How do Illnesses Affect Cells
What are Illnesses and diseases?
Illnesses and diseases are other terms for sicknesses. When someone has an illnesses or disease they are commonly in pain, uncomfortable and tired. Animals and plants alike can be affected and there are many ways that this can happen. One can get an illness through bacterias, viruses, fungi, and parasites, all of which have their own different ways of affecting cells.
Bacteria is a unicellular organism that can cause many different types of illnesses including step throat. There are Viruses, which are smaller than bacteria. Viruses can cause a large range of different illnesses such as the common cold or AIDS. Different types of illnesses, including athletes foot are caused by Fungi. Another method of contracting an illness is though a Parasite. Parasites can be thought of as little creatures that live in or on another species such a malaria, which is carried in a mosquito. The parasites can be transferred on to humans in multiply ways including being bitten or even just being near them.
The way that they all affect cells is by harming/altering them. When any of these, take bacteria for example, enter the human body they start to do bad things. Every illness is different in the ways in which they affect cells. The rest of this page will focus on three different illnesses and how they affect cells.
Bacteria is a unicellular organism that can cause many different types of illnesses including step throat. There are Viruses, which are smaller than bacteria. Viruses can cause a large range of different illnesses such as the common cold or AIDS. Different types of illnesses, including athletes foot are caused by Fungi. Another method of contracting an illness is though a Parasite. Parasites can be thought of as little creatures that live in or on another species such a malaria, which is carried in a mosquito. The parasites can be transferred on to humans in multiply ways including being bitten or even just being near them.
The way that they all affect cells is by harming/altering them. When any of these, take bacteria for example, enter the human body they start to do bad things. Every illness is different in the ways in which they affect cells. The rest of this page will focus on three different illnesses and how they affect cells.
The Three Illnesses:
Allergies
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Chickenpox
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Cancer
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Allergies |
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What is happenING?In your immune system there are cells called immunoglobulin E. Their job is the find foreign cells and attach onto them to tell the immune system what needs to be destroyed. Then the immune system sends white blood cells to come kill the foreign cells. Sometimes the immunoglobulin E will attach onto some kind of food by accident. When they do this It means that the white blood cells go to attack the food for no reason. As the cells are killing the bits of food it causes pains in your neck or other parts of your body and this can cause anaphylaxis.
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How it's affecting cells?It's affecting cells by causing your immune system to classify normal food item as dangerous. This means that your body wastes resources fighting them off when it could be saving those resources for other occasions.
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Chickenpox |
How it's affecting cells?It affects cells by killing them. When the chickenpox enter your body they are trying to kill your cells, thats why the white blood cells attack them. It also affects cells by producing waste. When the chickenpox kill cells they produce waste and that waste has to exit your body some how. While its exiting your body you will feel sick.
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What is Happening?When the varicella-zoster virus (Chickenpox) enters your body they immediately start to duplicate them selves and attack certain parts of the body like cells. The immunoglobulin marks the virus and tells the white blood cells to attack it. While the white blood cells and the chickenpox are fighting you will get rashes that spread all over your body. After the fight is over the rashes shrivel up and go away.
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Cancer |
What is happening?Cancer is very different from the other two illnesses. For starters there are many different types of cancer but they all start the same way. Cancer cells start their growth like normal cells until a gene morphs. When a gene morphs it no longer performs its correct functions. Instead of multiplying, doing a job, and then dying it multiplies way too much then does no job and never dies because it does not age. Cancer cells slowly build up and create a tumour. These cells will go into the blood stream and travel to different parts of the body. The part that makes cancer so bad is that the immunoglobulins don't find anything wrong with them because to them they only look like cells that just don't have a job yet which means they don't tell the white blood cells to kill them. This allows for the cancer to build up and slowly kill the body.
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How it's affecting cells?It's affecting cells by killing them. Cancer is disguising its self a a normal cell so the body is ok with it being there. Cancer will kill the human body if not dealt with so all cells are a risk. The different types of cancer are mostly named for where they are. So liver cancer is cancer cells that are in the liver. So if you have liver cancer the cancer cells are mostly affecting your liver cells. It's not hurting the other by attacking them it's hurting them by using resources and getting in the way.
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Vocabulary you may not know |
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Gene: Genes are units of DNA that control ones traits. Genes are passed down from parent to child. An example is: If your parents have blue eyes you might have blue eyes too because they gave that gene.
Immunoglobulins E: Immunoglobulins E are a type of cell that helps out the white blood cells be finding foreign cells and attaching onto them. An example is: They are scouts that find the enemy and mark them.
White Blood Cells: Are the protecters of the immune system their job is to destroy any foreign illnesses/cells. An example is: After the scouts mark the enemy they come is and kill it.
Anaphylaxis: An allergic reaction. An example is: If you are allergic to nuts and then you eat nut you have a reaction where you might not be able to breath or get a itchy neck. these are all side affects of anaphylaxis
Immune System: The immune system is the body's way of defending itself from infectious cells. An example is: The immune system is the home base where every thing that has to do with defending the body stays.
Immunoglobulins E: Immunoglobulins E are a type of cell that helps out the white blood cells be finding foreign cells and attaching onto them. An example is: They are scouts that find the enemy and mark them.
White Blood Cells: Are the protecters of the immune system their job is to destroy any foreign illnesses/cells. An example is: After the scouts mark the enemy they come is and kill it.
Anaphylaxis: An allergic reaction. An example is: If you are allergic to nuts and then you eat nut you have a reaction where you might not be able to breath or get a itchy neck. these are all side affects of anaphylaxis
Immune System: The immune system is the body's way of defending itself from infectious cells. An example is: The immune system is the home base where every thing that has to do with defending the body stays.