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Biology Paper 1 > Infection And Response > Flashcards

Infection And Response Flashcards

1
Q

What is a communicable disease?

A

Any disease that is infectious.

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2
Q

What are communicable diseases caused by?

A

Infections in animals and plants are caused by:
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Protists
- Fungi

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3
Q

What is a pathogen?

A

Any virus, bacteria, protist or fungus that causes an infectious disease. They are all microorganisms.

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4
Q

Do all microorganisms cause infectious disease?

A

No, many microorganisms are not pathogens. Some bacteria are useful, for making cheese/yoghurt. We can eat fungi, e.g., mushrooms.

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5
Q

How are pathogenic microorganisms spread?

A

Spread of microorganisms can be by direct contact, by water or by air.

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6
Q

What do pathogenic bacteria do?

A

Their cells reproduce rapidly inside the body, producing toxins that damage tissues and make us feel ill.

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7
Q

What is salmonella?

A

A type of food poisoning caused by bacteria ingested (eaten) in/on food (usually chicken or egg) that has been prepared in unhygienic conditions.

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8
Q

What are the symptoms of salmonella?

A

Fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea are caused by the salmonella bacteria and the toxins they release.

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9
Q

How are we kept safe from salmonella?

A

In the UK, poultry (chickens) are vaccinated against salmonella to control the spread of bacteria. People should take care preparing chicken.

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10
Q

What is gonorrhoea?

A

A sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by bacteria. It is spread by sexual contact with an infected person.

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11
Q

What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?

A

• Thick yellow or green discharge from the penis or vagina
• Pain when urinating.

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12
Q

What can we use to treat gonorrhoea?

A

The antibiotic penicillin worked well to treat gonorrhoea until resistant strains of bacteria evolved. Now scientists are researching new treatments

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13
Q

How can we prevent gonorrhoea spreading?

A

Antibiotics will kill the bacteria, but the infected person needs to use a barrier method of contraception e.g. condom.

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14
Q

What do pathogenic viruses do?

A

They reproduce rapidly inside cells, causing cell damage when they are released.

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15
Q

What is measles?

A

A viral disease that is serious and can cause death if the infected person suffers from complications.

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16
Q

What are the symptoms of measles?

A

A red skin rash and fever.

Most young children are vaccinated against measles.

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17
Q

How can we prevent measles spreading?

A

It is spread by inhaling droplets from sneezes.

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18
Q

What is HIV?

A

A viral disease that attacks the body’s immune cells (white blood cells).

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19
Q

What are the first symptoms of HIV?

A

A flu-like illness is the first symptom. If successfully controlled, the virus doesn’t attack the body’s immune cells.

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20
Q

What is late stage HIV (AIDS)?

A

In late stage HIV, the immune system becomes seriously damaged and the infected person gets ill from any other infections eg. colds or flu, and sometimes cancers.

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21
Q

How can we treat HIV?

A

Medicines called antiretroviral drugs can successfully control the virus and prevent some of the damage to the immune system. This can stop HIV becoming AIDS.

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22
Q

What is Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)?

A

This is a virus that infects and damages many plant species including tomato.

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23
Q

What are the symptoms of TMV?

A

A ‘mosaic’ coloured pattern appears on the leaves.

The pattern ranges from paler green, to yellow or brown.

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24
Q

What is rose black spot?

A

A fungal disease of rose plants. It is spread in the environment by wind or water (rain drops splashing).

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25
What are the symptoms of rose black spot?
Purple or black spots appear on leaves. The leaves often turn yellow and fall off the plant. ## Footnote It affects plant growth as there are fewer leaves to photosynthesise.
26
How can we treat rose black spot?
Fungicide sprays can be used, and removing (and destroying) the affected leaves also helps prevent the spread of the fungus to other leaves and other plants.
27
What is malaria?
A disease caused by a protist. The protist is spread by biting mosquitos as the protist is a parasite that lives in the mosquito for part of it's life cycle.
28
What are the symptoms of malaria?
A fever and flu-like symptoms that recur every few days. The most common malaria infections cause fever every three or every four days and can be fatal.
29
What is a vector species?
A vector is a species that carries a microorganism from one infected individual to another. ## Footnote In malaria, the mosquito is the vector.
30
How can we prevent the spread of malaria?
Preventing the vector from spreading the protist, using mosquito nets to avoid being bitten. ## Footnote Preventing the mosquitos from breeding keeps vector numbers low.
31
What are non-specific defence systems?
Defences that the body has against all types of pathogens. These include, skin, nose, trachea, bronchi and stomach.
32
How does the skin prevent pathogens entering?
The skin is a waterproof layer that prevents most pathogens from entering the body. If the skin is damaged, the wound is sealed quickly by a scab forming.
33
How does the nose prevent pathogens entering?
The nose has hairs and mucus to trap airborne pathogenic microorganisms and stop them from getting further into the body.
34
How do the trachea/bronchi prevent pathogens entering?
They have sticky mucus that traps airborne pathogens, and also the cells lining these airways have cilia that waft the mucus up to the throat to be swallowed.
35
How does the stomach prevent pathogens entering?
The stomach contains hydrochloric acid (pH 2) which destroys most pathogens that are ingested in food.
36
What is our specific defence system?
The immune system tries to destroy any pathogens that enter the body. Various types of white blood cells are involved.
37
What exactly do white blood cells do?
They carry out phagocytosis, as well as producing antibodies and antitoxins.
38
What is phagocytosis?
When a white blood cell engulfs a bacteria and then destroys it by digesting it using enzymes.
39
What are antitoxins?
Chemicals produced by white blood cells that neutralise the toxins produced by bacteria.
40
What are antibodies?
Specific shaped molecules that can bind onto a particular pathogen so that it can be destroyed.
41
How can we become immune to an infectious disease?
The first time a white blood cell meets a pathogen, it takes time to make antibodies to destroy it. The next time that pathogen enters, antibodies can be made fast so we don't get ill.
42
What is a vaccine?
A small quantity of a dead or inactive form of a pathogen that can be put into an individual so that they can develop immunity to the pathogen.
43
How do vaccinations work?
When a white blood cell meets the dead/inactive pathogen it reacts as if it is harmful, and produces antibodies. ## Footnote These antibodies can then be made quickly in future.
44
What was the first vaccine?
Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine when he noticed that milkmaids who had the mild infection of cowpox never got the dangerous smallpox infection.
45
How successful are vaccines?
Very successful as long as enough people are vaccinated. Smallpox has been completely eradicated due to vaccination. The last death from smallpox was 1978.
46
What are antibiotics?
Drugs developed to destroy infectious bacteria inside the body. The first antibiotic discovered was penicillin in the 1940's.
47
Do antibiotics work on all pathogens?
No, antibiotics only kill bacteria. They can't kill viral pathogens because the virus is inside body cells where the antibiotic can't reach.
48
Is there more than one type of antibiotic?
Yes, there are many types. It is important that specific types of bacteria are treated with specific antibiotics.
49
Do all antibiotics work well?
No, lots of antibiotics have become less useful as bacteria have evolved resistant strains. The antibiotics don't work on resistant bacteria.
50
What sort of drugs can destroy viral pathogens?
Antiviral drugs destroy viral pathogens, but it is difficult to kill a virus without damaging body tissues and this makes them very expensive to develop.
51
What do painkillers do?
Painkillers just stop an individual from feeling pain. They don't destroy any pathogens, they just make us feel a bit better by removing some of the symptoms.
52
What about other medicines?
Ibuprofen reduces inflammation, and cough mixtures just soothe, often by reducing friction in our throat or chest. They remove symptoms but don't destroy pathogens.
53
Where do drugs come from?
Traditionally drugs came from plant extracts or microorganisms. Even today, 50% + of all drugs originally came from plants (and many still do).
54
How are new drugs developed?
Scientists in the pharmaceutical industry synthesise (make) and test new drugs.
55
What is digitalis?
A heart drug, originally from the foxglove plant.
56
What is aspirin?
A painkiller originally from the willow tree.
57
What is penicillin?
The first antibiotic, discovered by Alexander Fleming from the Penicillium mould.
58
Why do drugs need to be trialled before public use?
To check they are safe and effective.
59
What is preclinical testing?
Testing in a lab, on cells, tissues and live animals. Only drugs that pass preclinical trials can be used in clinical trials.
60
What are clinical trials?
Testing on people, both healthy volunteers, and patients who might benefit from the drug.
61
What is a double blind trial?
The people in the trial are split into two groups. One group will be given a placebo. The patients in the trial don't know which they are given and nor do the researchers.
62
What is a monoclonal antibody?
Antibodies produced from a single clone of cells.
63
Why are monoclonal antibodies special?
They are specific to one binding site on one protein. This makes them useful for targeting a specific chemical or specific type of cell in the body.
64
Where do monoclonal antibodies come from?
Scientists make them by stimulating mouse lymphocytes (lymphocytes are the type of white blood cell that makes antibodies).
65
How are lymphocytes stimulated to make monoclonal antibodies?
Lymphocytes are combined with a type of tumour cell to make a hybridoma cell.
66
What do hybridoma cells do?
Hybridoma cells can divide by mitosis and can make the particular antibody.
67
How do scientists get enough antibodies to use in treatments?
A single hybridoma cell is cloned to make lots of identical cells. They all make the same antibody, so lots of the antibody can be collected.
68
What do scientists do to the antibodies before use?
The antibodies need to be purified to remove any toxins, viruses or fragments of DNA that may have come from the hybridoma cells.
69
What are monoclonal antibodies used to diagnose?
The most common use is to diagnose pregnancy. They are used in testing kits and cause a colour change if pregnancy hormones are present.
70
What are monoclonal antibodies used for in labs?
Measuring tiny levels of hormones or other blood chemicals, or detecting pathogens is more easily done using monoclonal antibodies.
71
What are monoclonal antibodies used for in research?
Scientists have found ways of attaching fluorescent dye to monoclonal antibodies so that when they bind to particular molecules in cells, the cell will fluoresce / glow.
72
Why might fluorescent binding be useful in the future?
If the cells were fluorescent then the surgeon could see all the tumour and remove it.
73
What are monoclonal antibodies used to treat?
Monoclonal antibodies can be joined to a radioactive substance, a toxic drug or a chemical that stops cells from dividing. The antibody can target specific cells and deliver the substance.
74
Why is it useful to deliver a drug using monoclonal antibodies?
The drug treatment can be targeted, and only specific cells will get the drug.
75
Why aren't monoclonal antibodies used more often?
Monoclonal antibodies create more side effects than expected so they aren't used as widely as scientists first hoped.
76
What sort of diseases can plants get?
Plants get viral, bacterial and fungal infections, as well as being damaged by insects.
77
How can we tell if plants are diseased?
Look for stunted growth, spots on leaves, areas of decay, growths, malformed stems or leaves, discoloured areas or the presence of pests.
78
How can a disease in a plant be identified?
Looking up the disease in a gardening book or website, or taking the infected plant to a lab where they can identify the pathogen.
79
Can monoclonal antibodies be used to identify plant disease?
Yes, testing kits are available using monoclonal antibodies for some plant diseases.
80
What insects can damage plants?
Aphids (greenfly, whitefly, blackfly) feed on the sugars in the plant phloem and can reduce plant growth. They can also spread diseases as they feed.
81
What else can damage plants?
Deficiency diseases of plants exist.
82
What happens when a plant has a nitrate ion deficiency?
A lack of nitrate will cause stunted growth as the plant can no longer produce enough amino acids to build proteins during protein synthesis.
83
What happens when a plant has a magnesium ion deficiency?
A lack of magnesium will cause chlorosis. Magnesium is needed to produce chlorophyll, so chlorosis is patches of yellow on leaves where chlorophyll is lacking.
84
How can plants physically defend themselves from disease?
Plants have tough cellulose cell walls, tough waxy cuticle on leaves, and thick layers of dead cells around stems (bark) which can fall off. These prevent microorganisms from invading.
85
How can plants chemically defend themselves from disease?
Plants contain antibacterial chemicals which can kill invading bacteria, and poisons to deter herbivores from grazing on them (e.g., cyanide).
86
What are the mechanical adaptations to prevent disease?
Thorns/hairs on plants deter grazers. Some plant leaves droop or curl when touched. Some plants mimic insects to prevent being grazed.

Biology Paper 1 (5 decks)

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