Biotechnology Flashcards
What is a microbe?
What are the 4 main types of microbes?
Which is bigger and by what factor..
Bacteria or Viruses
Bacteria are about 100 times bigger than viruses
What are the 3 basic shapes of bacteria?
True or False
Most bacteria found in the human body are either harmless or are in fact helpful
True
Only around 15% of bacteria are harmful but some can cause serious problems
How do bacteria reproduce?
By binary fission. Each bacteria can reproduce every 20 minutes
What is needed for microbes to grow?
What is the structure of a virus?
True or false
Viruses do not contain cells
True
and for this reason some people don’t consider them to be living
How do funghi reproduce (replicate)?
By budding
By producing spores
How do viruses reproduce (replicate)?
By invading cells and tricking them into replicating new copies of the virus
What is a pathogen?
A microbe that causes infectious disease
What are some common illnesses caused by viruses?
What are some common illnesses caused by bacteria?
How do pathogens enter the body?
How do pathogens enter the body?
How are pathogens spread?
How are pathogens spread (2)
How are pathogens spread (3)
Preventing the spread of disease
Which 2 diseases were involved in the first vaccine?
Smallpox and Cowpox
Which animal was used to creat the name “Vaccine”?
Cow
Which processes do vaccines interfere with in bacteria?
- Metabolism
- DNA replication
- Protein synthesis
How do vaccines work?
A weakened version of the virus is used to stimulate the body to produce antibodies which are ready to use when real virus enters
What is herd immunity?
The idea that if enough people are vaccinated then a disease cannot be spread to those who are not vaccinated
What 2 ways do antibiotics work on bacteria?
- they kill the bacteria by destroying the cell wall
- They interfere with some of ther processes the bacteria needs to survive
Why don’t antibiotics kill viruses?
Because viruses don’t have a cell wall
Why does food “go off”?
Growth of microbes on food
How can we preserve food?
High temp (UHT)
Low temp (Freezing)
Chemicals (Salt or Vinegar)
Atmosphere (Vacuum packing)
Bottling or Canning
Moisture removal (drying)
Fermentation
Why are bacteria and funghi used in food and medicine production?
They rapidly multiply
Why aren’t viruses used in food production?
They need living cells to multiply
