Unit 4: Modern Britain Flashcards
(52 cards)
What is penicillin?
It is an antibiotic, it kills bacteria that is harmful. Before the development of penicillin many people suffered and died from bacterial infections that are no longer considered dangerous today
Who discovered penicillin?
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 when he found a penicillin mould that was left in his office, it was free from other bacteria
Which scientists became interested in Flemings work?
Florey and chain became interested in Flemings work and in 1939 they gathered a very skilled research team to look into it
What doctor trialed penicillin?
Charles fletcher in 1941 trailed penicillin on a patient, however the patient died because he wasn’t given enough of it to get rid of all the bacteria
Why was penicillin mass produced?
The Second World War helped the urgency to mass produce it, they moved to America to get it produced because Britain was involved in the war and America wasn’t at that point. When America became involved they gave 80 million to help produce it
Who originally discovered penicillin?
The mould was first discovered in the early 19th century by John Sanderson, in the 1880’s Joseph lister noted these observations and wrote to his brother saying he would try penicillin on infected wounds. He successfully treated a nurse and did not continue his research
Who was Alexander Fleming?
He was a British doctor, he was shocked at how many people died of simple infections so he started investigating. He found something unusual on his Petri dish where there was no bacteria around the mould. In 1929 he published his findings
What was the impact of penicillin?
It is estimated that without penicillin, another 12-15 percent of wounded soldiers would have died of infections.
It roughly halved the average time the allied wounded spent in the hospital
What were the factors that helped penicillins production?
-new scientific methods and technology, This meant scientist were able to watch and gain evidence of how it killed bacteria
-government support, us government agreed to fund research for five years
-changing attitudes in society, there was a huge demand from the public to find a solution to infected soldiers dying
-key individuals, Florey and chain work on penicillin
What is a hereditary disease?
A disease that is passed down from parent to child or grandparent to child
What are three hereditary diseases?
Diabetes
Breast cancer
Cystic fibrosis
What was the belief about human cells in 1951?
It was believed that a substance was in human cells was responsible for passing on information. They did not know what this substance was but it would help to explain some diseases
What did Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Watkins discover?
They identified the substance that carried genetic information from parent to child, it was named DNA. They also photographed it using a powerful x-ray.
What did Jason Watson and Francis crick discover?
In 1953 they were shown the x-rays from Franklin and Watkins work, they began to work on what DNA looked like. They discovered that it was shaped like a double helix and it could make copies of itself. They began finding the parts of dna that were responsible for hereditary diseases
What did Watson set up in 1990?
He set up the human genome project, thousands of scientists from 18 countries worked to map the human genome. A genome is the complete set of genes in a living creature, they identified DNA from every part of the body, it was possible to use this ‘map’ to spot any faults in the dna of people with hereditary diseases
Why was the study of DNA possible?
-Advances in technology
-Key individuals & collaboration
-Money
-Government help
Why was the discovery of DNA important?
It meant that scientists are now able to identify the specific genes which pass on a number of hereditary diseases such as Down’s syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, haemophilia and some cancers
What are the causes of poor health and disease?
-Alcohol
-Smoking
-Unprotected sex
-Obesity
-Lack of exercise
-Stress
-Diet
-Drug taking
-Poverty
-Tanning
Why is smoking a cause of poor health and disease?
Smoking became fashionable after the 1920’s and doctors have linked it to cancers like lung cancer. It also causes high blood pressure and tooth decay. Second hand smoking can cause disease and asthma can develop in children if smokers
Why was doctors linking lifestyle and health important?
It helped stop increase in diseases, it educates people on what their lifestyle does to their body and has explanations for diseases.
What was a magic bullet?
It was a term used to describe a chemical which would target the germs which caused disease, it would target the problem without effecting the rest of the body.
What was the first magic bullet?
In 1909 a Japanese scientist named Hata found that compound number 606 that cured syphilis. Which had been an ongoing problem since the 1500’s. The drug was named Salvarsan 606
What was the second magic bullet?
In 1932 scientist Gerhard Domagk discovered that another chemical called prontosil killed bacterial infections in mice, he tried it on his daughter who had blood poisoning. It was successful and inspired other scientists to look for magic bullets
What was MB 693?
In 1938 British scientists developed MB 693, which was a magic bullet. This was used to successfully treat Winston Churchill for pneumonia during the Second World War
