Antibodies

• When was the first antibody discovered?

  around 1940
• What do antibodies do ?

  kill infective bacteria inside the human body,without harming body cells
• What is antibiotic resistance?

  when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them (this was because antibiotics had been overused )
• Why is antibiotic resistance a serious problem ?

  in the future bacterial diseases will become very difficult to treat
• What are other important points for antibiotics ?

  • you need a specific antibody to treat a specific bacteria
  • antibiotics cannot kill viruses
• What are painkillers for ?

  to treat symptoms of a disease by relieving pain (they do not kill pathogens )
• Why is it difficult to develop drugs that kill viruses ?

  viruses live and reproduce in human cells so if you do they may damage the body tissues