Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

B6.1 Vaccination

Question Answer Marks Guidance

number
1a unique protein found on surface membrane of cell 1
1b protein made by white blood cells in response to specific antigens 1
1c bacterial: tuberculosis, tetanus, diphtheria 1 Any other valid example
viral: polio, measles, whooping cough. 1
2a Every cell has unique proteins on its surface called antigens. 1
Immune system recognises that antigens on microorganisms entering 1
the body are different from those on body’s own cells.
White blood cells make antibodies to target antigens and destroy 1
pathogens.
Memory cells remember precise antibody needed to destroy particular 1
pathogen
and can produce this antibody very quickly if same pathogen gets into 1
body again, providing immunity to that disease.
2b Small amount of dead or inactive form of pathogen introduced into 1
body,
stimulating white blood cells to produce antibodies 1
needed to fight pathogen and prevent illness. 1
If same, live pathogen is encountered later, body can respond rapidly to 1
make correct antibodies
just as if you had already had the disease, conferring protection. 1

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

Question Answer Marks Guidance

number
3 Vaccines are effective against both bacterial and viral diseases 1
because they stimulate the immune system
to target both bacterial and viral pathogens. 1
Either bacterial or viral pathogens can be grown in a laboratory for use 1
in vaccines.
It is difficult to develop vaccines for certain viruses (e.g., those causing 1
the common cold)
as the viruses mutate quickly, changing their format by the time a 1
vaccine is developed.

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

B6.2 Antibiotics and painkillers

Question Answer Marks Guidance
number
1 Paracetamol is a very useful painkiller but will have no effect on the 1
disease‑causing pathogen (treats symptoms, not disease).
Penicillin is an antibiotic that kills the disease‑causing bacteria (treats 1
disease).
2 Viral pathogens reproduce inside body cells, 1
so it is very difficult to develop drugs that destroy them without 1
destroying body cells too.
Bacteria exist outside body cells and are different from human cells, 1
so antibiotics can target bacterial cells without hurting body cells. 1
3a 1930: 680 deaths per 100 000 live births 1
1940: 380 deaths per 100 000 live births 1
1950: 90 deaths per 100 000 live births 1
3bi 680 − 380 = 300, 1
× 100 = 44.1, 1
44% fall 1
3 b ii 380 − 90 = 290, 1
× 100 = 76.3, 1
76% fall 1
3c Deaths fell between 1930 and 1940 due to improved hygiene 1
standards.
Deaths fell sharply between 1940 and 1950 due to the introduction of 1
antibiotics (infection could be treated and cured).
Hospital births increasingly common, doctors on hand to spot symptoms 1
of infection and prescribe antibiotics.

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

Question Answer Marks Guidance

number
3d Antibiotics have reduced rate of deaths from maternal septicaemia to 1 Any other valid point.
very low levels.
Emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria renders antibiotics ineffective. 1
Without effective antibiotics rate of deaths could return to 1920–1930 1
levels and thousands of women could die from infections after giving
birth.

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

B6.3 Discovering drugs

Question Answer Marks Guidance
number
1 He noticed a clear ring in jelly around some spots of mould growing on 1
bacterial culture plates.
He realised that a chemical in the mould must have killed the bacteria in 1
the culture,
leaving the jelly clear. 1
2 Plant extracts may be impure, or they may be found only in very tiny 1
amounts in a plant,
meaning huge amounts of plant material would be needed to extract the 1
drug.
Synthetic drugs can be made industrially in large amounts and chemists 1
can change the molecules to change the properties of the medicine.
Chemists can make drugs that are more effective and have fewer side 1
effects than natural products.
3 advantages: 6 Any other valid point.
• anecdotal evidence of medicinal properties saves trying many
different plants,
• long and widespread usage suggests few side effects;
disadvantages:
• may be difficult to source the living material,
• concentrations may be very low,
• may be difficult to isolate the chemical that has caused the
antibiotic effect.

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

B6.4 Developing drugs

Question Answer Marks Guidance
number
1 efficacy: whether a drug does the job it is designed to do 1
toxicity: whether a drug is toxic and, if so, how much of it is has to be 1
given to have a toxic effect
dosage: dose of a drug that is effective in treating a disease 1
2a flow chart should include: 6
identify pathway in disease that needs cure → identify new chemical (in
living organisms or lab) → preclinical testing on cells, tissues, and
animals → phase 1 clinical trials check for side effects → phase 2
clinical trials check efficacy and safety → phase 3 clinical trials check
efficacy, safety, and dosage → licencing → phase 4 clinical trials
monitor safety throughout life of drug
2b If there is already a drug available for treating a disease it would be 1
unethical to deprive patients of treatment by giving a placebo that would
have no clinical effect.
If new drug is for a condition where there is a current treatment, patients 1
will be given best current treatment as placebo.
This is ethical and provides comparison between new drug and current 1
best practice.
3 Florey and Chain successfully treated their patient although drug ran 6 Any other valid point demonstrating
out before he was fully cured. The next patient they tried it on was understanding of different outcomes and
cured. Thalidomide resulted in the birth of many thousands of babies consideration of change in attitudes.
with no limbs or very much shortened limbs. Trial process has changed
over time (more treatments are now available, allowing luxury of time to
fully test new ones, which was not the case for Florey and Chain).
Thalidomide outcomes show that it is important to test new drugs on
pregnant animals as well as healthy adults.

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

B6.5 Making monoclonal antibodies

Question Answer Marks Guidance
number
1a group of genetically identical cells or organisms 1
1b protein made by an immune system cell in response to presence of 1
foreign antigen
1c proteins produced from a single clone of cells to target specific body 1
cells or chemicals
2a cell that divides to make large number of identical cells 1
that all produce specific antibodies, 1
formed by fusing a mouse lymphocyte with a tumour cell 1
2b To make hybridoma cells mouse lymphocytes are stimulated to make a 1
specific type of antibody and then fused with special tumour cells.
Lymphocytes can make antibodies but cannot divide, tumour cells don’t 1
make antibodies but can divide rapidly.
Hybridoma cells both make required antibodies and divide to make 1
clone of identical cells, meaning they can be used to make very large
amounts of specific monoclonal antibodies.
3 Monoclonal antibodies in pregnancy tests make pregnancy diagnosis 1
possible from the very early stages of pregnancy,
detecting human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the urine within days 1
of conception.
Monoclonal antibodies in pregnancy test bind to HCG hormone if 1
present in urine,
producing colour change signalling positive test result. 1

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 Student Book answers B6 Preventing and treating disease

B6.6 Uses of monoclonal antibodies

Question Answer Marks Guidance
number
1 Because monoclonal antibodies can identify and bind to specific cell 1
types,
it was thought that they could be used to carry drugs to specific cancers 1
and treat them,
producing much more targeted means of treating cancer than therapies 1
such as radiotherapy.
2 Monoclonal antibodies initially created more side effects than expected, 1 Any other valid point.
partly because mouse cells were used in formation of hybridoma cells, 1
triggering an immune response in people.
Developments such as production of mouse/human hybrid cells 1
and use of fractions of antibodies to carry drugs to target cells are 1
reducing side effects.
Doctors are now prepared for side effects and can treat symptoms. 1
Ongoing development of new skills and technologies to create 1
monoclonal antibodies and attach them to drugs and other compounds
means they are being used in more and different ways.

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