Developing new medicines

• A healthy organism is one that is in a state of well-being — it’s functioning just as it should be, both physically and mentally.

  • Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
• Disease

  • A condition that commonly damages the cells of the host and impairs the normal structures or functioning of the organism.
  • This could be caused by a malfunction in the body (as with diabetes) or it could be caused by a type of pathogen (a microbe that causes disease.
• CAUSES OF DISEASES AND ILL HEALTH

  • An organism may become infected by a pathogen.
  • There may be a mutation (change) in the organism’s genes.
  • The organism may be affected by environmental conditions.
  • An organism may experience trauma (an emotional shock or a physical injury) which can affect their health.
  • The organism’s lifestyle may affect its health.
• Communicable diseases 

  • A disease that can spread between organisms
  • Also known as infectious disease
  • Caused by pathogens

  Example: Covid-19, ebola, tuberculosis, Cough, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS.
• Non-communicable diseases

  • Diseases that cannot be passed from one organism to another.
  • Generally last for a long time and progress slowly.
  • Associated with genetic mutations, lifestyle, and environmental factors.

  Examples: Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes.
• Incubation period - time between being infected with a pathogen and showing symptoms of the disease.
• BACTERIA LIFE CYCLE

  • Lag phase
  • Log phase
  • Stationary phase
  • Decline phase (death)

  
• Lag phase 

  • The bacteria are copying DNA and proteins within their cells.
• Log phase

  • Bacterial numbers can be doubled every 20 minutes if the resource is plentiful (multiplication of bacteria). 
• Stationary phase

  • When resources (food and space) begin to become scarce – the bacteria are dying at the same rate as they are being produced.
  • No movement.
• Decline phase (Death)

  • Bacteria begin to be poisoned by their own toxins and start to kill themselves.
• Diseases may interact with each other. 

  Sometimes having one disease can make it more or less likely that you will suffer from another disease.

  Example: 

  • HPV(human papillomavirus)
  • Trichinosis
  • Autoimmune diseases
• HPV(human papillomavirus)

  • a virus that can infect the reproductive system.
  • Some HPV infections can cause cell changes resulting in the development of certain types of cancer(mostly cervical cancer.) 
• Helminths 

  • A type of worm, that when it gets inside the human body, can cause diseases
• Trichinosis 

  • A disease caused by infection by the helminth, Trichinella spiralis.
  • Trichinella spiralis may reduce the development of some autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s disease.
• Autoimmune diseases  

  • Diseases in which the body’s immune system recognises the body’s own cells as foreign, and attacks them.