B6 - Preventing and Treating Disease

Question 1

What is an antigen?

Answer 1

-Unique proteins on (any type of) cell surface

Question 2

What is a vaccine?

Answer 2

-Made of dead or inactive pathogen, stimulates white blood cells to produce antibodies

Question 3

What is a memory cell?

Answer 3

-White blood cells that ‘met’ a pathogen before, so rapidly produce right antibody when meeting the same pathogen

Question 4

What is herd immunity?

Answer 4

-Large proportion of the population is vaccinated, the spread of the pathogen is reduced and it may disappear

Question 5

What drug does willow give us?

Answer 5

-Aspirin

Question 6

What are the steps to the clinical trials?

Answer 6

• Tested on cells, tissues and whole animals to see if it is safe
• Very low doses given to healthy people to check for side effects
• Given to a small number of patients to see if it treats the disease
• Given to large number of patients to find optimum dose

Question 7

What is a double blind trial?

Answer 7

-Neither doctors nor patients know who got the new medicine

Question 8

What is a placebo?

Answer 8

-Does not contain drug

Question 9

What is a monoclonal antibody?

Answer 9

• Antibodies that target a particular cell or chemical

Question 10

What is a hybridoma cell?

Answer 10

-Combination of antibody producing immune cells and infinitely dividing tumour cells