Related Questions
- How can your experiment help the environment or everyone in this world ?
- What disease would be your greatest enemy in your are of expertise
- if we didn't have scientists how do think society would cope ?
- Did your work save any lives? If yes tell me more I just love to know.
- Why is science so important?
By BRIDGE8 under license from Mangorolla CIC 2024
Whilst you would think the answer is no, there are actually diseases which give protection against other diseases. For instance, if you have sickle cell anaemia/thalassaemia the fact that your blood cells are shaped differently means it is much harder to be infected with the malaria parasite. Cow pox makes you immune to small pox which is much more deadly.
Exposure to some illnesses also help provide you with immunity to them later in life (this is the basis for vaccines although you don’t get the illness)
and lastly, though not causing a disease, we have a wide range of bacteria living in all of us, which actually work to help protect us against a range of illnesses.
0
Miranda has some good example of where diseases can help you! Another example is some people who get chronic inflammation of the intestine are given worms as the medicine. Gross but effective!
But remember that even the diseases that protect you from other diseases are still diseases and make us sick. For example the blood cells in sickle cell anaemia that are shaped differently also can’t carry as much oxygen around the body which can make people with the disease feel tired, dizzy and short of breath.
0
Yep, sickle anemia is one good example. It is actually as a result of a mutation known as HbS (Hb stands for hemoglobin). HbS mutation makes cells take a curved, sickle-like shape. If you have one copy of it then good on you because you will resistant against malaria.Two copies causes sickle cell anemia.
But there are other mutations which technically cause “diseases” or “disorders” but practically makes you a real X-men. One famous example is a mutation which increases your bone density. Majority of the mutation in LRP-5 family leads to osteoporosis (which my grandmother suffers now ). But one rare mutation in LRP-5 can amplify its function and causes increased bone density which give you super human strength. This mutation was accidentally discovered in a family who altogether survived a fatal car crash with no broken bones. The scientist from Yale University suggested that family members, have bones so strong they rival those of a character in the 2000 movie Unbreakable. In science this is regarded as a disorder because it is obviously not normal for a human being but wouldn’t it be cool to have bones as strong as iron? 😉
0