EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT: PATHOLOGY
Characteristics of Life
1. All living things are composed of cells
2. all living things perform certain life processes
such as growth and digestion
3. All living thinks reproduce
4. All living things either make their own
nutrients or ingest nutrients from the
environment
5. All living things respond to stimuli such as
light or touch
Viruses
A particle that consists of nucleic acid
enclosed within a protein shell that requires a
living cell in order to reproduce
Viruses are not alive because they do not
meet the characteristics of life besides
reproduction
A virus is very small and can only be seen
under a microscope (much, much smaller than
a cell)
Nucleic acid either DNA or RNA
o DNA responsible for carrying the
genetic information of most
organisms from one generation to
the next
o RNA used to make proteins
Capsid protein shell that surrounds the
virus and protects the nucleic acid
A virus is considered a mutagen because it
causes changes to the DNA of another
organism
Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes
Prokaryote unicellular organism with no true
nucleus
Example: Bacteria, Fungi
Eukaryotes an organism with cells that have a
true nucleus
Examples: Protists, Plants, Animals,
Viral Replication
Viral Replication: the process through which
viruses reproduce using our cells
Steps for Viral Replication
1. A virus attaches itself to a healthy cell
2. The virus injects its DNA or RNA into the
cell
3. The virus DNA mixes with cells DNA
4. The cell begins making copies of the
virus using its organelles
5. The cell bursts releasing virus particles to
attach to other cells
Bacteria
Bacteria are very small, but much larger than a
virus
Bacteria come in three main shapes
o Coccus sphere shaped
o Bacillus rod shaped
o Spirillum spiral shaped
Bacteria have a cell wall, a rigid structure that
supports and protects the cell
Bacteria exist everywhere on Earth
More than 5,000 types of bacteria have been
discovered
Archaebacteria bacteria that can survive without
oxygen
Eubacteria most ancient prokaryotes
Bacterial Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction the bacteria splits into two
identical daughter cells; makes more bacteria
Sexual Reproduction the bacteria do not make
any more copies but swap genetic information
through a thin bridge that connects two bacteria
Growth Rate of Bacteria
Under ideal conditions, bacteria can reproduce
every 30 minutes.
A graph of the growth rate of bacteria is an
exponential curve
# BACTERIA
TIME
Types of Diseases
Disease any change that disrupts the normal
function on one or more body systems
Noninfectious disease cannot be spread
from one organism to another
Can be caused by chemicals or
inheritance
Cancer, Asthma, Lead poisoning
Infectious Disease: Any disease that is caused
by a pathogen
Pathogen any microbe that causes
disease
o Virus, Bacteria, Fungus,
Protist/Parasite
Can be transmitted or spread from
one organism to another
Also called contagions (diseases that
can be spread from one person to
another)
Examples: Cold, HIV, Flu, Malaria
Diseases Caused by Viruses: cold, flu,
chicken pox, HIV, Hanta virus, hepatitis
Diseases Caused by Bacteria: strep throat,
Lyme disease, botulism, cholera, tuberculosis
Diseases Caused by Protists: Malaria, African
sleeping sickness
Diseases Caused by Fungi: ringworm,
Athletes foot
Parasite: an organism that derives
nourishment or habitat from the tissues or fluid
of another organism; usually dont kill the host
but do sicken or weaken the host
Vector vs. Carrier
Vector: an organism that helps a disease
spread
Many vectors are insects
Female mosquitoes transmit malaria
Mice transmit hanta virus
Ticks transmit Lyme Disease
Carrier: an organism that is infected with and
can transmit a disease-causing microbe to
another living thing even though the carrier
shows no symptoms of illness or disease
Humans with HIV can transmit the HIV
virus to other humans even though they do
not show symptoms of the disease
Carriers do not show symptoms
Contagious diseases can be spread from
one person to another through a carrier
o Contagious disease is one
that spread from one person
to another
o Direct contact between two
individuals is not necessary to
spread a contagious disease
o Contagious disease can be spread
one someone sneezes or coughs,
uses an object such as a drinking
glass or computer keyboard
touched by an infected person
Some contagious disease are spread by
sexual contact
o STD Sexually Transmitted
Disease
 Practicing Healthy Behaviors
Preventing disease can involve simple and obvious
protective measures
Examples: washing your hands, eating
Healthy foods
They protect your body by:
1. helping to keep your body and immune
system strong
2. helping to reduce your exposure to
disease
Active and Passive Immunity
Active Immunity: immunity obtained by
exposure to the pathogen
Stimulates the immune system to
produce antibodies
One way to get active immunity is to get
the disease
Another way to get active immunity is to
get vaccinated against the disease
Passive Immunity: immunity obtained by
transferring antibodies made in one organism to
another organism
A person bitten by a dog may go to the
doctors and be given antibodies taken
from people who have been vaccinated
against rabies
Can be acquired when a baby develops
and receives antibodies from its mother
Biotechnology
Biotechnology: the use of living organisms, or
parts of living organisms, to produce products used
by people
Examples of biotechnology:
Genetically-engineered crops
Cloning
DNA fingerprinting
Stem Cell research
Vaccine Production
Vocabulary to Fighting Disease
Antibody: a chemical substance produced in your
body that helps to destroy pathogens
After the antibodies are produced, the
immune system is prepared to respond
quickly if a person is exposed to a pathogen
again
Vaccine: a small dose or fragment of a pathogen
that is introduced to the human body to help the
immune system fight disease.
Can be used to prevent both viruses and
bacteria
Contains a weakened form of the pathogen
so it does not cause the disease
Cannot fight a disease if you already
have it
Proactive approach to fighting disease
Antibiotics: drugs that kill bacteria or prevent them
from reproducing
Example: Penicillin
Only works on bacteria
Cannot prevent you from getting sick
Antimicrobial Product: a substance that is
designed to kill microbes before they can enter your
body
Example: soap, Lysol, hand sanitizers,
Overuse of antimicrobial precuts may lead
to antibiotic resistance
Biotechnology in Agriculture
Biotechnology is used in agriculture to change the
genes of different crops
Scientists are altering crops so that they are able to:
Resistant to disease
Resistant to herbicide
Resistant to frost
Better tasting
More nutritious
Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic Resistance: occurs when bacteria
develop a tolerance to and survive treatment
with drugs that once killed them
How Antibiotic Resistance Works:
When a colony of bacteria are exposed
to an antibiotic , most of the bacteria
are killed
A few bacteria survive because they
are resistant to that antibiotic
These bacteria survive and reproduce,
passing their resistance on to their
offspring
Over time, the number of resistant
bacteria increases.
This process repeats itself each time
an antibiotic is used
Eventually, there are so many
resistant bacteria that the antibiotic is
no longer effective
Antibiotics are not effective against
protists and viruses.
Biotechnology in Your Life
North Carolina:
NC has a number of biotechnology
companies
Many of them are located in the Research
Triangle Park
The companies help the economy by
creating jobs and conducting research that
helps farmers
The use of biotechnology presents ethical
issues that the scientific community and
society must face
Examples: are genetically-engineered
crops safe? Is it right to change the
DNA or genes of a living organism? Is
cloning playing God?