PLTW - Medical Interventions 1.1-1.2

Test 1.1-1.2 (Hailee Oppmann)

Medical intervention

A measure that is taken to improve health or change the direction of how the disease progresses.

Categories of interventions

Some of the categories of interventions are preventive, pharmaceutical, and surgical.

Bioinformatics

Collecting, classifying, storing, and analyzing information.

DNA sequences identification

are ran through a website or BLAST, comparing the sequence to the human genome and looking for primers.

Antibody

responds to the immune response that is the antigen; it binds with the specific antigen during ELISA.

Antibody function

identify the antigens through their immune response and inactivate them when they bind together.

ELISA assay

used to bind primary antibodies to specific antigens, followed by the binding of enzyme-linked secondary antibodies; if the enzyme combines with the substrate, the solution turns blue, indicating the presence of a pathogen.

Importance of antigen concentration

to understand disease progression and determine the amount of medical intervention needed.

Serial dilution

A method used to dissolve a solute to form a solution and reduce its concentration to a level that will kill the pathogen.

Diagnosis and prevention of disease

Scientists perform ELISA assays and determine the cause of the disease to help prevent the spread of disease and an outbreak.

Antibiotics

Medications that kill foreign bacteria in the human body to eliminate contamination.

Pencillins

Antibiotics that disrupt the making of the bacterial cell wall.

Tetracyclines

Antibiotics that prevent the attachment of RNA to ribosomes, thus preventing protein production.

Fluoroquinolones

Antibiotics that separate the DNA strands, preventing DNA replication.

Sulfonamides

Antibiotics that prevent the production of folic acid, the building block of DNA.

Transformation

When one bacterium takes DNA from a dead bacterium.

Conjugation

When bacteria are in direct contact and genetic material is transferred, often referred to as 'cell sex'.

Transduction

When a virus picks up genetic material from one bacterium and transfers it to another.

Human actions contributing to resistance

by feeding livestock antibiotics, overusing antibiotics, and not finishing prescribed courses.

nucleoid

dna containing area of a bacterial cell

plasmid

A small ring of DNA that carries accessory genes separate from those of the bacterial chromosome

genome

The complement of an organism’s genes; an organism’s genetic material

pathogen

a specific causative agent of disease

primer

A molecule (a short strand of RNA or DNA) whose presence is required for formation of another molecule (a longer chain of DNA)

substrate

the reactant on which an enzyme works