Modern medicine

Question 1

What other magic bullets were found inspired but Pasteur Koch and Erlich

Answer 1

Prontosil- red chemical that kill blood poisoning (Domagk) was a ‘sulpha drug’ and more of these discovered to cure meningitis pneumonia scarlet fever but some cause liver and kidney damage and couldn’t kill more virulent microbes

Question 1

How was penicillin found / what did it do

Answer 1

Fleming study treatment of soldiers also want to cure blood poisoning causing by staphylococci bacteria went on holiday came back then cleaning culture dishes noticed mold spore kill bacteria and found also stopped anthrax and dipthera growing but at moment not practical drug just a juice as Flemming+ tam don’t have funding so wrote up findings

Question 2

How did Florey/Chain further Flemming’s findings

Answer 2

Procured and produced pure penicillin drug that worked in injecting it in mice and tried it on human - Albert Alexander in 1940 but dies when penicillin supply run out
Visited usa to persuade chemical factories to produce the drug on a mass scale not work untill usa join ww2 and give them grants

Question 3

What are some new problems with antibiotics and

Answer 3

Bacteria resistance and ethics of huge pharma companies making drugs and also drug testing morals (think thalidomide)

Question 4

How did radiation help treat ilness

Answer 4

Radioactive elemts discoverd by Marie curie can destroy cancerous tissues develop mobile x-ray units of ww1 and lead to radiotherapy today to target areas and limit symptoms

Question 5

How did DNA help cure illness

Answer 5

Watson crick and Franklin
Gentic diseases discovered
Long term can coln cells to help replace broken ones
Reverse genetic mutations that cause blindness and mutation that cause cancer
Screen people for gentic diseases like diabetes

Question 6

How did MRI improve diagnostics

Answer 6

Scans the body and see injury clearly without pain and allow precise surgery
Can moniter to see if previous treatment worked
Can see tumours don’t need to operate to see them
Allow doctors to make confident desicions rather than predictions

Question 7

How did x-rays help diagnostics

Answer 7

Discovered by rongten found radiation pass through body at different rates
intial radiation dangerously high so side effects
Wiy used in hospitals to diagnose disease and check up on treatments also lead to CT scan don’t have to open up patients to see what wrong also very quick and can see ven small bones