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GRADE 10
NOVEMBER 2020
LIFE SCIENCES P2
SOURCE MATERIAL BOOKLET FOR
QUESTIONS 1 AND 2
______________________________________________
Name: _______________________
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QUESTION 1
Read the information below. Use this information as well as your own knowledge
to answer Question 1 in the question paper.
Cystic fibrosis is a serious genetic condition that causes severe damage to the respiratory and
digestive systems. This damage often results from a build-up of thick, sticky mucous in the organs.
Cystic fibrosis affects the cells that produce sweat, mucous, and digestive enzymes. Normally,
these secreted fluids are thin and smooth like olive oil. They lubricate various organs and tissues,
preventing them from getting too dry or infected. In people with cystic fibrosis, however, a faulty
gene causes the fluids to become thick and sticky. Instead of acting as a lubricant, the fluids clog
the ducts, tubes, and passageways in the body. This can lead to life-threatening problems,
including infections, respiratory failure, and malnutrition.
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The thick, sticky mucous associated with cystic fibrosis often blocks the passageways that carry
air into and out of the lungs. This can cause the following symptoms:
• wheezing
• a persistent cough that produces thick mucous or phlegm
• shortness of breath, especially when exercising
• recurrent lung infections
• a stuffy nose
• stuffy sinuses
What Causes Cystic Fibrosis?
Cystic fibrosis occurs as a result of a defect in what’s called the “cystic fibrosis transmembrane
conductance regulator” gene, or CFTR gene. A sudden mutation, or change, in the CFTR gene
causes your mucous to become thicker and stickier than it’s supposed to be.
The CFTR protein is a
Mucous channel protein that
build-up
controls the flow of H2O
and Cl− ions in and out of
cells inside the lungs.
When the CFTR protein is
Blocked
working correctly, ions
channel
freely flow in and out of
the cells. However, when
the CFTR protein is
malfunctioning, these ions cannot flow out of the cell due to a blocked channel. This causes cystic
fibrosis, characterized by the build-up of thick mucous in the lungs.
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The damaged gene is passed on to the child from their parents. In order to have cystic fibrosis, a
child must inherit one copy of the gene from each parent. If they only inherit one copy of the
gene, they won’t develop the disease. However, they’ll be a carrier of the defective gene, which
means that they may pass the gene on to their own children.
Although there’s no cure for cystic fibrosis, there are various treatments available that may help
relieve symptoms and reduce the risk of complications.
[Adapted from: [Link]
[Link]
[Link]
New CRISPR Tool Fixes CFTR Mutations in CF Patients’ Stem Cells, Study Finds
March 16, 2020
Scientists at the Hubrecht Institute and University Medical Centre Utrecht University in the
Netherlands used the newer version of the gene-editing CRISPR-Cas9 technology to correct
certain mutations in the CFTR gene in CF-patient derived stem cells. These stem cells are grown
into “mini-guts,” called intestinal organoids, from patient tissue.
“In traditional CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, a specific piece of the DNA is cut out, resulting in
DNA damage,” the study’s first author, Maarten Geurts of the Hubrecht Institute, said in a press
release. This is done with the aim that the cell repairs this cut using a lab-made piece of ‘healthy’
DNA.”
“However, in the new CRISPR technique, called base editing, the Cas part is altered in such a way
that it no longer creates a cut, but still detects the mutation,” Geurts said. “So instead of creating
a cut and replacing the faulty DNA, the mutation is directly repaired on site, making this a more
effective genome editing tool.”
[Adapted from: [Link]
patients-stem-cells-study-
finds/#:~:text=A%20new%20variation%20of%20the,affected%20region%2C%20the%20researchers%20said.]
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Five Feet Apart is a 2019 American romantic drama
film. In the movie, Stella is a cystic fibrosis patient who
meets another CF patient, Will, who is at the hospital
for a medication trial, in an attempt to get rid of the
bacterial infection (B. cepacia) he has in his lungs.
CF patients are strictly kept six feet apart to reduce
the risk of cross-infection, as contracting bacterial
infections from other CF patients can be dangerous -
even life-threatening.
Will and Stella begin to fall for each other and secretly
go on their first date, staying only five feet apart, Stella
explaining she's "taking that foot - for us."
***1 foot = 0.3048 metres
[Adapted from: [Link]
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CF gene
identified
CF protein
1st identified
successful
pregnancy
Figure 1
[Source: [Link]
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QUESTION 2
Read the information below. Use this information as well as your own knowledge
to answer Question 2 in the question paper.
SOURCE A
Every year, around 7 million deaths are due to exposure from both outdoor and household air
pollution. Half the early deaths from air pollution result from indoor cooking with smoky fuels, a
problem linked closely to poverty. The other half results from outdoor air pollution – caused by
traffic, power stations, factories, construction, heating and more – and is far more dispersed and
harder to tackle.
It is also getting worse, as the world’s population swells towards 9 billion and cities rapidly grow.
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In Europe, the deviousness of car manufacturers and the failure of regulators have left diesel
vehicles belching out many times more nitrogen dioxide than was ever thought safe. In the UK
alone, illegal levels of NO2 cause more than 60 premature deaths a day.
[Adapted from: [Link]
[Link]
SOURCE B
Dealing with Air Pollution Across the Globe The Netherlands
Politicians want to ban the sale of
Paris bans cars in many historic all petrol and diesel cars from
central districts at weekends, 2025, allowing only electric or
imposes odd-even bans on hydrogen vehicles. The proposed
vehicles, makes public transport new law would allow anyone who
free during major pollution events already owns a petrol or diesel car
and encourages car-and bike- to continue using it. Most cities
sharing programmes. encourage bicycle use.
Bangalore Freiburg in Germany has 500km of
The Indian city is converting its bike routes, tramways, and a
How are cities around
6,000 buses to compressed cheap and efficient public
the world tackling air
natural gas and discouraging the
pollution? transport system. One suburb,
car. So far, says the city, it has
reduced traffic pollution by about Vauban, forbids people to park
20% in a few years and one in four near their homes and makes car-
[Adapted from:
people who used to travel by car
[Link] owners pay €18,000 for a space on
now use public transport.
[Link]/environm the edge of town. In return for
ent/2016/may/17/ho
living without a car, people are
w-are-cities-
around-the-world-
offered cheaper housing, free
tackling-air- public transport, and plentiful
pollution] bicycle spaces.
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Farmers across the UK were on Tuesday (3/11/2020) facing a potential total ban on the use of
solid urea fertilizers in a government clampdown on ammonia emissions to better protect human
health and the environment.
Ammonia emissions are harmful to human health, with 87% of the UK’s ammonia emissions
coming from farming. Ammonia combines with sulphates and nitrates in the atmosphere to form
secondary fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
The government has committed to reducing ammonia emissions by 8% of 2005 levels by 2020,
and a 16% reduction by 2030.
[Adapted from: [Link]
mulls-ban-on-farmers-using-urea-under-air-pollution-crackdown]
On 5 October 2020, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a war against pollution
campaign, under which the government has come up with customized plans of action for each of
the 13 pollution hotspots in the city. Another important development has been the concentration
on citizen engagement in relation to environmental pollution. The CM announced the rolling out
of a Green Delhi app which can be used by citizens to upload photos of environmental pollution
being caused in their vicinity and lodge complaints against people suspected of polluting.
Additionally, the Delhi government announced setting up of a smog tower in Connaught Place
within ten months, for which it has sanctioned Rs 20 crore. In order to address the issue of stubble
burning, which has been cited as a major cause of air pollution in Delhi, the Pusa Institute
(engineering college) has been involved to come up with a solution that could be sprayed onto
the stubble, turning the mass into organic fertilizer which will possibly discourage the farmers
from burning their crops.
This antipollution campaign is not the capital’s first step towards combating pollution. From the
odd-even rule (a traffic rationing measure whereby private vehicles with registration numbers
ending with an odd digit will be allowed on roads on odd dates and those with an even digit on
even dates) to abandonment of vehicles older than 10 to 15 years, all have been measures to
control what was once called a gas chamber like situation by the CM of Delhi.
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[Adapted from: [Link]
[Link]]
SOURCE C
Particulate matter (PM)
is capable of penetrating
deep into lung
passageways and
entering the
bloodstream causing
cardiovascular,
cerebrovascular and
respiratory impacts. In
2013, it was classified as
a cause of lung cancer by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It is also
the most widely used indicator to assess the health effects from exposure to ambient air
pollution (potentially harmful pollutants emitted by industries, households, cars, and trucks).
[Adapted from: [Link]
[Link]
pollution_Particulate-figure_final_upd.png?auto=format]
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People who live in areas with higher levels of air pollution are 11 per cent more likely to die if
they catch Covid-19, study warns
Researchers defined high pollution as PM2.5 levels above 13 micrograms per cubic metre of air.
However, the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 10 µg/m3 for
the annual mean. The 2019 average in urban areas of the UK, according to official data, was
9.88μg/m3.
This graph shows how
the one microgram per
cubic metre (1μg/m3)
increase in particulate
matter affected Covid-19
mortality rate across the
US. By 18 June 2020, the
most recent data in the
current study, there was
an 11% increase in
death rate in areas with
worse air pollution.
[Adapted from: [Link]
[Link]]
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SOURCE D
Air pollution last year caused the premature
death of nearly half a million babies in their
first month of life, with most of the infants
being in the developing world, data shows.
Exposure to airborne pollutants is harmful
also for babies in the womb. It can cause a
premature birth or low birth weight. Both of
these factors are associated with higher infant mortality.
The State of Global Air Report 2020 is published by the Health Effects Institute, which is an
independent non-profit research organisation funded by the US Environmental Protection
Agency and others.
[Adapted from: [Link]
babies-a-year-across-globe]
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