Intro Quiz: Case study of Rebecca Lancefield

Video: Case study of Rebecca Lancefield

﻿Hi everyone, I am Miss Strmec. In today's lesson we are going to be doing a scientist case study. We are going to be learning about Rebecca Lancefield and all her work that she has done in researching bacteria. For today's lesson you will need a pen and a piece of paper. Feel free to pause your video here to collect the equipment if you don't have it already. Now, take a moment to make sure you are in a distraction free environment and that your phone on silent. When you are ready let's begin. We are going to start today's lesson by learning a little bit more about Rebecca Lancefield. Then we are going to learn about Microbiology and finally we are going to learn how microbiology and Rebecca Lancefield worked together to learn a little bit more about Streptococcal bacteria. Let's first begin by learning a little bit more about Rebecca Lancefield's life. Rebecca Lancefield was born in 1895, in Fort Wadsworth, New York. Her father was an army officer. Which led them to live a rather nomadic life . Her mother strongly believed in education for women and educated Lancefield and her five sisters from an early age. This education foundation led Lancefield to Wellesley College, in Massachusetts. She graduated there with a degree in Zoology, in 1916. Lancefield wanted to continue her education and go on to study at graduate school but couldn't manage it financially. Her father had passed away while she was in college and her mother needed money. So Lancefield worked as a teacher and also earned a scholarship that enabled her to work in a lab at Colombia University, in Manhattan. It was at Columbia where she first began to work with bacteria. Lancefield loved bacteria and began by studying strains of Streptococcus. Streptococcus is a form of bacteria that we know more commonly as strep throat. She then went on to join the lab with other molecular biologist, who had just tasked as Surgeon General of the Army to investigate the cause for streptococcal infections within the US troops. During her work for the US Army, she advised the Surgeon General to separate the men so that there are not as many of them sleeping in close quarters barracks. This led to a massive decrease in the number of infections amongst the US troops. At the time, it was unknown whether it was just one strain or many strains of streptococcus that could cause problematic infections After collecting samples, the scientist identified on 125 different strains, most of which were able to be sort into four distinct categories. Lancefield became well known for her work in classifying these bacteria. The system later went on to be called the Lancefield groupings. In 1922, Rebecca Lancefield really wanted to complete her PhD at Columbia University but was rejected because she was a woman. She did not stop there and persisted to apply and eventually was granted her acceptance. Onscreen, you can see an image of Rebecca Lancefield just below me here. She's the woman in the centre. Let's recap some of the key points from what we just discussed. Rebecca Lancefield was born in 1895, a time where women and education was not commonly found. She had a passion for microbiology specifically bacteria and she was first rejected from Columbia University for her PhD programme on account of being female but she would not take no for an answer and with persistence eventually got her acceptance. Let's do some quick recall questions to see what you can remember. Rebecca Lancefield graduated with a degree in? Three, two, one correct answer is Zoology, which is the study of animals within the animal kingdom. Next question, she created a system to classify dozens of? Three, two, one the correct answer is bacteria. Great work. Next question. Rebecca Lancefield advised the US Army to have less crowded barracks to reduce the chance of? Three, two, one infection. Excellent work. Now let's have a look at Microbiology. Microbiology is the study of all living organisms that are too small to be visible by the naked eye. These include: bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, prions, protozoa, and algae. Rebecca Lancefield was a subcategory of microbiology, called a bacteriologist. The word microbiology might look familiar to you and that's because it sounds like microscopes. If you can remember microscopes allow us to see things that are too small to see with the naked eye, very similar to the definition of microbiology. In her lifetime, Rebecca Lancefield was known for two key findings: The first the Lancefield groupings. Remember, as I said earlier, she managed to identify that streptococcal bacteria was actually 125 different strands and she found that those 125 different strands could be separated into just four categories. This type of categorical grouping, eventually became infamous within the science community. Her second well known finding was about streptococcal bacteria. She found an antigen on the surface of the bacteria and named it M-protein. This finding allowed doctors to link various other infection type diseases back to this same strand of bacteria. Let's do a quick quiz to see what you can remember. microbiology is the study of all living that are too small to be seen by the naked? Shout it out when you think you know the answer. Three, two, one, You should have said microbiology is the study of all living organisms that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Excellent work. I'd now like you to have a go at the independent practise task on screen. Use the words from the word bank below to complete the sentences. Pause your screen here and resume when you finished. Great work let's have a look at the answers. Rebecca Lancefield was a microbiologist and known for her study of bacteria. She discovered a new way to classify bacteria by looking at the antigens on the bacterial cell walls. She named this system after herself and called it the Lancefield groupings. Her discovery led to better treatment for the common bacterial infection called strep throat. Take a moment to pause your screen here to mark and feedback your answers. Now let's take a moment to see how this links to your learning of biology. I'd like you to recall that Lancefield's discovery involved, the understanding of carbohydrates and proteins. Both of those molecules were found on the surface of a streptococcal bacteria. Let's recall your understanding of carbohydrates. I'd like you to tell me what the role of carbohydrates in the body is? Then, I'd like you to say what simple molecule carbohydrates are made of? Then I'd like you to write what enzyme breaks down carbohydrates. Pause your screen here so that you can complete this task. Great work. Let's have a look at the answers. The role of carbohydrates in the body is that they release energy that can be used for processes like respiration. The simple molecule that carbohydrates are made of is glucose. And the enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates is called Amylase. Take a moment to pause your screen here to mark and feedback your own answers. Great work, now let's take a closer look at Rebecca Lancefield's study of streptococcal bacteria. As I mentioned earlier, streptococcal bacteria is a scientific term for what we commonly call strep throat. Through Rebecca's studies, she was able to prove that the same bacteria could also cause infections such as Scarlet fever, Erysipelas and Pneumonia. She discovered all of this by looking at the surface of the cell wall on the bacteria to discover that M-protein and other carbohydrate molecules that indicated that the bacteria may present as other infections. The remarkable things about Rebecca Lancefield's discoveries were that they led to a better understanding of how and where infections form in cells. By understanding this, doctors can have a better understanding of how people get ill and they can help to prevent it in the future. For discoveries also led to the discovery of antibiotics in 1928, which was by Alexander Fleming. If it wasn't for her research and her understanding of M-protein then the antibiotics that we use today might not have been possible. Let's do another task to link Rebecca Lancefield's work to your learning of biology. This time we're going to have a look at recalling proteins. I'd like you to write down what the role of proteins are in the body? What simple molecules are proteins made of? And what enzyme breaks down proteins? Pause your screen here to complete the recall questions. Excellent work. Let's have a look at the answers. Role of protein in the body is for growth and repair The simple molecules that proteins are made out of are Amino acids. The enzymes that breaks down proteins is called Protease. Pause your screen here come mark and feedback your own answers. Resume when you finished. I'd now like you to complete one last independent practise task. I'd like you to match the scientific study to its correct definition. Pause your screen here. complete the task and resume when you finished. Great work let's have a look at the answers. Zoology is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom. Microbiology is the study of all living things that are not visible to the naked eye. Bacteriology is the study of bacteria and biology is the study of all living things. Take a moment to pause your screen here to mark and feedback, your own answers. Great work, you made it to the end of the video portion of this lesson. You should now have a better understanding of the scientist Rebecca Lancefield and be aware of her two most distinct findings, the Lancefield groupings where she categorised bacteria into four main categories and in her work with streptococcal bacteria, where she discovered linkage between scarlet fever, Pneumonia and many other bacterial infections. Don't forget to click next to complete the end of lesson quiz.

Worksheet: Case study of Rebecca Lancefield

Exit Quiz: Case study of Rebecca Lancefield

Completed: Case study of Rebecca Lancefield

This lesson explores the life and work of revolutionary microbiologist Rebecca Lancefield and how she dedicated her 60-year scientific career to understanding Streptococcus, and other bacteria, which paved the way for modern antibiotics.

Science

Case study of Rebecca Lancefield

Introductory Quiz

Video

Worksheet

Final Quiz

Lesson Complete