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  • Rights: The University of Waikato
    Published 18 October 2010 Referencing Hub media
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    Dr Joanna Kirman talks about snot. Although it seems disgusting, we learn snot is actually a good thing and is one of our weapons to fight disease1. It is produced to clear the airways of infectious diseases2 and anything else that should not be there.

    Transcript

    DR JOANNA KIRMAN
    Snot is a fantastic thing that our body makes in response sometimes to infectious3 diseases4, sometimes it will make it in response to things like an asthmatic response. So snot is produced largely by the airways, and it’s designed to basically mop up things that either aberrantly end up in our airway system, or when we’ve got infectious diseases, we make a lot of snot to try and clear the airways of that infection5.

    It’s sticky and it kind of collects things and then you cough it up and you can get rid of that infectious organism6. It is a good thing – you might not think it at the time when your nose is blocked, but it is – snot is one of our weapons to fight disease.

    Acknowledgement:
    Rob & Nils Wakefield
    Sandi Daigle
    Paul Clarke
    Ian Applegate
    Jon Burgess
    Isaac Bell
    Paul Clarke

    1. diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
    2. infectious diseases: Diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi. Infectious diseases are easily spread from one person to another.
    3. infectious: An infection that quickly spreads.
    4. diseases: 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions. 2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.
    5. infection: Invasion of the body or a species by something that could be harmful or cause a disease.
    6. organism: A living thing.
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      diseases

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    2. 1. An abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions.

      2. In plants, an abnormal condition that interferes with vital physiological processes.

      infection

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    4. Invasion of the body or a species by something that could be harmful or cause a disease.

      infectious diseases

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    6. Diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi. Infectious diseases are easily spread from one person to another.

      organism

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    8. A living thing.

      infectious

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    10. An infection that quickly spreads.