Applications Of IKS And Biotechnology Flashcards
What does IKS stand for?
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
What is an IKS?
Knowledge that certain communities or cultures have acquired over generations through their interactions with the environment
What does indigenous knowledge influence?
Agriculture Healthcare The preparation of food Education Management of resources
What is biotechnology?
The use of organisms or biological systems in industrial processes
What kinds of industrial processes use biotechnology?
Food processing
Antibiotics
Genetic manipulation of crops
What kinds of organisms are often used in biotechnology?
Microorganisms
What are some examples of traditional biotechnology?
Plants with medicinal properties
How many people in South Africa use indigenous medicinal plants?
60%
How many plant species are used by South African healers?
Around 3000
How many traditional healers are there in South Africa?
Around 200 000
What is a detriment that stems from large-scale utilisation of medicinal plants?
Their population decreases
There is a risk of extinction
What are two examples of indigenous medicinal plants?
Devil’s claw
African potato
What is the Latin name for devil’s claw?
Harpogophytom procumbens
Where can Devil’s claw be found?
In the Kalahari desert
Which part of Devil’s claw has medicinal value?
Underground in its tubers
What ailments does Devil’s claw treat?
Arthritis
Rheumatism
It relives muscle and joint pain
What is the Latin name for the African potato?
Hypoxis hemerocallidea
Where can the African potato be found?
In grasslands
Particularly in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Pondoland
What can the African potato be used for?
It acts as a laxative
What substance within the African potato gives it its medicinal properties?
The sterols contained within it
What are sterols?
A subgroup of steroids which are found naturally in plants, animals and fungi
They are waxy compounds which are insoluble in water
What are two well known sterols?
Cholesterol found in animals
Ergosterol found in plants
Which two sterols are found in the African potato?
Phytosterols
Sterolins
What can phytosterols be used to treat?
A weak immune system
How does the body protect itself from pathogens?
By initiating an immune response
What is a pathogen?
A disease-causing virus, bacterium, protozoan or fungus
What does the immune system have to be able to do in order to work efficiently?
Identify which particles belong to the body and which ones do not
What are the two types of immunity?
Natural
Acquired
What is the body’s first line of defence against pathogens?
External barriers that prevent harmful substances from entering the body
What, in humans, is this external barrier?
The skin
What are some natural immune responses that prevent harmful substances from entering the body?
Sneezing
Coughing
Tearing up
Mucous secretion
What is the second line of defence against pathogens?
Fever
Inflammation
Why does the body cause a fever when pathogens have been identified?
Most bacteria grow optimally at lower temperatures
Raising the temperature prevents them from growing and spreading
Why does your body cause inflammation when pathogens have been identified?
The blood vessels in this area widen
This causes more white blood cells (which can destroy pathogens) to flow to this area
What is acquired immunity?
It is the action of the immune system adapting to fight diseases it has conquered in the past more effectively
What does the body do once a pathogen has been defeated?
It stores a memory of the response
What does the body remember about a pathogen?
The antigens it has
What is an antigen?
A protein that exists in the outside of a cell
What do leucocytes do once they recognise a pathogen?
Destroy or neutralise it
What do phagocytes do when they recognise a pathogen?
They engulf it through phagocytosis
What is the immune response of a lymphocyte?
To release antibodies
What do antibodies do?
Attach themselves to antigens on the surface of a pathogen
This causes the pathogenic cell to burst
It is now destroyed
What are memory cells?
Lymphocytes that remain in the blood
They contain the “blue print” for antibodies of particular pathogens
What do memory cells do when the same pathogens are found in the blood stream?
They multiply and produce the antibodies
What is it called when someone has a memory cell that knows how to defeat a disease?
That person is now immune to that disease
What are the two types of acquired immunity?
Natural
Artificial
What is naturally acquired immunity?
The kind of immunity that doesn’t require any medicinal assistance
What are the two types of naturally acquired immunity?
Active
Passive
What is passive naturally acquired immunity?
Antibodies are transferred from a mother to her child, either through the placenta or through the mother’s milk
What is active naturally acquired immunity?
Immunity which develops through contact with pathogens and their subsequent destruction
What are the two types of artificial acquired immunity?
Passive
Active
What is artificially acquired immunity?
The kind of immunity that develops through intentional actions
What is passive artificially acquired immunity?
The body is injected with antibodies that were developed in another organism
This offers immediate protection
What is active artificially acquired immunity?
The body is inoculated with a dead or weakened form of a pathogen
The body is stimulated to form antibodies, but there is no threat
What is another name for immunisation?
Inoculation
What is inoculation?
Administration of a vaccine in order to develop immunity to a disease
What does a vaccine consist of?
A dead or weakened form of pathogen
Why are vaccines useful?
The body has time to develop antibodies without any actual threat to the body
When the actual pathogen comes along, the memory cell will already know how to defeat
What disease did vaccines make possible to eliminate?
Smallpox
Who is regarded as the father of immunology?
Edward Jenner
What kinds of diseases have vaccines?
Measles Mumps Rubella Tetanus Polio Influenza Yellow fever Typhoid fever Hepatitis A and B
What are antibiotics?
Chemical substances that destroy pathogenic bacteria
How are most antibiotics manufactured?
From moulds
What was the first antibiotic?
Penicillin
How discovered that penicillin was an antibiotic?
Alexander Fleming
What are most antibiotics today?
Semi-synthetic
Why can it be said that antibiotics are semi-synthetic?
They are chemically modified in the biotechnology industry to have different effects on different bacteria
Why are antibiotics limited?
They can only destroy bacteria, not viruses
Which cells determine your blood group?
Erythrocytes
What determines blood type?
The kind of antigens that a red blood cell carries on its surface
What are the two main types of antigens that an erythrocyte has?
A antigens
B antigens
What are the four main blood groups?
A
B
AB
O
Why are there four blood groups when there are only two antigens?
A person may have only the B antigen, only the A antigen, neither or both
What causes people to have different blood types?
Their genetic makeup
What is agglutination?
Blood-clot formation
What can cause agglutination?
If the Anti-A antibodies identify the A antigen in the blood
Why is it important to have only one type of blood in a person?
If there is an antigen in the cells that the blood plasma identifies as a threat agglutination will occur
What is a blood transfusion?
When blood from one person is transferred to another
How can blood transfusion be dangerous?
If two people who have the same blood type have a blood transfusion, they should be okay
However, if someone’s blood has an antigen that the other person has an antibody for, agglutination will occur
Which blood type is known as the universal donor?
Type O blood
Why is type O blood the universal donor?
It has no antigens, so no antibodies will react to it
Which blood type is known as the universal recipient?
Type AB blood
Why is type AB blood known as the universal recipient?
It has no antibodies, so all blood will be accepted
What is cloning?
The process in which a genetically identical replica of a molecule, cell or entire organism is made
What are the three types of cloning?
DNA
reproductive
Therapeutic
What is DNA cloning?
The transfer of a particular gene from an organism to a foreign host cell
What is the purpose of DNA cloning?
To obtain a desired characteristic
What is reproductive cloning?
When a complete replica of an organism is created
What is a famous example of a reproductive clone?
Dolly the sheep
Why was Dolly the sheep so famous?
She was the first mammal to be cloned, and be able to function normally
What ability do plants have (in respect to cloning) that animals do not?
Any plant cell can become a new plant if they have the correct growth medium
What is therapeutic cloning?
The use of stem cells
What are stem cells?
Undifferentiated cells which have many purposes
What can stem cells be used for?
To study human development
To replace damaged tissues and organs
To treat certain diseases
What kind of diseases could stem cells treat?
Leukaemia
Diabetes
Alzheimer’s
Where can stem cells be found?
Embryos
Umbilical cords
Some instruments can reverse the specialisation of a cell to turn it back into a stem cell
Why is cloning a controversial topic?
Although it is certain these techniques have many uses, whether these uses or methods are ethical is debatable
What are ethics?
Moral questions
They concern right/wrong, good/bad, justifiable/not
What are some issues that arise because of cloning?
Will clones have rights?
Will the government be able to regulate the use of cloning?
What about the risks involved?
