BRAINCAKE

Global challenges

OCR GCSE BiologyTopic 6 of 635 lessons

Revision notes for Global challenges in OCR Biology A (J247). Every lesson in BrainCake comes with R.E.C.I.P.E. recall steps, a quick check and spaced reviews.

  1. Field investigations: sampling and estimating populationsA field investigation finds out where organisms live (their distribution) and how many there are (their abundance).
  2. Human interactions and biodiversityBiodiversity is the variety of living organisms in a habitat or on Earth.
  3. Benefits and challenges of maintaining biodiversityMaintaining biodiversity, locally and globally, has many benefits.
  4. Evidence for environmental change and distribution of organismsEnvironmental changes affect where organisms can live.
  5. Biological factors affecting food securityFood security means that everyone in a population has enough safe, nutritious food at all times.
  6. Agricultural solutions to feed a growing populationFarmers and scientists use several methods to produce more food from the land available.
  7. Impact of selective breedingSelective breeding is when humans choose parents with the characteristics they want and breed them together.
  8. Genetic engineeringGenetic engineering is a process in which the genome of an organism is modified to introduce a desirable characteristic.
  9. Steps in genetic engineeringGenetic engineering follows a series of steps, using enzymes as molecular scissors and glue.
  10. Benefits and risks of gene technology in agricultureGene technology can help to improve food security, but it also raises practical and ethical questions, so the benefits have to be weighed against…
  11. Genetic modification and feeding the populationThe human population is growing, so more food has to come from the same area of land.
  12. Health and diseaseHealth is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing.
  13. Communicable and non-communicable diseasesA communicable disease is one that can be passed from one organism to another.
  14. Interactions between diseasesOne disease can make another more likely.
  15. How communicable diseases spreadPathogens spread from one host to another in several ways.
  16. Reducing and preventing the spread of diseaseIn humans and animals the spread of disease can be reduced in several ways.
  17. Examples of human and plant diseasesHuman infections come from different types of pathogen.
  18. Physical plant defences: cuticle and cell wallPlants cannot move away from pathogens, so they rely on defences that are always in place.
  19. Chemical plant defencesAs well as physical barriers, plants have chemical defences.
  20. Detecting and identifying plant diseasesPlant diseases can be identified in the field or in a laboratory.
  21. White blood cells and platelets in defenceBlood contains cells that defend the body.
  22. Non-specific defences of the human bodyNon-specific defences work against all pathogens in the same way, whatever type of pathogen it is.
  23. The immune system and defence against diseaseThe immune system is the body's specific defence.
  24. Producing monoclonal antibodiesAntibodies are made by B lymphocytes.
  25. Uses of monoclonal antibodiesMonoclonal antibodies are very specific, so they can be used to find one particular antigen among thousands of other molecules.
  26. Vaccines and medicinesA vaccine prevents disease.
  27. Aseptic techniquesWhen bacteria are cultured on agar in a Petri dish, unwanted microorganisms from the air, hands or equipment must be kept out.
  28. Discovery and development of new medicinesNew medicines are discovered in several ways.
  29. Non-communicable diseases and their causesA non-communicable disease is not caused by a pathogen, so it cannot be passed from one person to another.
  30. Treatments for cardiovascular diseaseCardiovascular disease is disease of the heart and blood vessels.
  31. Lifestyle factors and non-communicable diseasesA non-communicable disease cannot be spread from one person to another, because no pathogen is involved.
  32. CancerCancer is the result of changes in cells that lead to uncontrolled growth and division.
  33. Stem cells in medicineStem cells are undifferentiated cells: they have not yet become specialised, they can divide many times, and they can develop into different types…
  34. Gene technology in medicineGene technology means changing the genes of an organism.
  35. The human genome and medicineThe genome of an organism is the complete set of its genetic material.

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