Passing the Bug
Development of H1N1 influenza cases during two months in 2009.Copyright (top) National Institutes of Health, (bottom) 2009 World Health Organization via Wikimedia Commons http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/april2009/04272009influenza.htm http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Influenza-2009-cases-logarithmic.png
Students apply concepts of disease transmission to analyze infection data, either provided or created using Bluetooth-enabled Android devices. This data collection may include several cases, such as small static groups (representing historically rural areas), several roaming students (representing world-travelers), or one large, tightly knit group (representing urban populations). To explore the algorithms to a deeper degree, students may also design their own diseases using the App Inventor framework.
Biomedical engineers work with doctors to find engineering solutions that model and affect the spread of disease. Software engineers use their expertise to generate models to help predict the spread, potency and likely carriers of diseases. Engineers use their knowledge of biology, computers, software and design to create simulations to model disease transmission. These models help physicians and public health officials develop the best approaches for allocation of resources and treatment.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe how diseases are transmitted.
- Explain how different characteristics of a disease, such as transmission speed and symptom severity, affect its global spread and survival.