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Have your read the previous post regarding defence against diseases in I/GCSE Biology? If yes, let's move on reading how we can protect ourselves against diseases! 🤢
Feeling ill
In I/GCSE Biology, please make sure you understand the concept of medicines!
- Medicines help to relieve symptoms (e.g. lozenges for sore throat)
- but don’t not kill the pathogen
Killing bacteria
It's important to know how our body kill bacteria in I/GCSE Biology ^^
Antibiotics ➡️ medicines that help cure diseases caused by Bacteria
- Antibiotics kill Bacteria inside body
- Penicillin was first Antibiotics discovered
- Antibiotics can’t kill viruses
- Virus’s live and reproduce inside cells ➡️ hard to develop a medicine which kills the virus but doesn’t damage body cells or tissues
Effect of a Antibiotics measured in a lab !
- Done by placing small discs of paper containing antibiotics on a dish containing Bacteria growing on gel
- Clear zone is where Antibiotics has been killed
- Results in body may be different to results on gel (body is more complicated)
A quick jab
- Immunity can be gained w/o ever having the disease
- When baby – immunised against whooping cough, measles and polio
- Immunisation (vaccination) ➡️ injecting or swallowing a vaccine.
- Dead or inactive form of the pathogen.
- Vaccine doesn’t make you ill but WBC still produce Antibodies and destroy the pathogen.
- Step 1 – Weak or dead microbes are injected into body
- Step 2 – Antibodies produced which destroy microbes and their toxins
- Step 3 – You’re immunised, next time REAL disease comes, antibodies are released before you become ill.
References:
- "Antibiotic", https://images.slideplayer.com/27/9115434/slides/slide_9.jpg
- "Vaccination", https://www.newschainonline.com/bsp-static/image/2020/12/02/13/2e58ba1021971ad605cdde9648f960a9Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaCwxNjA3MDAwNjAy-2.56899314.jpg?width=960&auto=webp
And we're done with this topic! Well Done!
Drafted by Alyssa (Biology)