Question

how has cell biology affected our understanding of diseases and medicine?

Answer 1

That's a very complicated question haha...but I can give you a few ideas:

- For starters, our understanding of DNA and genetics has shed light on the origins of many diseases (i.e. genetic), has allowed us to predict their heritability, but has also given us ways to cure them (e.g. gene therapy)

- We know a lot about intracellular organelles, ions, and macromolecules, particularly enzymes. Knowing the roles enzymes play in various metabolic pathways and how their physical and chemical properties allow them to carry out their functions gives us an idea of what might happen if they don't work properly (e.g. due to a genetic mutation - going back to DNA again).

- We know a lot about the mechanisms by which various pharmacological agents act. Many antibacterial medicines are specifically constructed so that they interrupt bacterial metabolism, but not human metabolism, often by targeting a specific key metabolic process or enzyme that is present in the bacteria but not in the human host. This wouldn't be possible without knowing structural and functional details at the molecular level.

Answer 2

why do you think it affects the understanding of diseases?

Answer 3

Well it helps explain how genetic diseases work as I explained above. For bacterial/fungal/viral/parasitic diseases, we can see how the foreign pathogen affects normal cellular functioning to produce the disease (e.g. by inhibiting an important enzyme or blocking an important membrane transporter).