Main description:

An innovative introduction to the scientific basis of modernmedicine and the role of biological science in the understandingand treatment of disease Assuming a basic knowledge of biology, the book looks at how thedrug industry works to develop drugs, the role of basic science,how treatments are evaluated, and the ethics and the role of themedia and political pressures. It is divided into three parts: PartI looks at the historical aspects from the19th to the 21st century with topicsranging from the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 through to theemergence of medical genetics and evidence based medicine. Part II covers the new diseases such as obesity,depression and antibiotic resistance. Part III examines therelationship between medicine, politics and the media coveringconflicts of interest in the pharmaceutical industry, the rationingof health care and the MMR vaccine controversy. By placing biological advances in the context of medical anddrug developments this book gives a wide range of students a livelyoverview of what biological sciences can contribute to improvementsin human health.