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Landline: Handling deadly viruses safely to save lives

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People walk in full-body protection suits
Landline: Handling deadly viruses safely to save lives

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  9–10


Imagine working in a research laboratory and handling deadly animal viruses that could potentially infect humans.

Find out how this vital research helps protect Australia's wildlife, farm animals and human population.

See how scientists use techniques such as 'gene silencing' to fight viruses.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Viruses are extremely small particles whose genes enable them to force living cells (host cells) to produce more viruses. Viruses that cause diseases in animals can sometimes infect humans. Do you know of any dangerous flu viruses that originated in animals?
  2. 2.Observe how the scientists' safety suits actively keep out viruses. Estimate how much the diagnosis time has been reduced by over the past decade. Find out how the 'chain of transmission' was broken for horse flu. Look for a technique that could be used to breed birds that are resistant to bird flu.
  3. 3.Create a diary account of a day in the life of a scientist working on swine flu at the CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL). It will be helpful to explore AAHL's website to find out more about working there. View the 'overview sections', especially those covering 'roles and responsibilities' and 'high containment'. Describe the safety equipment the scientists use and how the facilities keep them safe.
  4. 4.As a decision-maker in government, you receive a request from AAHL to import the Foot-and-mouth virus for research purposes. Find out about the potential impact doing this might have on Australia's economy if there was an outbreak of the virus here. Explain how you would decide whether or not you should agree to AAHL's request. Construct a reply citing the reasons for your decision.



Date of broadcast: 16 Aug 2009


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Science