BIOC102

Biochemistry and Human Health

An introduction to current issues related to human health and disease and approaches taken by biomedical scientists in response to them. Cancer, autoimmune diseases, and coronary heart disease; the concept of risk factors; infectious diseases, e.g., AIDS, dysentery, tuberculosis, and parasitic infections; human nutrition, food safety and preservation, and their relation to health and world food shortages. Strategies for disease treatment, e.g., animal cloning, gene therapy, genetic engineering, vaccination, and the development of new pharmaceuticals such as human hormones; controversies associated with each strategy.