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Diagnostics, screening and forensic biology

Disease, immunity and health · Lesson 4 of 5

Lesson 4 of 5

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Lesson 4 of 5 · Disease, immunity and health

Diagnostics, screening and forensic biology

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By the end you’ll be able to

Explain the principles of diagnostic testing for disease, infection or physiological abnormality, including the use of biochemical, immunological or molecular methods to detect biomarkers or pathogens.
Interpret the outcomes of diagnostic and screening tests using the terms false positive, false negative, sensitivity, specificity, prevalence and predictive value where required by the question context.

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Evaluate screening programmes against accepted criteria, including the seriousness of the condition, suitability of the test, reliability, acceptability, cost, treatment availability and consequences of inaccurate results.

Apply knowledge of genetic or infectious-disease screening to individuals and populations, explaining benefits, limitations and ethical issues such as anxiety, consent and overdiagnosis.

Explain how DNA profiling or related molecular techniques can be used in forensic biology, paternity testing or identification, including the analysis of variable regions of DNA.

Interpret forensic biological evidence critically, recognising issues of probability, contamination, sample quality and the need to avoid overclaiming from partial matches or limited data.

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