Drugs

Question 1

Why do we need new medicines and drugs?

Answer 1

Newly emerging disease
Some diseases have no effective treatment
Antibodies can become less effective

Question 2

What are some sources of new medicine?

Answer 2

Accidental diseases
Traditional remedies
Observing other animals

Question 3

Give an example of an accidental disease?

Answer 3

Penicillin, after Fleming left his Petri dish out for a while and bacteria grew on it

Question 4

Give 2 examples of a traditional remedy

Answer 4

Morphine

Asparin

Question 5

Where does morphine come from and is used for?

Answer 5

Poppy seeds that contain opiate drugs and is a depressant in the nervous system

Question 6

Where does asparin come from and is used for?

Answer 6

Will bark extract, modified to reduce side effects

Question 7

What happens after a source of new medicine is found?

Answer 7

Isolate active ingredient
Analyse (chemical finger printing)
Make similar molecules
See if they are effective

Question 8

Why is biodiversity important?

Answer 8

To keep a wide range of what we can use for a remedy

Question 9

How does research into the pathogen and trying to block the pathogen?

Answer 9

• isolate the glycoproteins the pathogen binds to
• sequence the amino acids
• Use molecule modelling to work out the shape of molecules
• Find a similar shaped drug to mimic the receptor
• Drug can bring to pathogen instead of host cell

Question 10

How does research into the pathogen work if it is against an enzyme?

Answer 10

A drug can bind the the enzymes active site so it stops the pathogen from entering and binging so the enzyme can’t work

Question 11

What is personalised medicine?

Answer 11

• Sequencing genes from an individual with a particular disease
• Develop specific drugs which will target the molecules in the individual

Question 12

What is synthetic biology?

Answer 12

Making specific molecule for a specific purpose

Question 13

How can plants be used in personalised medicine?

Answer 13

Plant and microorganism genomes can be used to produce suitable compounds to be used in drugs

Question 14

What is the downside to using plants and microorganisms in personal medicine?

Answer 14

It is quicker than searching for the molecules but needs trial and error

Question 15

What are the benefits of antibodies?

Answer 15

Can be mass produced 
Cheap
Can stop of prevent bacteria or fungi growth to save lives
Can relieve symptoms 
Wide range of antibodies

Question 16

What are the risks of antibodies?

Answer 16

Overuse of antibodies can cause pathogens to be resistant to it
People won’t take the full does so bacteria can evolve
Can be addictive
Can be used when it isn’t needed like for viral infection
Pathogens can be resistant to many antibodies

Question 17

What causes antibiotic resistance?

Answer 17

Over prescribing antibiotics
Patients not finishing their treatment
Overuse of antibiotics in livestock and farming
Poor infection control in hospitals and clinics
Lack of hygiene and poor sanitation

Question 18

Why is it harder to find more antibiotics?

Answer 18

Biodiversity is reducing

Habitats being lost or destroyed