Edward Jenner

Jenner found out that some people were resistant to smallpox as long as they had had cowpox before hand. He gave a shot of cowpox to a young boy and the boy got sick but then got over it. Then Jenner gave him a smallpox shot and the boy did not get sick at all. Jenner had discovered vaccines.

1.3 The Aftermath

The first thing we did in this section was we made a model of the ear. Mallory and I worked together to name all of the structure in the outer, middle, and inner ear. We were also assigned a patient to find out what type of ear problem they had. We found out that our patient had Labyrinthitis. Next we learned how to use a tuning fork to test for hearing loss. In this section, we also took the speech-in-noise test. I didn't do very well on that one. The final section we performed a debate on whether or not cochlear implants should be used. I said that they should be. My team did pretty well on the debate.

Unit 1.2 Antibiotic Treatment

Whenever we began this unit, we first started by drawing and labeling a diagram of a bacterial cell. We also learned the differences between gram negative and gram positive. Then we spent time learning about four different classes of antibiotics which are penicillins, tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, and sulfa antibiotics and took notes on which parts of the bacterial cell they affect. Then, in our groups, we talked about the story of culbreath and made posters dealing with the chickens and CIPRO. After that our groups discussed what conjugation, transformation, and transduction were. My group studied transformation and made a 3-D poster. After that we broke into new groups and I worked with Taylor in order to study antibiotic resistance. We used different colored chips that represented the least to most resistant bacteria and found out how antibiotics work to kill a bacteria within your body. Finally, the last thing we did was work with a partner to study a certain type of bacteria. Randall and I gave our presentation on VISA and VRSA. We learned all about the bacteria such as the causes, prevention, and prognosis.

Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is whenever a bacterial cell is able to destroy an antibiotic. The genes of the bacterial cell will become resistant to the antibiotic. Most of the antibiotic resistant genes reside on the plasmids and can be transferred to another cell by means of conjugation, transformation, and transduction. Conjugation being where the two cells connect using the pilus and then allowing the transfer of one cells DNA to another. Transformation is where one cell will die and then the free-floating "naked" DNA will be picked up by another cell. Transduction is where bacterial DNA transfers from one bacterial cell to another inside a bacteriophage. The main cause of antibiotic resistance is a mutation in the bacterial cell. Also, mutations in the target protein in the bacterial cell can prevent the antibiotics from binding to it.

Summary of Meningitis Case

First we read about all of the students and made a chart based on their symptoms and lifestyle choices. We also made a diagram showing how they connect to each other. After that we learned how to use a PCR machine to make multiple copies of DNA. Then we used a website to discover that Sue had Meningitis. We learned all about Meningitis. Then we learned about Serial Dilution in order to determine who had the disease first and then who followed. After that we got DNA samples from the rest of the students and determined what illnesses they had ranging from influenza to strep throat to Herpes. We also decided how to treat them Finally we decided that the outbreak should be treated by everyone on the campus recieving vaccines and also not sharing foods and drinks.

Bacterial Meningitis

People who have Meningitis will suffer through a number of symptoms such as fever, severe headache, vomitting, neck pain and stiffness, and also photophobia (this is where the light hurts your eyes). Some of the after effects include memory loss, clumsiness, hearing problems, learning disabilities, seizures, speech problems, and even loss of sight. Meningitis is extremely dangerous because if it is not treated then it will lead to brain swelling and can cause death. The thin membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord are called meninges, hence the reason why it is called meningitis. Bacterial meningitis should be treated with antibiotics and also with plenty of fluids. They also may need to be kept in the hospital a few days just to make sure that the antibiotics are working and the disease is not getting any worse. The students at the university need to take extra precaution when it comes to sharing foods and drinks. Also the students on campus that do not have meningitis and have not been vaccinated should definitely be vaccinated for the disease.

How Antibodies Work

Antibodies are a part of the immune system and are used to fight bacteria and viruses. Antibodies are produced in B lymphocytes and when a pathogen enters the body, the antibodies go to work. Antibodies will find a certain part of the pathogen call an antigen and will attach to it in order to cut off the pathogen's ties with other cells in the body keeping you healthy.