Professional Documents
Culture Documents
science careers
Scientists in health: making a
difference to peoples lives
Life sciences
Life sciences staff generally spend most of their time in a laboratory:
They:
investigate diseases through blood and tissue analysis
contribute to identifying and understanding causes of death, sometimes
offering support to bereaved relatives
monitor patients response to certain treatments
work to find out the genetic components of illness, for example by studying
DNA
help collect eggs from patients undergoing IVF
carry out research to identify new scientific treatments for cancer and other
diseases.
Physiological sciences
These staff often work directly with patients to measure and monitor particular
conditions, for example:
carrying out electrocardiograms (ECGs) to check how the heart is working
undertaking diagnostic tests to assess lung function
measuring eye function and taking images of the eye and its supporting
structures
assessing hearing and balance function in everyone from tiny babies to the
elderly
investigating the nervous system to diagnose and monitor things like epilepsy,
stroke, dementia and multiple sclerosis
helping patients with sleep problems such as sleep apnoea, where people
temporarily stop breathing.