Exercise 2. Listen to the text (Script 1) and describe a new method developed to overcome the problem of matching blood groups for blood transfusion.
Unit 1. Human body
| Lexics: Human anatomy / Medicine / Public health Listening: 2 texts |
Text A. Blood transfusion
Exercise 1. What do you know about blood groups? Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What are blood groups? What characteristics allow to distinguish blood groups?
2. How many blood groups are there?
3. Why is it necessary to match donor’s and recipient’s blood groups for transfusion?
| to disguise - маскировать to purge – вычищать clump - сгусток permeable – проницаемый |
Exercise 2. Listen to the text (Script 1) and describe a new method developed to overcome the problem of matching blood groups for blood transfusion.
Exercise 3. Listen to the text again and say if the following statements are true or false according to the text, correct the false ones:
1. There are 29 blood groups distinguished according to blood composition.
2. Donor’s blood attacks recipient’s antibodies.
3. There are two main strategies of dealing with the problem of matching blood groups.
4. There have been developed effective methods of producing artificial blood.
5. Maryam Tabrizian of McGill University followed the second possible strategy of removing antigenic proteins.
6. The new method uses two coats – an undercoat for better adhesion and an upper disguising coat.
7. The coating does nor inhibit the functions of red blood cells.
8. The method demonstrated efficacy both in vitro and in vivo.
Text B. Medical technology
Exercise 4. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What methods are currently used to obtain tissues and organs for transplantation
2. What are the difficulties of obtaining grafts?
3. What are the main risks of transplantation?
| corpse – труп scaffold – каркас graft - nрансплантант tap – кран clot - тромб |
Exercise 5. Listen to the text (Script 2) and describe how a graft is produced for transplantation.
Exercise 6. Listen to the text again and put the stages of producing a graft in the correct order. Describe each stage in detail.
a. Smooth-muscle cells secrete collagen.
b. Muscle cells are washed away leaving just the collagen.
c. Smooth-muscle cells are obtained.
d. Polyglycolic acid degrades within a few weeks, replaced by collagen.
e. Smooth-muscle cells are cultured on tubular scaffolds.
Exercise 7. Answer the following questions:
1. What are the possible applications of the new method?
2. What other methods are used to obtain blood vessels for transplantation?
2. What are the advantages of the new method compared to the currently used ones?
Unit 2. Water
| Lexics: Physiology / Biochemistry / Public health / Environmental science Listening: 2 texts |
Text A. Obesity
Exercise 1. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1) What is the role of water in human diet?
2) What amount of water constitutes recommended daily consumption?
3) What effect does water produce on digestion, if any?
Exercise 2. Match the following terms on the left (1-4) with their definitions on the right (a-d):
| 1. Obesity | a. A unit of energy in the metric system |
| 2. Calorie | b. A medical condition in which excess body weight has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems |
| 3. Randomised controlled trial | c. A plan of care written by a physician or other health care professional |
| 4. Prescription | d. A specific type of scientific experiment, and the gold standard for a clinical trial |
| to displace – вытеснять bias – предубеждение obscure – неясный, смутный fizzy drinks – газированные напитки |
Exercise 3. Listen to the text (Script 3) and describe the effects of water consumption with meal on weight.
Exercise 4. Listen to the text again and explain what the following figures refer to in the text:
| 1 year 1800 and 2200 | 55-75 a pint |
Exercise 5. Answer the questions:
1) How did the scientists interpret the results of the study?
2) How can you explain the effects of water consumption with meal on weight?
Text B. Water purification.
Exercise 6. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. Why does purification of drinking water present an urgent issue in many regions of the world?
2. What methods of water purification do you know?
Exercise 7. Explain the following terms which will be used in the text:
| Transition metals Dissolved metals | Pollutant / contaminant Reactivity | Ferrates Ferric chloride | |
| alacrity – быстрота, живость flocculating agent – осаждающее вещество, коагулянт to precipitate – 1) давать осадок, оседать; 2) провоцировать bleach – отбеливатель caustic soda – гидроксид натрия | |||
Unit 3. Fungi
| Lexics: Mycology / Phytopathology / Ecology Listening: 2 texts |
Exercise 1. What do you know about different types of ecological relationships – symbiosis, mutualism, parasitism, commensalism, amensalism. Describe each type in detail. Give examples of species which form such relationships.
Text B. Magic mushrooms
Exercise 7. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. How can fungi affect human health?
2. What positive and negative effects do fungi produce in industry and agriculture?
| stiff – жесткий, твердый contentious – вызывающий споры, дискусионный spell – отрезок времени white rot – белая гниль Norway spruce – ель обыкновенная sycamore – платан scaffolding – строительные леса |
Unit 4. Bacteria
| Lexics: Microbiology / Public health / Infectious diseases / Bioengineering Listening: 2 texts |
Text A. Synthetic biology
Exercise 1. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What is a biofilm? How does it form?
2. Why do biofilms present an urgent problem in biology and medicine?
Text B. Bioengineering
Exercise 5. What do you know about biofuels? Discuss the following questions:
1. What is biofuel? What materials can be used to produce it?
2. What methods have been developed so far to produce biofuel?
3. What are the main obstacles to the wide use of biofuels?
Text A. Canine evolution
| to tame – приручить, укротить canids – собачьи |
Exercise 1. The following text (Script 9) correlates with Text A The Origin of Dogs (exercise 2, Book I, page 30) and provides more information about other studies of domestic dog origin. Listen to the text and and say what the following figures refer to in the text:
| 36,000-15,000 1,000 and 8,500 15,000 | 10,000 |
Text B. Fish farming
Exercise 4. Before listening to the text discuss what you know about selective breeding:
1. animal breeding;
2. plant breeding;
3. selective breeding in aquaculture.
| impetus – побудительный мотив flounders - речная камбала trout - форель amberjack - лакедра (желтохвст) signpost – указатель to swap – обменивать pestilence – эпидемия, чума |
Text C. Animal rights
Exercise 7. Before listening to the text discuss the following questions:
1. What features distinguish cetaceans from other mammals?
2. What do people and cetaceans have in common?
3. Do you think animals should enjoy some inalienable rights just as humans do?
| civil rights – гражданские права to confer – предоставлять, даровать, обеспечивать self-awareness – самосознание, самоосмысление controversial – спорный, вызывающий полемику spindle cell – веретенообразная клетка pod – группа китов |
Unit 6. Brain
| Lexics: Neurobiology / Molecular neurology / Neurodegenerative diseases Listening. 3 texts |
Text A. Diagnosing dementia
Exercise 1. What do you know about Alzheimer’s disease? Answer the questions:
1. What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?
2. Why is it difficult to diagnose and treat?
3. What are the prospects for Alzheimer’s patients?
| to administer drugs / treatment – применять, вводить лекарственные препараты, осуществлять лечение plaque – бляшка; пятно to turn out – производить, вырабатывать |
Unit 7. Sleep
| Lexics: Neurobiology / Cognitive science / Somnology / Public health Listening. 3 texts |
Exercise 5. Listen to the text (Script 16) which explores the effects of sleep on memory and check your answers in Exercise 1. Using information from the text explain how a midday nap can enhance learning.
Exercise 6. Listen to the text again and answer the questions:
1. What positive health effects of sleep are already known?
2. What experiment was conducted to reveal the effects of a nap on memory?
3. What processes occur in the brain during a nap?
4. What stages does a nap consist of? How long does each stage last?
5. What is sleep inertia? What other negative consequences of a nap are described?
Text C. Restless
Unit 8. Coffee
| Lexics: Botany / Agricultural science / Molecular biology / Bioengineering Listening. 3 texts |
Text A. Salt-tolerant rice
Exercise 2. What do you know about genetically modified organisms – plants and animals? Discuss the questions:
1. Why do people produce GM organisms?
2. What methods are currently employed to produce them?
| flood – потоп, наводнение rice paddy – орошаемое рисовое поле to thrive – успешно произрастать, благоденствовать saline, briny – соляной, засоленный grain – зерно, крупинка, частица |
Text С. High-tech farming
Exercise 9. What do you know about modern methods of agriculture? Discuss the questions:
1. What technological and scientific advances are employed by modern farmers?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of modern agricultural technologies – hydroponics, organic farming, stock-free agriculture, etc.?
3. How can they affect the future of food supply?
| pristine – нетронутый, первозданный eerily – пугающе warehouse – склад lettuce – салат-латук kale - капуста basil - базилик chive – шнит-лук to coddle – ухаживать, баловать crisp – хрустящий |
Text A. Evolution
Exercise 2. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. Who is Francis Crick and what is his contribution to molecular biology?
2. What is the central dogma of molecular biology?
3. What functions do ion channels perform in cell membranes?
4. What is RNA editing and how does it function?
| ambient – окружающий, внешний to alter – изменять, переделывать |
Text B. The nature of man
Exercise 5. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What amount of genetic material is common between humans and other mammals?
2. What amount of genetic material is common between humans and other primates?
3. What amount of genetic material is uniquely human?
4. What functions do non-coding segments perform in the genome?
Exercse 6. What do you know about the following:
a. ENCODE project;
b. 1000 genome project;
c. purifying selection.
| sleuthing – расследование telltale – указатель to be on the straight and narrow – стоять на верном пути proprietary – собственный, частный to constrain – закреплять, связывать, сдерживать cone cell – колбочка сетчатки глаза |
Text C. Tibetan genetics
Exercise 8. What do you know about the following:
a) the plateau of Tibet,
b) Neanderthals,
с) Denisovans.
| hermit – отшельник sticky – вязкий, клейкий to clot – свертываться |
Text D. Gene Therapy
Exercise 11. What do you know about gene therapy? Discuss the questions:
1. What is gene therapy? What is the difference between two main types of gene therapy - somatic gene therapy and germline gene therapy?
2. What currently used methods of gene therapy do you know?
3. What technological hurdles hinder the development of this field?
4. What ethical and legal issues are connected with gene therapy?
| to contribute – вносить вклад to descend from – происходить от, вести свою родословную fragile-x syndrome – синдром Мартина-Белл, синдром ломкой х-хромосомы congenital – врожденный quirk – причуда, странность discrepancy – несоответствие, противоречие, расхождение tweak – поправка, небольшое изменение |
Unit 10. Animal adaptations
| Lexics: Molecular biology / Evolution / Ecology / Paleontology Listening. 3 texts |
Text B. Palaeontology
Exercise 6. What do you know about the origin of birds? Answer the questions:
1. How and when during the evolution did animals develop wings? Why?
2. How and when during the evolution did animals develop feathers? Why?
Exercise 7. What do you know about the following:
a) the Jurassic period,
b) the Cretaceous period,
c) Archaeopteryx,
d) Microraptor.
| to spin off – дать начало to deploy – задействовать biplane - биплан coplanar – копланарный, лежащий в одной плоскости steering – управление направлением движения, управление рулем lithe – гибкий, грациозный stubby – коренастый, приземистый rudder – руль направления sharp-shinned hawk – полосатый ястреб paragon – эталон, образец drag – сопротивление, торможение потока воздуха keel – гребень грудной кости |
Unit 12. Alcohol
| Lexics: Biochemistry / Public health / Neurobiology / Microbiology Listening. 4 texts. |
Text A. Allergy to wine
Exercise 1. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What is allergic reaction? What are its symptoms?
2. What most common allergens do you know?
3. What are glycoproteins and how do they trigger allergic reaction?
4. What is the role of preservatives in food and wine production? What substances are most commonly used as preservatives?
| oenophile – энофил, ценитель вина culprit - виновник to sneeze - чихать ragweed – амброзия rampant – широко распространенный; свирепый, грозный hay fever – поллиноз, аллергия на пыльцу to blame - обвинять |
Exercise 2. Listen to the text (Script 34) which describes allergens discovered in wine and answer the following questions:
1. How many people are allergic to wine?
2. What method was used to identify allergenic proteins in wine?
3. What wine compounds have been found to provoke allergy?
Text B. Brewing
Exercise 3. What do you know about brewing (beer production)? Answer the following questions:
1. What raw materials is beer produced from? What processes occur during brewing?
2. What is the difference between the two main types of beer- lager and ale?
| Interloper – вмешивающийся в чужие дела gall - чернильный орех beech tree – буковое дерево to outlaw – запретить, сделать вне закона batch – партия продукта |
Text C. Combating addiction
Exercise 6. What do you know about vaccination? Answer the questions:
1. How do vaccines work?
2. What agents can vaccines be used against?
| hapten – полуантиген, неполноценный антиген, гаптен adjuvant – адъювант, вспомогательное активирующее средство |
Text D. Wine gums
Exercise 9. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1.What protective properties of wine do you know?
2. What wine compounds account for these properties?
| floss – зубная нить cavity – кариес to bestow – даровать, присуждать |
Unit 13. Sex and Gender
| Lexics: Physiology / Embryology / Reproduction / Neurobiology / Genetics / Genomics Listening. 4 texts |
Unit 14. Aging
| Lexics: Biochemistry / Molecular genetics / Cytology / Neurology / Embryology / Gerontology Listening. 4 texts. |
Text A. Stress and aging
Exercise 1. What do you know about telomeres? Answer the questions:
1. What are telomeres and what is their function?
2. What is Hayflick limit?
3. What role do telomeres play in cancer development?
4. How does chronic stress impact telomeres?
Unit 1. Human body
| Lexics: Human anatomy / Medicine / Public health Listening: 2 texts |
Text A. Blood transfusion
Exercise 1. What do you know about blood groups? Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What are blood groups? What characteristics allow to distinguish blood groups?
2. How many blood groups are there?
3. Why is it necessary to match donor’s and recipient’s blood groups for transfusion?
| to disguise - маскировать to purge – вычищать clump - сгусток permeable – проницаемый |
Exercise 2. Listen to the text (Script 1) and describe a new method developed to overcome the problem of matching blood groups for blood transfusion.
Exercise 3. Listen to the text again and say if the following statements are true or false according to the text, correct the false ones:
1. There are 29 blood groups distinguished according to blood composition.
2. Donor’s blood attacks recipient’s antibodies.
3. There are two main strategies of dealing with the problem of matching blood groups.
4. There have been developed effective methods of producing artificial blood.
5. Maryam Tabrizian of McGill University followed the second possible strategy of removing antigenic proteins.
6. The new method uses two coats – an undercoat for better adhesion and an upper disguising coat.
7. The coating does nor inhibit the functions of red blood cells.
8. The method demonstrated efficacy both in vitro and in vivo.
Text B. Medical technology
Exercise 4. Before listening to the text answer the following questions:
1. What methods are currently used to obtain tissues and organs for transplantation
2. What are the difficulties of obtaining grafts?
3. What are the main risks of transplantation?
| corpse – труп scaffold – каркас graft - nрансплантант tap – кран clot - тромб |