STEM Health, medicine and disease

Set of resources linked to health, medicine and disease 

Maths and medicine

Should international travel be banned in the face of swine flu? Should life-saving drugs be withheld because they're too expensive? Should the government ban alcohol? And are bacon sandwiches really that dangerous?

Plus has answered these and many other questions as part of a project, supported by the Wellcome Trust, looking at the role of mathematics and statistics in the biomedical sciences. We bring you in-depth articles, podcasts, classroom activities, and the chance to debate the issues.

So, do you know what's good for you? To help you find out, we've brought together all the content of this project, grouped together in the following categories:

  • The maths of infectious diseases: From SARS to swine flu, infectious diseases hardly ever disappear from the headlines. If it's not the disease itself that hits the news, then it's the vaccines with their potential side effects. This category contains news items, in-depth articles, podcasts, and class room activities on the maths of epidemiology.
  • Evidence based medicine: Which treatments and drugs should be offered on the NHS, given the finite health care budget? How do you judge the risks of medical treatments, or even your own behaviour? The articles in this category explain what sort of evidence is used to answer these difficult questions.
  • Genetics: One of the greatest advances in the biomedical sciences has been the unravelling of our genetic code. The articles in this category explore and explain the mathematical challenges posed by genes.
  • Maths in medical research: Mathematics has become an indispensible tool in medical research, not only because it can crack many difficult problems, but also because it can be used to model complex organisms. These articles explore how.
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ents or shared directly with students to inform them about careers using mathematics.

Keeping hearts pumping

Quality AssuredCategory:CareersPublisher:Institute of Mathematics and its Applications

This Mathematics Matters case study, from the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, looks at how mathematics modelling can aid investigations into the circulatory system. Blood-related diseases can seriously harm patients’ quality of life and even lead to death. Many of these diseases are caused by problems with the flow of blood in the body, and using mathematical models to understand how and why these occur can help save lives. The resource can be used by teachers to guide their students or shared directly with students to inform them about careers using mathematics.

Fighting Infections with Symmetry

Quality AssuredCategory:MathematicsPublisher:Institute of Mathematics and its Applications

This Mathematics Matters case study looks at how mathematicians are aiding the fight against viruses. Many viruses have a symmetrical structure made from basic building blocks, and biologists have struggled to explain some of the more detailed shapes. Now mathematicians are using complex theories of symmetry to reveal these viral structures, ultimately leading to new treatments for diseases. The resource can be used by teachers to guide their students or shared directly with students to inform them about careers using mathematics.

Modelling an Epidemic Emergency

Quality AssuredCategory:CareersPublisher:Institute of Mathematics and its Applications

This Mathematics Matters case study looks at how mathematicians work with epidemiologists to understand the spread of infections and mitigate their effects. Epidemics can threaten the lives of both humans and animals, so it is essential that we react swiftly to any outbreaks. Mathematicians play a key role in assessing the risks of disease transmission and modelling the effects of vaccination programmes. The resource can be used by teachers to guide their students or shared directly with students to inform them about careers using mathematics.

Fight the Flu

·         Identify tools, technologies and methodologies that allow scientists and doctors to better identify understand, track and prevent disease and illness

·         Articulate different methods of “seeing” data

·         Articulate the complex ecosystem that influences the spread of illness within their school.

·         Track an illness to its initial host through a process of elimination and logical reasoning

·         Draw conclusions about the potential of different surfaces to act as fomites

 

Emerging Infectious Diseases: How do we stop new diseases spreading?

This second resource in the Commonwealth Science Class series is centred on how the prevent the spread of infectious diseases and is packed with activity ideas to help your students investigate and explore the subject in more depth.
 
Before downloading the resource, and to help you get started, why not watch the following video with your class?