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4. DNA and the genome
Key facts about DNA: what it is, how it's made and how it works. Read more
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Series 1: The Cell
Key facts about DNA: what it is, how it's made and how it works.
5. Protein synthesis
How proteins are made during the processes of transcription and translation.
6. Mitosis and meiosis
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down the key facts about cell division.
7. Diffusion, osmosis and active transport
The three ways that things move in and out of cells.
8. Photosynthesis
How plants and algae make their own food by taking energy from sunlight to make glucose.
9. Respiration
How living things break down glucose to release energy, carbon dioxide and water.
Series 2: Organisation of plants and animals
1. The human digestive system
Dr Alex covers the key organs involved in digestion and their special adaptations.
2. Enzymes
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down the key facts about how enzymes work.
3. The human circulatory system
The structure of the heart and the main blood vessels that move blood in and out of it.
4. Non-communicable diseases
Dr Alex looks at the differences between communicable and non-communicable diseases.
5. The effect of lifestyle on non-communicable diseases
Risk factors which can increase the chances of someone developing a disease.
6. Plant tissues and organs
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down the key facts about how plants are organised.
Series 3. Infection and Response
1. Communicable diseases
How communicable diseases - viruses, bacteria, fungi and protists - are spread.
2. Human defence against infection
How non-specific defence systems protect humans against pathogens.
3. Vaccination, antibiotics and painkillers
How vaccinations work using antibodies and lymphocytes, and the concept of herd immunity.
4. Drug discovery
How drugs are tested for their safety, their efficacy, and what the optimum dose might be.
5. Monoclonal antibodies
How monoclonal antibodies are made and their use in pregnancy tests and cancer treatment.
6. Plant disease
The physical and chemical defences that protect plants against pathogens.
Series 4: Homeostasis and response
1. Homeostasis
The maintenance of a constant internal environment in the body.
2. The human nervous system
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down how neurotransmitters travel across a synapse.
3. The human endocrine system
Dr Alex Lathbridge explains hormones and the six key glands that produce them.
4. Blood glucose
Dr Alex Lathbridge examines what happens if blood glucose levels get too high or too low.
5. Hormones and the menstrual cycle
Dr Alex Lathbridge explains what happens at each stage of the menstrual cycle.
6. The brain and eye
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down the structure of the brain and the eyes.
7. Water and nitrogen balance
How the kidneys maintain water levels in the body and how nitrogen is balanced.
8. Plant hormones
How hormones help plants to grow in response to light and gravity.
Series 5: Inheritance, variation and evolution
1. Reproduction
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down the key facts about sexual and asexual reproduction.
2. Inheritance
How genetics determine biological sex and inherited health disorders.
3. Variation
Why variation happens within one species and the genetic and environmental causes.
4. Evolution
What evolution is and the four key stages of the process of natural selection.
5. Evidence for evolution
Dr Alex Lathbridge breaks down the different types of scientific evidence for evolution.
