How does your body use food? This unit explores in more detail the processes by which the nutrients in food become available, and how the body uses them. We will begin with digestion and absorption, and then use biochemistry to understand how the body shuttles energy and nutrients into and out of storage. A major
How do pathogens make us sick? In the previous unit, we focused on adaptations and situations that contribute to microbes being pathogenic. We emphasized the idea that pathogenicity is a host–microbe interaction and that highly pathogenic microbes have adaptations that make them virulent. In this unit we will explore how an infection leads to symptoms
When does a microbe become pathogenic? Up until now we have focused on identifying infectious diseases. In this unit we turn our focus to the question: When does a microbe become pathogenic? At the heart of this question is the idea that most microbes are not pathogenic. For example, we live in a microbe -filled
What does it mean to be an infectious disease? In Unit 1, the students learned that infectious agents like bacteria, viruses, and parasites can cause infectious diseases. Students also saw that infectious diseases have wide reaching impacts on both individuals and society. Now we are going to focus on how infectious diseases are identified. Contrary
How do we treat cancer? The previous unit placed hyperproliferating tumor cells into a tissue context and focused on the important role of metastasis in the transition from a benign tumor to a malignant tumor. It introduced the concept that tumors associated with the same organ may have very different characteristics. This unit puts everything
How does cancer make us sick? The last unit focused on how DNA mutations can interfere with critical cell functions, causing hyperproliferation and leading to tumor formation. This unit draws back and examines the tumor in the context of its environment, emphasizing that for a tumor to become malignant cells must be able to migrate
How does a normal cell become cancerous? Unit 2 used the analogy of cells as productive citizens in a community of organs and tissues. Unit 3 will now focus on the normal functions of a cell that get disrupted when it becomes cancerous. It examines the role of DNA mutations in cancer, and how cancer
What does it mean to be a “normal” cell? Unit 2 introduces the concept that the body is composed of a community of cells. These cells are all ‘normal’ until mutations cause them to behave abnormally and become cancer cells. This unit describes the function of normal cells by outlining key aspects in the life
What is cancer and why should we care? The purpose of this unit is to engage students on the topic of cancer, by showing them how they can be personally impacted by cancer and by explaining how major questions in the cancer field impact our ability to treat cancer successfully. Students learn about how we
What’s in your food? This unit is intended to engage students with understanding what food is and what happens to it before it lands on our plates. Students start the unit by examining the industrial food chain and learning about the additives in food and what they’re for – are additives necessarily bad? Students then