Medical Biotechnology Flashcards
What is gene therapy?
When doctors manipulate genetic material to try and cure a condition
What is a vaccine?
A suspension of dead, weakened or fragmented pathogen (or toxins) that will stimulate the production of antibodies by the lymphocytes
How do vaccines work?
The dead cell means you don’t get sick
The antibody is made
The memory cell remembers how to make the antibody
If you become infected with the actual virus, the memory cell remembers how to make the antibody
Why are vaccines needed?
Antibodies, if made from scratch, can take up to five days
What is herd immunity?
When a person isn’t immune to a disease, but everyone around them is, so their risk is lower
What are the two types of immunity?
Adaptive
Innate
What are the two types of adaptive immunity?
Natural
Artificial
What is a DNA vaccine?
A vaccine where the specific part of DNA that instructs your cells to make the antibodies you need
What is biotechnology?
Manipulating a biological system to better affect the human
What is an antibiotic?
Drugs that fight off infections caused by microorganisms
Where did the first penicillin come from?
A fungus
What do antibiotics prevent?
Only infections caused by bacteria
How do antibiotics work?
They inhibit the bacterial cell from making a cell wall
They inhibit the bacterial cell from replicating its DNA
They inhibit the bacterial cell from making proteins
How can taking too little antibiotics be bad for you?
If you don’t take enough, only the resistant bacteria remain
These stronger bacteria are harder to kill
How can taking too many antibiotics be bad for you?
If you take them when you don’t need them, your body can work up immunity to them, and then they won’t work when you actually need them
Why are probiotics needed?
They replace the ‘good’ bacteria that are killed by antibiotics
What are antigens?
Things that help your immune system to recognise your own cells
What antigen does Group A have?
Only A
What antigen does Group B have?
Only the B antigen
What antigen does Group AB have?
Both antigens
What antigen does Group O have?
Neither antigen A or B
What does the + or - of blood type mean?
The positive means you have the Rhesus factor
Negative means you don’t
What are antigens?
Proteins
Why is cross matching of blood important?
If someone is given blood with proteins their immune system doesn’t recognise, the cells will be attacked and the blood will clot
Which blood type is the universal recipient?
AB+
It has both antigens, so it’s immune system won’t reject any blood
Which blood type is the universal donor?
O-
It doesn’t have either antigens, so no blood type will reject them
Which blood type is the most rare?
AB+
What was significant about Dolly?
She was the first complex mammal to be cloned
What happened to Dolly?
She died of lung disease
What does clone mean?
Make an identical copy of
Why isn’t reproduction considered cloning?
Reproduction involves DNA from two organisms
A clone only has DNA from one organism
What is the main difference between cloning and stem cell therapy?
Cloning: entire organism
Stem cell therapy: tissues/organs
What can stem cell therapy be used for?
Skin grafts
Bone marrow transplant
What can an embryonic stem cell do?
Develop into any kind of cell
Where did scientists get embryonic stem cells from?
Fertility labs
Why can experiments with embryonic stem cells be considered non-ethical?
The embryonic stem cells can be considered people
Why are stem cells very useful?
The likelihood of a body accepting transplants grown from the patient’s DNA is greater than a transplant from somewhere else
What is the difference between an embryonic and an adult stem cell?
Embryonic: can make any kind of cell
Adult: can only make the cells where the stem cell was (bone marrow stem cell, muscle stem cell)
What are iPS cells?
Cells that have been taken from a patient, and turned back into stem cells
