- •1 Look at the statements. Which do you agree with? Which are the most important? Give your reasons.
- •2.A) Look at the words in the box and find the following.
- •2.B)Complete the sentences with some of the words in the box.
- •3. Look at these general issues about medicine and the medical profession. Talk about them in small groups.
- •Penicillin
- •Facts about malaria
- •World Swim against Malaria
- •Africa Malaria Day
- •4. Scan the texts again and find the following.
- •5. Are the statements about the information in the texts true or false?
- •6. Find words in 'Facts about malaria' which mean the following.
- •7. Look at these three ways of talking about an action in the future. Match them with the meanings below.
- •8. Which form is correct? Cross out the incorrect form. (In some cases, both are possible.)
- •The world's first partial face transplant
- •11. According to the article, which of the following will probably happen? Find the actual predictions in the text to support your answers.
- •16. Read the extract from the information leaflet. If you lived in St Lucia and had a low income, what facts might encourage you to have medical treatment at the Dowling Hospital?
- •Million-Dollar Grant for Dowling Hospital
- •18. Listen again and complete each prediction with words or phrases from the dialogue.
- •Other useful phrases
- •19. You are members of the hospital management. Work in small groups to discuss each option below for using the grant. Use the following criteria to guide your discussion.
- •20. In pairs, look at the suggestions for evaluating websites used for research. Discuss which you agree/disagree with and give reasons for each answer.
- •21. Listen to Part 2 of the lecture. Tick the points that the lecturer makes in this section of her talk.
- •22. Listen to Part 1 of a lecture on evaluating websites that you use for research. Answer the questions.
- •Report on Homeopathy
- •Introduction
Penicillin
This was the first effective antibiotic. It was discovered by Alexander Fleming, who was a brilliant medical researcher at St Mary's Hospital, London. He was also careless, and his laboratory was often untidy. In 1928, after returning from holiday, he noticed a glass dish that had some mould growing on it His analysis of this and its effect on the bacteria in the dish led to the discovery of penicillin. This paved the way for the treatment of infectious disease. Fleming published his findings in 1929, but little attention was paid to them. He continued his research, but found it was difficult to grow penicillin mould and even more difficult to refine it Fleming shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Ernst Chain, who worked out how to isolate and concentrate penicillin/Howard Florey also shared the prize for his work on mass producing penicillin. Fleming's accidental discovery marks the start of modern antibiotics. It is estimated that penicillin has saved nearly 200 million lives.
Facts about malaria
1. Malaria kills more people than any infection apart from HIV/Aids
2. Malaria is spread by the single-celled parasite Plasmodium and it is endemic in parts of Asia, Africa and Central and South America.
3. 90% of malaria deaths occur among young children in sub-Saharan Africa
4. Malaria kills up to 2.7 million people a year.
5. Symptoms of malaria include neck stiffness, fits, abnormal breathing and fever
6. Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan died of malaria. John F. Kennedy and Mahatma Gandhi contracted malaria but recovered.
7. There is currently no effective vaccine against malaria
World Swim against Malaria
The Carleton Place Water Dragons (Ontario, Canada) will be doing their swim between December 5 and 9. On Friday December 9, from 6 to 7 p.m., the club will be asking parents, friends and siblings to swim and help the global initiative reach their target of one million swimmers and increase funds for the fight against malaria.
|Insect Can Resist Disease
A genetically-engineered mosquito could be the key to stopping humans catching malaria.
Scientists in the US have created a mosquito with a gene that prevents it being infected by the malaria parasite.
і In experiments, equal numbers of GM* and ordinary 'wild' mosquitoes were allowed to feed on malaria-infected mice. As they reproduced, more of the genetically-altered mosquitoes survived. After nine generations, 70% of the insects belonged to the malaria-resistant strain. However, when both sets of insects were fed non-infected blood they survived equally well. For resistant mosquitoes to be useful in the wild, they must survive better than non-resistant mosquitoes even when not exposed to malaria. Nevertheless, the researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, concluded: 'The results have important implications for implementation of malaria control by means of genetic modification of mosquitoes.'
*GM=genetically modified
Africa Malaria Day
The Roll Back Malaria partnership has decided that Africa Malaria Day mil be commemorated on 25 April every year. In Africa many countries will be organising events and activities in the run-up to 25 April and on Africa Malaria Day itself. In Europe, coalitions and alliances against malaria will be lobbying in parliaments. And the malaria community of the United States will be highlighting this day with its Malaria Awareness Day. Many governments are planning to increase their funding in the fight against malaria.