BIOL 80J Study Guide #5

What was the first plastic put in use for consumer products in 1907?

Bakelite

What were the original synthetic stockings made from?

Nylon

What is Styrofoam made from?

Polystyrene

What is PET?

Polyethylene Terephthalate

How many plastic soda bottles are made each year on this planet?

~500 billion

Why is recycling plastic so complicated?

Different types of plastic

What are examples of everyday items being replaced with plastic versions?

Combs, bottles, pipes, stockings

Why is the manufacture of plastics so cheap?

Made from petrochemicals

How big are microplastics and nanoplastics?

<5mm, <100nm

Describe the difference between primary and secondary microplastics

Primary microplastics are intentionally manufactured while secondary microplastics are plastics that break down over time

How big is the great pacific garbage patch?

2 times the size of Texas

Approximately how many tons of plastic are produced each year globally?

270 million tons

Provide examples of how microplastics interfere with the human immune system.

Liver, digestive, and reproductive toxicity

Are microplastics implicated in heart disease?

Yes

How is the human brain being impacted by microplastics?

Linked to depression and sleeping disorders while also linked to dementia

Where is the large measles outbreak currently taking place? In which community did it begin and why?

Texas, unvaccinated children at an Anabaptist church

How is the state of Texas making it easier to attend school without vaccinations?

Legal exemption process

How do children die from measles?

Complications like encephalitis, pneumonia, and ear infections

Why were measles outbreaks much worse when RFK jr. was a child?

There was no vaccine

Why do bacteria produce antibiotics?

To protect their niche

As discussed in lecture what are the 3 general ways antibiotics kill bacteria?

Blacks cell wall synthesis, polymerase activity, and protein synthesis

What antibiotic did Gosio discover? Is it currently being used to treat bacterial infections?

Mycophenolic acid and no

What drugs did Ehrlich synthesize? What was treated with these drugs?

Salvarsan, treated syphilis and trypanosomiasis

What type of drugs replaced Ehrlich’s drugs?

Neosalvarsan

What specific drug replaced the sulfa drugs? Who discovered this drug? What was Florey and Chain’s contribution regarding this drug?

Beta lactam drugs (like penicillin), discovered by Alexander Fleming, Florey and Chain discovered how to mass produce it

Describe what a broad-spectrum antibiotic is.

Antibiotic that kills a large variety of bacteria

According to the WHO what is the first Priority 1: Critical – bacterial pathogen?

Acinetobacter baumannii

T/F Carbapenems are beta lactam drugs

True

As discussed in lecture, what are the 3 mechanisms of beta lactam antibiotic resistance?

Reduced access of the antibiotic to PBPs, alters PBPs that have a reduced affinity, and destruction of the antibiotic by the beta-lactamase enzyme

T/F Vancomycin is a beta lactam drug

False

What essential bacterial mechanism does Vancomycin interrupt (you do need to know the details)?

Binds to the D-alanine in the peptidoglycan chain thus inhibiting cell wall synthesis

What essential bacterial mechanism does Clarithromycin interrupt (you do need to know the details)?

Inhibits protein translation by binding to the 50S subunit of the bacterial ribosome

What are the 3 ways bacteria can take in novel DNA from other sources?

Transformation, transduction, and conjugation

What is a nosocomial infection?

An infection acquired in a healthcare setting

Have bacteriophages been used to treat antibiotic resistant pathogens?

Yes

Where did agricultural society begin?

Fertile crescent

What does GMO stand for?

Genetically modified organism

T/F early farmers selectively planted crops for specific traits

True

What enzyme did Paul Berg use to add As and Ts to the viral genomes?

Terminal transferase enzyme

What was Herb Boyer researching?

Restriction enzymes

What was Stanley Cohen Researching?

Bacterial plasmids

What was the first transgenic organism?

Mouse

What was the first patented organism? What was it designed to do?

Strain of pseudomonas; broke down crude oil

What enzyme does glyphosate inhibit? Limiting this enzyme causes a reduction in what?

EPSP - Aromatic amino acids

What organism did the glyphosate resistant enzyme come from?

CP4 ESPS

Name 3 reasons “Roundup Ready” crops are a bad idea

Adverse impact on human health, adverse impact of farmland diversity, and no clear yield increases

T/F you can replant “Roundup ready” crops

False

T/F Monsanto is trying to put seed cleaners out of business to put pressure on farmers to plant Monsanto beans

True

T/F in 2020 ~90% of farmers in the U.S are planting “Roundup Ready” soybeans

True

T/F the EPA has raised the allowable glyphosate concentrations to increase over time

True

The cotton industry is fighting which super weed?

Palmer amaranth

Has Bayer (Company that bought Monsanto) been legally forced to settle expensive cancer lawsuits?

Yes