Think-Pair-Share Questions

1. As we will learn in Unit 2, the tetracycline antibiotics (tetracycline, doxycycline, demeclocycline, minocycline, etc.) inhibit bacterial growth by binding reversibly to their 30S ribosomal subunits. This interferes with ribosomal function during protein synthesis.

a. Would these antibiotics work on a yeast infection such as vaginitis or thrush? Explain why or why not.

b. Would these antibiotics work on a viral infection such as influenza or the common cold? Explain why or why not.

c. Do these antibiotics interfere with transcription or translation? Explain.

2. On a first season episode of Fringe, a parasite about 3 feet long and looking like a giant slug is infecting humans in this dimension. Viewers see it coming out of a deceased person and slithering along the floor. Dr. Walter Bishop determines it is a giant virus.

a. Explain why it couldn't possibly be a giant virus. (I am looking for more than viruses are submicroscopic.)

b. Assume that Walter, like many people, doesn't really know the difference between a virus and a bacterium. Since the slithering organism is somewhat bacillus-shaped and he is convinced it is a single-celled organism, explain why it could not be a bacterium either. (I am looking for more than bacteria are microscopic.)