Dсимуляторы лабораторных животных

Лабораторные животные наиболее часто ис- пользуются в медико-биологических эксперимен- тах, испытаниях на безопасность и в образова- тельных целях. Исследователи используют живот- ных в попытке понять различные уровни функ-

ционирования организма, его болезни и физиоло- гическое состояние, создать новые вакцины и ме- тоды для лечения различных заболеваний.

Во всех этих случаях, животные подвергают- ся насилию и боли в той или иной степени, что не является естественной частью их среды обитания. Поэтому мы должны быть заинтересованы в поис- ке новых альтернатив использованию животных в экспериментах, стараться уменьшить число жи- вотных, по возможности максимально облегчить их страдания.

Замена использования животных включает в себя методы, в которых животные не используются совсем (абсолютная замена) или методы, в которых применяются ткани и клеточные культуры (относи- тельная замена). При этом часто происходит отказ от методов invivo в пользу методов invitro.

Однако в виртуальной лаборатории студен- там не всегда просто научиться, например, изоли- ровать кровеносные сосуды, правильно обращать- ся с подопытными животными, работать совмест- но с другими исследователями. Трудно смодели- ровать на компьютере акт убийства живого суще- ства и таким образом поставить исследователя пе- ред моральными вопросами так же, как это проис- ходит в реальности, а не на пластиковых моделях или на уже убитых животных.

К сожалению, абсолютная или относительная замена лабораторных животных не всегда возмож- на. Некоторые важные исследования (по крайней мере, в настоящее время) не могут быть произве-

дены без использования животных. В таких случа- ях исследователи стараются уменьшить число жи- вотных, задействованных в эксперименте. Тща- тельное планирование эксперимента и применение современных методов статистического анализа данных часто позволяют существенно сократить число подопытных животных, сохраняя при этом значимость окончательного результата.

 

19. Be ready for the discussion. What do you think about using virtual 3D models for laboratory experiments? Give your arguments for and against this problem. Continue the following table and discuss it with your classmates.

Arguments for the virtual using of pet/ organ models in the lab	Arguments against the virtual using of pet/ organ models in the lab
1) You can save pets’ life	1) You can’t predict the
2) You can you this pro-	result in the case of new
gram many times	drug testing or so on
3) …	2) A person may behave
	the other way in real con-
	ditions....

20. Create a code of ethics regulations for bio- technologists. Write what they should do and what they must not do.

Unit 21

Nanotechnology

What does the word “nanotechnology” mean? What does nanotechnology research?

How many proteins do you know?

1. Read this text and compare your notion of “nanotechnology” and the one given below.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology (sometimes shortened to

"nanotech") is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale.

Nanotechnology may be able to create many new mate- rials and devices with a vast range of applications, such as

in medicine, electronics, biomaterials and energy pro- duction. But also nanotechnology raises many con- cerns about the toxicity and environmental impact of nanomaterials, and their potential effects on global economics.

Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. In its original sense, nanotechnology refers to the projected ability to con- struct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products.

One nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. By comparison, a DNA double-helix has a diameter around 2 nm. On the other hand, the smallest cellular life-forms, the bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma, are around 200 nm in length. By convention,

nanotechnology is taken as the scale range 1 to 100 nm. The lower limit is set by the size of atoms (hydro- gen has the smallest atoms, which are approximately a quarter of 1 nm diameter) since nanotechnology must build its devices from atoms and molecules. The upper limit is more or less arbitrary but is around the size that phenomena not observed in larger structures start to become apparent and can be made use of in the nano device.

Two main approaches are used in nanotechnol- ogy. In the "bottom-up" approach, materials and de- vices are built from molecular components which assemble themselves chemically by principles of molecular recognition. In the "top-down" approach, nano-objects are constructed from larger entities with- out atomic-level control.

Areas of physics such as nanoelectronics, nanomechanics, nanophotonics and nanoionics have evolved during the last few decades to provide a basic scientific foundation of nanotechnology.

 

 

advanced approach approximately atomic biomaterials device (v) electronics evolve (v) impact

issues manipulate (v) molecular

molecular recognition

Vocabulary

nanoelectronics nanoionics nanomaterials nanomechanics nanometre nanophotonics nanotechnology observe (v) phenomena raise (v)

scientific foundation toxicity

2) Нанометр — единица измерения длины в метрической системе, равная одной миллиардной части метра.

3) Токсичность оказывает вредное действие на организм человека, животных и растений.

4) Огромный вклад науки в духовную жизнь общества бесспорен.

5) В настоящее время развивается такая об- ласть химии, как молекулярный дизайн.

6) Одним из преимуществ интернет – иссле- дования является высокая эффективность.

7) Наблюдать за нано-объектами мож- но различными способами.

8) Чтобы подтвердить эту теорию необходи- мо научное обоснование.

 

2. Find Russian equivalents to English and study the vocabulary. Make your own sentences with any 5 of them.

Atomic and molecular scale, vast range of applications, toxicity, environmental impact, potential effects, engineering of functional systems, in its origi- nal sense, by comparison, cellular life-form, by con- vention, upper limit, "bottom-up" approach, molecular recognition, "top-down" approach, atomic-level con- trol.

 

3. Translate these sentences

1) Журнал "Нано Дайджест" собрал наиболее интересные достижения ученых в сфере нанотех- нологий.

4. Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones.

1) Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on only molecular scale.

2) Generally, nanotechnology deals with struc- tures sized between 10 to 100 nanometre.

3) Nanotechnology may be able to create many new materials and devices with a vast range of applications.

4) Nanoelectronics is the engineering of func- tional systems at the molecular scale.

5) Nanotechnology refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up.

6) One nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 10−9, of a meter.

7) Nanotechnology is taken as the scale range 1 to 100 nm.

8) The upper limit is set by the size of atoms.

9) Four main approaches are used in nanotech- nology.

10) Only nanoelectronics have evolved during the last few decades to provide a basic scientific founda- tion of nanotechnology.

 

5. Write out the sentences expressing the main ideas of each logical part of the text.

6. Be ready to speak about nanotechnology. Use this text and enlarge it with your new information.

7. Take word (toxity) from the text. Use a dic- tionary to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

For example: nanomaterial

Nanomaterial – molecular scale – nanometer –

9. Look at the words below. With your partner, try to give definitions of these words:

- silver nanoparticles

- stress response

- nano-titanium dioxide

- carbon nanotubes

- organic food

 

10. Make an information sheet about the implica- tions of nanotechnology.

11. Revision. Choose the correct variant.

1) My motherin a very big hos- pital in London.

a) work b) is working c) works d) are working

 

2) Whatthis evening?

a) do you do b) are you doing) you do

d) were you doing

DNA douple – helix.

 

8. Look in your dictionaries to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms for the word

3) Have you ever Mona Lisa?

a) Seenb) seeс) seeingв) saw

the portrait of

‘nano’.

- Share your findings with your partners.

- Make questions using the words you found.

- Ask your partner / group your questions.

4) The children will call you if they

anything.

a) Need b) will need c) needed

b) d) have needed

 

5) “Your mother was here a minute ago”. “Oh,

?”

a) did she b) has she c)was she

b) is she

 

6) Alice isthan her sister.

a) Taller b) more taller c) tallest

b) more taller

 

7) 6254

a) six thousand and two hundred fifty-four

b) six hundred two thousand and fifty-four

c) six thousand two hundred fifty-four

d) six thousand two hundred and fifty-four

 

8) There isn`tbutter in the fridge.

a) Some b) no c) any d) a

 

9) Howwater is there in the cup?

a) little b) much c) many d) big

 

10)This house was builtthe 18th cen- tury.

a) In b) on c) at d) by

 

11) Talkme, please!

a) With b) to c) for d) on

 

12)Christmas ispopular holiday in Great Britain.

a) Most b) the most

c) most of all d) very

13) I come in?

a) Can b) should c) may d) am

 

14) I`m sorry, Igo.

a) ought to b) must

c) need to d) have to

 

15) Youcome to school in time.

a) ought to b) should

c) need d) may

 

16)She is likely to help them.

a) Ей нравится помогать им.

b) Она, вероятно, поможет им.

c) Она вряд ли поможет им.

d) Ей нравится, когда они ей помогают.

 

17) She was born19 May, 1950.

a) In b) On c) At d) By

 

18) You are angry with me,you?

a) aren`t b) shall c) won`t d) will

 

19) Let me give you.

a) an advice b) the advice

c) some advice d) some advices

 

20) We would likeyou a present.

a) Give b) giving

c) to give d) to giving

 

21) We have verymoney left.

a) Few b) little c) a few d) a little

 

22) Thepens and pencils are on the desk.

a) Childrenb) childrens

c) children`s d) childrens`

 

23) The micethe cheese.

a) have eaten

b) have been eaten

c) has eaten

d) has been eaten

 

24) I wonder where.

a) he did go b) he went

c) did he go d) went he

 

25) Don`t touch this ball! It`s!

a) Her b) mine c) my d) your

 

26) the more you get fat.

a) When you eat more

b) Eating more

c) The more you eat

d) More eaten

 

27) Can you lookthe baby for 10 min- utes?

a) Out b) to c) for d) after

28) It wasyesterday!

a) such nice weather

b) too nice weather

c) so nice weather

d) such a nice weather

 

29) I want one andof pears, please.

a) half kilo b) a half kilo

c) half kilos d) a half kilos

 

12. Read and translate the text

Proteins

Structure and size: proteins are linear, un- branched polymers constructed from 20 different α-

amino acids that are encoded in the DNA of the genome. All living organisms use the same 20 amino acids and the same genetic code. Proteins are large molecules with mo- lecular weight ranging from 10 to 50 kdal for single-chain proteins. Multichain proteins of 150 to 200 kdal are fre- quently encountered.

Proteins serve a wide range of functions in living organisms. They are involved in the following:

·enzymatic catalysis (all known enzymes are proteins);

· transport and storage of small molecules and

ions;

·systematic movements (both striated and smooth muscle are composed chiefly of protein, as are structures involved in the motility of certain free- living cells;

·the structure of skin and bone (collagen, the most abundant protein in body, gives these structures high tensile strength);

·the immune defense system (antibodies are spe- cialized proteins recognizing self and nonself);

·hormonal regulation (some hormones are pro- teins; the cellular receptors that recognize hormones and neutrotransmitters are proteins);

·control of genetic expression (repressor mole- cules in bacteria are proteins that suppress certain DNA sequences; protein initiation and termination factors serve in the transcription phases of gene func- tion).

Proteins show an exquisite specificity of biologic function – a consequence of the uniqueness of the three-dimensional structural shape, or conformation, of each protein. In humans, disease states are often re- lated to the altered function of a protein. This is due to an anomaly in the structure of the protein, which in turn may be due to a deficiency in its synthesis.

Amino acids. The fundamental units of protein polymers are α-amino acids. They are composed of an

amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a distinctive side chain, all boned to a carbon atom. One of the 20 amino acids, proline, is an imino acid, not an α-amino acids as are the other 19. A few other amino acids are found in a number of proteins but are not coded for in DNA; they are derived from one or another of the 20 fundamental amino acids after these have been incorporated into the protein chain (post- translational modification).

Peptides and polypeptides. The peptide bond is the bond formed between the α-carboxyl group of one amino acid and the α-amino group of another. It is formed by removal of the elements of water. The process is highly endergonic and requires the con- comitant hydrolysis of high-energy prosphate bonds. The peptide bond is a planar structure with the two ad- jacent α-carbons, a carbonyl oxygen, and α-amino-N and its associated H atom, and the carbonyl carbon all lying in the same plane. The – CN – bond has a par- tial double-bond character that prevents rotation about the bond axis. The linking together of many amino acids by peptide bonds produces polypeptide chains. Amino acids, when in polypeptide chains, are custom- arily referred to as residues. Protein polypeptide chains are typically more than 100 amino acid resi- dues long. Smaller peptides, however, are common and often have important biologic roles. By conven- tion, peptide structures are written from left to right, starting with the amino acid residue having a free α- amino group (the so-called N-terminal amino acid) and ending with the residue having a free α-carboxyl

group (the C-terminal). Either the three-letter abbre- viations of the single-letter abbreviations are used.

 

13. Game. Sentence Race

1. Prepare a list of review vocabulary words.

2. Write each word on two small pieces of paper. That means writing the word twice, once on each pa- per.

3. Organize the pieces like bundles, 2 bundles, 2 sets of identical words.

4. Divide the class into 2 teams. Get them to make creative team names.

5. Distribute each list of words to both teams. Every student on each team should have a paper. Both teams have the same words.

6. When you call a word, 2 students should stand up, one from each team. The students must then run to the blackboard and race to write a sentence using their word.

 

The winner is the one with a correct and clearly writ- ten sentence.

 

14. Translate the text into English using the words you have learned.

Наночастицы.

Современная тенденция к миниатюризации показала, что вещество может иметь совершенно

новые свойства, если взять очень маленькую час- тицу этого вещества. Частицы размерами от 1 до

100 нанометров обычно называют

«наночастицами». Так, например, оказалось, что наночастицы некоторых материалов имеют очень хорошие каталитические и адсорбционные свойст- ва. Другие материалы показывают удивительные оптические свойства.

Удается добиться взаимодействия искусст- венных наночастиц с природными объектами на- норазмеров — белками, нуклеиновыми кислотами и др. Тщательно очищенные наночастицы могут самовыстраиваться в определённые структуры. Такая структура содержит строго упорядоченные наночастицы и также зачастую проявляет необыч- ные свойства.

 

15. Write down 5 questions based on the article.

16. Summarize the idea of the text. What informa- tion is new for you?

17. Role-play game.

“THE NANOWORLD” ROLE PLAY: This role

play is to discuss and decide which is the most impor- tant part of the nanoworld. Team up with classmates who have been assigned the same role to develop your roles and discuss ideas and “strategies” before the role play begins.

Introduce yourself to the other role players before

the role play begins.

 

Role A – a protein

Some of your benefits:

Proteins are the chief actors within the cell, said to be carrying out the duties specified by the informa- tion encoded in genes. Proteins make up half the dry weight of an Escherichia coli cell, whereas other mac- romolecules such as DNA and RNA make up only 3% and 20%, respectively.

Why you are better than the nucleic acids and the carbon nanotubes?

Role B – nucleic acids

Some of your benefits:

Nucleic acids are biological molecules essential for life, and include DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid). Together with proteins, nu- cleic acids make up the most important macromolecules; each is found in abundance in all liv- ing things.

 

a) Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the develop- ment and functioning of all known living organisms. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information and DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules.

b) Ribonucleic acid functions in converting ge- netic information from genes into the amino acid se- quences of proteins.

Why are you better than the protein and the carbon nanotubes?

Role C – a carbon nanotubes and other fullerenes

Some of your benefits:

Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes are members of the fullerene structural. These cylindrical carbonmolecules have novel properties, making them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics, and other fields of materials science, as well as potential uses in architectural fields. They may also have applications in the construction of body armor. They exhibit ex- traordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient thermal conductors.

Why you are better than the nucleic acids and the protein?

Appendix 1