applications, if so, explain?

Answer 23

It has many applications in lots of different areas, including MEDICINE. For example, a scientist is looking at engineering BACTERIA to DESTROY CANCER CELLS, while leaving HEALTHY BODY CELLS INTACT.

Question 24

Name two strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

Answer 24

MRSA (meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) 
Clostridium difficile (C.difficile)

Question 25

MRSA bacteria are resistant to several antibiotics, including meticillin.
Suggest how Staphylococcus aureus bacteria developed resistance to the antibiotic methicillin.

Answer 25

There was genetic variation in the Staphylococcus aureus population that meant some of the bacteria were resistant to meticillin. This made them more likely to survive and reproduce in a host being treated with meticilin. The bacteria passed the allele for meticillin resistance on to their offspring, so meticillin resistance became more common in the population over time.