Project submitted by: Appadoo Menisha Assotally Muhzreen Dewoo Sakshi Dewoo Siksha Mohadeb Chitramaya from HINDU

GIRLS COLLEGE

Project Supervisor: Miss R.Dwarika

THEME CHOSEN: INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES IN SCIENCE Science gives us a way to investigate and understand the natural world, a methodology that can lead to wonderful discoveries. Often, great discoveries are made piece by piece over a period of time and involve the contributions of several people. Yet there are some scientific discoveries that have contributed so significantly to the wonders of our modern world that they rank particularly high on the long list of great scientific discoveries. Technologies to generate and transmit electrical power, to use computers to communicate and calculate, and to launch people, experiments and communications satellites into space are certainly a big part of our modern world, but impressive developments in medicine have allowed humanity to triumph over diseases caused by the smallest, most ubiquitous life forms on Earth. This has allowed us to live longer, healthier lives the better to enjoy all the other fruits of scientific discovery and technological development. Vaccine has been one such discovery that impacted on our lives. Most recently, with the outbreak of the avian flu, we are reminded how vulnerable we are against these microscopic disease causing organisms many of which have the ability to mutate sometimes in a more virulent form. Very often, we forget about the history behind what we are learning in science classes hence we opted for this particular theme.

TITLE VACCINES: A HISTORICAL EXPEDITION The gasping breath and distinctive sounds of whooping cough; the iron lungs and braces designed for children paralyzed by polio; and the devastating birth defects caused by rubella: these infectious scourges simultaneously inspire dread and represent obscure maladies of years past. The last decade has also seen the emergence of new diseases such as SARS, swine flu, avian flu amongst others. However, millions of lives have been saved and microbes stopped in their tracks before they could have a chance to wreak havoc due to vaccination. In short, the vaccine represents the single greatest promise of biomedicine: disease prevention With the rapid pace of vaccine development in recent decades, the historic origins of immunization are often forgotten. Thus, our project aims at having an insight about one of the greatest discoveries in science: vaccination. Objectives of project: 1. Understand in a fun way how our immune system works to protect us 2. Understand how Edward Jenner successfully immunised people against smallpox 3. Understand the importance of vaccines

INTRODUCTION For many centuries, smallpox devastated mankind. In modern times we do not have to worry about it thanks to the remarkable work of Edward Jenner and later developments from his endeavors. Edward Jenner is well known around the world for his innovative contribution to immunization and the ultimate eradication of smallpox. Jenner's work is widely regarded as the foundation of immunology. Immunology is the branch of biomedical science that deals with the response of an organism to antigenic challenge and its recognition of what is self and what is not. It deals with the defense mechanisms including all physical, chemical and biological properties of the organism that help it to combat its susceptibility to foreign organisms, material, etc FUNCTION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM: THE BODYS SUPERHEROES

AGAINST THE VILLAINS

1. Immune cells circulate around your body, looking for the "bad guys", foreign bodies, or antigens which can appear in the form of viruses, bacteria, and even pollen. 2. When an invader is found by your immune cells their response depends both on the invader and on the particular immune cell. 3. Phagocytes (a type of white blood cell) actually engulf, absorb, or eat pathogens. Phagocytes also consume "dead cells" in our body, and play an important roll in allowing wounds to heal. 4. Lymphocytes attack antigens by creating antibodies, or toxic granules.

5. Lymphocytes also destroy cells which have been infected by a virus, and tag antigens to be attacked later. 6. After defeating a particular invader lymphocytes will keep a profile and remember the disease throughout your life. Should it appear again, they will quickly eliminate it. 7. This memory effect of immune cells led to the idea of a vaccine: weakened antigens which could be injected into your body. 8. Your immune system can then "practice" on this weakened form of a disease. 9. The next time a disease enters your body, your immune system draws upon its memory to quickly defeat it. The Pioneer of Vaccination: Edward Jenner (1749 1823). He is known to many as the father of immunology. His unique legacy is the formal discovery and promotion of vaccination; immunisation against smallpox through infection with cow pox Jenner's work represented the first scientific attempt to control an infectious disease by the deliberate use of vaccination Jenners Experiment: The main diseases involved Cowpox: caused by the cowpox or catpox virus, a member of the orthopoxvirus family, which also includes smallpox and vaccinia virus is believed to be acquired by direct contact with an infected animal, most often a cat in the case of humans, with lesions occurring where the virus gains access through broken skin Smallpox: serious, contagious, and sometimes fatal infectious disease caused by a virus called the variola virus

disease gets its name from the Latin word for spotted and refers to the small pusfilled blisters that appear on the face and body of an infected person.

The Scientific Method The scientific method is a disciplined, systematic way of asking and answering questions about the physical world. Though it can be useful to think of the scientific method as a simple series of steps, in fact, there is no single model of the scientific method that can be applied in all situations. The following are the steps carried out by Jenner: OBSERVATION: People who have had cowpox do not become ill with smallpox He experienced the proverbial Eureka-like moment sometime during the 1770s, after hearing a Bristol milkmaid boast, I shall never have smallpox for I have had cowpox. I shall never have an ugly pockmarked face. HYPOTHESIS: If a person has been intentionally infected with cowpox, then that person will be protected from becoming ill after a purposeful exposure to smallpox. TEST: Infect a person with cowpox. Then try to infect the person with smallpox. JENNERS PROCEDURE: In May 1796, Edward Jenner found a young dairymaid, Sarah Nelms, who had fresh cowpox lesions on her hands and arms On May 14, 1796, using matter from Nelms' lesions, he inoculated an 8-year-old boy, James Phipps Subsequently, the boy developed mild fever and discomfort in the axillae Nine days after the procedure he felt cold and had lost his appetite, but on the next day he was much better

 In July 1796, Jenner inoculated the boy again, this time with matter from a fresh smallpox lesion

CONCLUSION: No disease developed, and Jenner concluded that protection was complete. Jenner repeated his experiment several times and got the same results. Other scientists did likewise and got the same results.

Vaccine development timeline Following the work of Jenner, many vaccines were developed for other types of diseases as shown by the chart below.

ERADICATION OF DISEASE BY VACCINATION If a particular disease is eliminated worldwide, its considered eradicated. To date only one infectious disease that affects humans has been eradicated. In 1980, after decades of efforts by the World Health Organization, the World Health Assembly endorsed statement declaring smallpox eradicated. Coordinated efforts rid the world of a disease that once killed up to 35% of its victims and left others scarred or blind. In all vaccines have brought seven major human diseases under some degree of control namely smallpox, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, yellow fever, whooping cough and measles.

Elusive vaccines It took more than 80 years after Jenners discovery for scientists to develop new vaccines. Although spectacular vaccines have been produced since that time, changing the course of human history, vaccines for many diseases remain elusive. One of the most frustrating quests has been for a malaria vaccine. The most common parasites responsible for malaria have demonstrated an impressive ability to circumvent eradication efforts by becoming drug resistant. No discussion of vaccines is complete without assessing the potential for an HIV vaccine in the twenty-first century. Most attempts to develop an HIV vaccine have ended in failure. Conclusion Our struggle with germs is endless and can be neither completely halted nor assuaged by vaccines, no matter how great their immunological power. Sadly, effective vaccines for

two of the worlds leading killers, HIV and malaria, remain in the research stage. Furthermore, even the most knowledgeable scientist cannot precisely predict the strain of next years influenza, nor can an expert epidemiologist always explain why certain diseases rise and burn out at particular rates.