full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Allison Ramsey and Mary Staicu: The accident that changed the world
Unscramble the Blue Letters
What Fleming sulmtebd upon was a microbial dnfeese system. The penicillium mold constantly pedrcous penicillin in odrer to defend itself from threats, such as nbraey brtiaaecl colonies that might consume its resources. Penicillin destroys many types of bacteria by dsinuriptg synthesis of their cell walls. These walls get their strength from a thick, protective mesh of sugars and amino acids, that are constantly being broken down and rebuilt. Penicillin binds to one of the cdnmopous that weaves this mesh together and prevents the wall from being reconstructed at a ciiratcl phase. Meanwhile, penicillin stimulates the release of highly reactive molecules that cause additional damage. Eventually, the cell’s structure breaks down completely. This two-pronged attack is lethal to a wide range of bacteria, whether in petri-dishes, our bodies, or elsewhere. It’s not, however, harmful to our own cells, because those don’t have cell wllas.
Open Cloze
What Fleming ________ upon was a microbial _______ system. The penicillium mold constantly ________ penicillin in _____ to defend itself from threats, such as ______ _________ colonies that might consume its resources. Penicillin destroys many types of bacteria by __________ synthesis of their cell walls. These walls get their strength from a thick, protective mesh of sugars and amino acids, that are constantly being broken down and rebuilt. Penicillin binds to one of the _________ that weaves this mesh together and prevents the wall from being reconstructed at a ________ phase. Meanwhile, penicillin stimulates the release of highly reactive molecules that cause additional damage. Eventually, the cell’s structure breaks down completely. This two-pronged attack is lethal to a wide range of bacteria, whether in petri-dishes, our bodies, or elsewhere. It’s not, however, harmful to our own cells, because those don’t have cell _____.
Solution
- bacterial
- compounds
- disrupting
- order
- nearby
- stumbled
- defense
- critical
- produces
- walls
Original Text
What Fleming stumbled upon was a microbial defense system. The penicillium mold constantly produces penicillin in order to defend itself from threats, such as nearby bacterial colonies that might consume its resources. Penicillin destroys many types of bacteria by disrupting synthesis of their cell walls. These walls get their strength from a thick, protective mesh of sugars and amino acids, that are constantly being broken down and rebuilt. Penicillin binds to one of the compounds that weaves this mesh together and prevents the wall from being reconstructed at a critical phase. Meanwhile, penicillin stimulates the release of highly reactive molecules that cause additional damage. Eventually, the cell’s structure breaks down completely. This two-pronged attack is lethal to a wide range of bacteria, whether in petri-dishes, our bodies, or elsewhere. It’s not, however, harmful to our own cells, because those don’t have cell walls.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
frequency |
cell walls |
2 |
Important Words
- acids
- additional
- amino
- attack
- bacteria
- bacterial
- binds
- bodies
- breaks
- broken
- cell
- cells
- colonies
- completely
- compounds
- constantly
- consume
- critical
- damage
- defend
- defense
- destroys
- disrupting
- eventually
- fleming
- harmful
- highly
- lethal
- mesh
- microbial
- mold
- molecules
- nearby
- order
- penicillin
- penicillium
- phase
- prevents
- produces
- protective
- range
- reactive
- rebuilt
- reconstructed
- release
- resources
- stimulates
- strength
- structure
- stumbled
- sugars
- synthesis
- system
- thick
- threats
- types
- wall
- walls
- weaves
- wide