Module 4 : Section 1 - Antibiotics And Other Medicines

Question 1

What are antibiotics

Answer 1

• Chemicals that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria
• useful because they target the bacteria without damaging human body cells
• death rate from bacterial infections has fallen dramatically because of thes
• there are risks such as side effects, allergic reactions or antibiotic resistance

Question 2

What was the first antibiotic to be isolated

Answer 2

Penicillin

Question 3

Why is antibiotic resistance a big problem

Answer 3

• genetic mutations make some bacteria naturally resistant to an antibiotic
• antibiotic resistant bacteria is not better able to survive even in a host who is taking antibiotics
• this leads to the allele for antibiotic resistance to be passed onto the bacteria’s offspring
• having these bacteria means it’s hard to get rid of them with antibiotics

Question 4

What causes antibiotic resistance

Answer 4

• over prescription, the body may be able to fend off the bacteria using the immune system
• people not finishing their course of taking these medicines, if they finish they are more likely to get rid of all antibiotics than just most and leave the resistant ones

Question 5

What are examples of antibiotic resistance bacteria

Answer 5

• MRSA
• clostridium difficile

Question 6

What is MRSA

Answer 6

an antibiotic resistant bacteria that causes serious wound infections. It is resistant to several antibiotics including methicillin

Question 7

What is clostridium difficile

Answer 7

• Infects the digestive system, causing problems in people that have already been treated with antibiotics.
• thought that the harmless bacteria that are normally present in the digestive system are killed
• C.difficile produces a toxin which causes severe diarrhoea, fever and cramps

Question 8

what are two ways in which you overcome antibiotic resistance

Answer 8

• developing new antibiotics
• modifying existing medicines

Question 9

why do medical sources need to be be protected

Answer 9

• medical sources are things such as plants, animals or microorganisms
• is protected by maintaining biodiversity
• if not protected species could die out before we get the chance to study them

Question 10

what is the future of medicine

Answer 10

• pharmacogenetics
• synthetic biology

Question 11

what are pharmacogenetics

Answer 11

• personalised medicine
• these are tailored to your DNA, the theory is that because doctors have your DNA, they can use it to predict how you will respond to different drugs and only prescribes ones that will be effective to you

Question 12

what is synthetic biology

Answer 12

• involves using technology to design and make things like artificial proteins, cells and microorganisms
• e.g. scientists are looking at engineering bacteria to destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy body cells intact