Understanding the Cause of Disease

Question 1

Front: What was the dominant natural explanation for disease in the Middle Ages and Renaissance?

Answer 1

Back: The Theory of the Four Humours, which stated that illness occurred when blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile were out of balance.

Question 2

Front: What did doctors in the Middle Ages believe about miasma?

Answer 2

Back: They thought poisoned air (miasma) caused disease, as the smelliest parts of towns often had the most illness.

Question 3

Front: How did people in the Middle Ages think disease could spread?

Answer 3

Back: Through contact with infected people, their belongings, or infected animals.

Question 4

Front: What was a common supernatural explanation for disease in the Middle Ages?

Answer 4

Back: Many believed diseases were punishments from God for sinning.

Question 5

Front: How did astrology relate to disease in the Middle Ages?

Answer 5

Back: Some believed diseases were caused by the position of the stars and planets.

Question 6

Front: Who was the first scientist to suggest that germs caused disease?

Answer 6

Back: Louis Pasteur.

Question 7

Front: How did Pasteur initially use a microscope in his research?

Answer 7

Back: To identify the germs causing wine to spoil and silkworms to die.

Question 8

Front: What industries funded Pasteur’s early research and why?

Answer 8

Back: The French wine and silk industries funded him to solve problems affecting their products.

Question 9

Front: What experiment did Pasteur conduct to prove the existence of germs?

Answer 9

Back: He demonstrated that germs were in the air and caused decay and disease.

Question 10

Front: Why couldn’t Pasteur continue investigating the causes of human diseases?

Answer 10

Back: He suffered a stroke in the late 1860s.

Question 11

Front: What was Robert Koch’s contribution to understanding disease?

Answer 11

Back: Koch used a microscope to identify specific bacteria that cause specific human diseases.

Question 12

Front: What was the first bacteria identified by Robert Koch?

Answer 12

Back: Anthrax.

Question 13

Front: What other diseases did Robert Koch identify bacteria for?

Answer 13

Back: Septicaemia (blood poisoning), cholera, and tuberculosis.

Question 14

Front: How did Koch’s methods inspire other scientists?

Answer 14

Back: Other scientists used his techniques to identify bacteria for diseases like bubonic plague, meningitis, and yellow fever.

Question 14

Front: Why did the German government fund Robert Koch’s work?

Answer 14

Back: To surpass Louis Pasteur and demonstrate German scientific superiority over France.

Question 15

Front: What significant discovery did Crick and Watson make in 1953?

Answer 15

Back: They discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.

Question 16

Front: What technology helped Crick and Watson discover DNA’s structure?

Answer 16

Back: X-ray photography.

Question 17

Front: How has understanding DNA improved the study of disease?

Answer 17

Back: It has revealed how genetic mutations cause diseases and led to targeted treatments and early diagnosis.

Question 18

Front: What is the significance of the drug Oltipraz?

Answer 18

Back: It protects a gene from liver cancer, particularly helping people in China where liver cancer is common due to mould on rice.

Question 19

Front: What is genetic screening used for?

Answer 19

Back: To identify hereditary diseases early, allowing conditions like cystic fibrosis and haemophilia to be treated sooner.

Question 20

Front: What was the Human Genome Project?

Answer 20

Back: A project between 1990 and 2003 that decoded all human genes, aiding the identification of genes linked to diseases.

Question 21

Front: How has the Human Genome Project helped researchers?

Answer 21

Back: It has allowed scientists to identify genes that cause inherited diseases and cancers.

Question 22

Front: What did the Theory of the Four Humours suggest about treating illness?

Answer 22

Back: Treatments often aimed to restore balance, such as bloodletting or purging.

Question 23

Front: How did supernatural beliefs about disease influence medieval treatments?

Answer 23

Back: People prayed or performed religious rituals to seek forgiveness and cure illness.

Question 24

Front: What has genetic research revealed about cancer?

Answer 24

Back: Damaged genes can lead to cancer, and some drugs can protect these genes to prevent the disease.