GCSE > History > AQA > GCSE History: Medicine and Health in Britain (1000-Present) Topic Summaries > Modern medicine > Modern explanations for illness
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Summary table
  • Scientific research in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries revealed the significant influence of genetic factors on susceptibility to disease, alongside lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, and smoking.
  • New understandings of genetics and the discovery of DNA in 1953, followed by the Human Genome Project in 1990–2003 led to a greater understanding of hereditary diseases and the fact that not all diseases are caused by microbes (i.e.some are inherited, such as Down’s Syndrome and cystic fibrosis).
  • The pharmaceutical industry developed rapidly in the twentieth century, enabling the mass production of effective medicines for a wide range of illnesses.
  • The emergence of new diseases, including viral infections and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, led to ongoing research and the development of new treatments.

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