When contemplating human disease and new therapies it is incredibly helpful to think fluidly across the Biological Levels of human physiology.
- author: Kevin Curran PhD
- date: 2/21/2023
We perceive our existence on the human level. The human level is really in the meter realm. Most human bodies are between 1-2 meters in length. That said, the range of biology moves from the nanometer realm of chemistry up to the kilometer realm of plant biomes (forests and deserts).
When thinking about disease pathology, our minds must be able to navigate swiftly across these levels. Disease begins with biochemistry, but it ends with population dynamics and community level networks.
Mentally shifting up and down these biological levels allows you to think clearly about disease pathology and also helps you understand the mechanics of new genetic medicines.
We can use Spinal Muscular Atrophy as an example. First you need to think about disease biology on all relevant biological levels, then you can begin to understand how a gene therapy for SMA will operate.
It starts with a gene, but it ends with a shift in societal dynamics.
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