Bio-unit 1 study deck Flashcards
Edward Jenner
figured out that cowpox cures smallpox.
Ignaz Semmelweis
introduced hand washing to the medical community.
Louis Pasteur
Developed “germ theory” which proposed that specific microorganisms acted as pathogens.
Joseph Lister
cleaned surgical instruments and a patient’s wound before surgery.
Robert Koch
identified the microbe that causes anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera. Developed Koch’s postulates. Developed agar, a gelatin-like substance used to grow cultures of microbes
What is a pathogen?
Pathogens are disease calling agents.
Bacteria
fungi
viruses
parasites
protozoa
what are two methods by which pathogens are spread
Being touched by someone who is infected (direct contact)
Spread through air, surfaces, or a vector (indirect contact)
What is a vector?
A vector is something that carries a pathogen and transmits it into healthy cells.
diseases spread by vectors
Malaria
Lyme disease
Yellow fever
What conditions must be met before a specific pathogen is identified as the cause of a disease?
The causative agent must be present only in the diseased organisms
The causative agent must be isolated from the diseased organism and grown in pure culture
The cultured agent must cause the same disease when inoculated into a healthy susceptible organism
The same causative agent must then be reisolated from the inoculated diseased organism.
Name five infections caused by viruses.
1.The common cold
2.influenza
3.SARS
4.HIV
5. chicken pox
Describe the steps by which vaccines prevent infections.
First a weakened form of the vaccine is injected into the body. Then the body makes antibodies to fight off the invaders. So when the actual virus enters the body, the antibodies will return to destroy them.
What is a vaccine?
A vaccine is a weakened form of the virus used to protect against it.
How are viruses, viroids, and prions similar? How are they different?
viruses , viroids, and prions are all infectious. Viruses can contain DNA or RNA, viroids can only contain RNA, and prions are only made up of proteins
Name and describe the main structural components of a typical virus.
A typical virus either has DNA as the genetic material, or RNA. The genetic material can be single stranded, or double stranded. The genetic material can also be linear, circular, or segmented.
A capsid is a protein shell of the virus. It surrounds the genetic material. Different proteins make up the capsids of a different virus, thus viruses have a variety of shapes. Multi sided viruses are either called icosahedral or polyhedral. Other virsus have long, narrow, coiled shapes.
