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Topic 5: Health, disease and the development of medicines

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do antibiotics work, and how are new medicines developed and tested?

Explain how antibiotics work and why they only treat bacterial infections, the aseptic techniques used to culture microorganisms, the clear-zone core practical, and the stages of developing new medicines.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Biology 5.16 to 5.20B, covering how antibiotics work, aseptic technique, the antiseptic and antibiotic core practical with clear-zone area calculations, and the stages of developing new medicines.
10 min answer →

What is health, and what types of pathogen cause communicable disease?

Describe health and the difference between communicable and non-communicable diseases, how having one disease can increase susceptibility to others, the four types of pathogen, and some common infections.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Biology 5.1 to 5.5, covering the WHO definition of health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, how diseases interact, the four pathogen types, and named common infections.
9 min answer →

How do pathogens spread, and how do plants and people prevent disease?

Explain how pathogens are spread and how spread can be reduced, the lytic and lysogenic virus pathways, how STIs are spread and prevented, and how plants defend against and are tested for disease.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Biology 5.6 to 5.11B, covering how pathogens spread and how spread is reduced, the lytic and lysogenic viral pathways, STIs, plant physical and chemical defences, and how plant diseases are detected.
10 min answer →

How does the body defend against pathogens, and how does immunisation work?

Describe the physical and chemical defences of the human body, the role of the specific immune system including antigens, antibodies and memory cells, and explain how immunisation works.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Biology 5.12 to 5.15B, covering the body's physical and chemical barriers, the specific immune response with antigens, antibodies and memory cells, immunisation, and herd immunity.
10 min answer →