Antibiotics & other medicines (Edexcel GCSE Biology Combined Science): Flashcards
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Practise the cards
10 cards from this deck
What antibiotics do
What antibiotics do
Kill bacterial pathogens without damaging body cells
Why antibiotics can't kill viruses
Why antibiotics can't kill viruses
Viruses use body cells to reproduce; drugs would harm tissue
What painkillers treat
What painkillers treat
Symptoms of disease, not the cause
Example of an antibiotic
Example of an antibiotic
Penicillin
Major concern with antibiotics
Major concern with antibiotics
Bacteria becoming resistant to them
How antibiotic resistance develops
How antibiotic resistance develops
Mutations occur; resistant bacteria survive & reproduce
Why finish antibiotic courses
Why finish antibiotic courses
To kill all bacteria and prevent resistant strains
How some antibiotics work (cell walls)
How some antibiotics work (cell walls)
Prevent bacteria building cell walls; cells burst & die
How some antibiotics work (proteins)
How some antibiotics work (proteins)
Interfere with protein production; stops growth & reproduction
Why antibiotics don't harm host cells
Why antibiotics don't harm host cells
Target bacterial features not present in human cells