Targeting manganese fights the flu Read the full article at rsc.li/2qLIaUK An American scientist and his team discovered a compound that fights the flu. It does this by binding to a manganese atom on one of the flu virus’s enzymes. When they looked at the crystal structure of this compound, they realised they could change it slightly so that it binds to both available manganese atoms. This made it 1000 times more effective at fighting the flu. Chest X-ray of a patient with H1N1 ‘swine flu’. It can lead to lung inflammation, which is shown by the patches on the lungs. © J Radiol / CC BY 4.0 They now need to take the drug through clinical trials so they know how safe it is for humans. It could be used as a backup to the flu vaccine, which was only 40% effective in 2017–18. Vaccines are sometimes ineffective because the virus mutates. However, the enzyme this drug targets is the same for all strains of the flu. This slide summarises a recent article published by Chemistry World. Use this slide as a lesson starter. Image credit: © J Radiol / CC BY 4.0

Targeting manganese fights the flu Read the full article at rsc.li/2qLIaUK An American scientist and his team discovered a compound that fights the flu. It does this by binding to a manganese atom on one of the flu virus’s enzymes. When they looked at the crystal structure of this compound, they realised they could change it slightly so that it binds to both available manganese atoms. This made it 1000 times more effective at fighting the flu. Chest X-ray of a patient with H1N1 ‘swine flu’. It can lead to lung inflammation, which is shown by the patches on the lungs. © J Radiol / CC BY 4.0 They now need to take the drug through clinical trials so they know how safe it is for humans. It could be used as a backup to the flu vaccine, which was only 40% effective in 2017–18. Vaccines are sometimes ineffective because the virus mutates. However, the enzyme this drug targets is the same for all strains of the flu. State three things your periodic table tells you about manganese. What three other things about manganese do you think should be in the periodic table, and why? A flu outbreak in 1918 killed up to 5% of the world’s population. Do you think we are more or less at risk of major flu outbreaks today? Why? If viruses are alive, and killing things is wrong, why is it okay for us to kill viruses? This slide summarises a recent article published by Chemistry World. Use this slide as a lesson starter. Image credit: © J Radiol / CC BY 4.0 1. It can tell you number of protons, neutrons, electrons; relative atomic mass; chemical symbol; whether it’s a metal or non-metal; the number of shells; the number of electrons in the outer shell; whether it is radioactive. Some also tell you state, isotopes. Pupils might want it to tell them what it looks like, how dangerous it is, where it is found, etc. Whatever reasons they give, challenge them on whether that information really should be included – is there enough space, is it relevant to chemists, can’t it be found somewhere else, etc? 2. More at risk: more international travel so virus can spread quicker; higher population density so virus can spread quicker; more people so more deaths; some people intentionally don’t get vaccinated. Less at risk: better treatment, doctors, and medical facilities; we have more experience dealing with outbreaks so know what to do; people are better educated so are less likely to catch it/more likely to get treated 3. Look for a nuanced understanding. Pupils might: deny that viruses are alive, so they aren’t being killed; say that killing things is okay if they are trying to kill you; say that humans are ‘more’ alive than viruses, so keeping humans alive is more important