Seeing Inside Cells
Each individual blade of grass consists of various tissues, each made of cells in their thousands. In these cells an as yet unknown number of reactions and interactions are constantly taking place. The cells contain different parts known as organelles, which can be thought of as the cellular equivalent of the organs in animals and…
The Other Genome Project
This Catalyst article details how the genome of a plant called Arabidopsis has been unravelled so that this species can act as a model in genetic studies. Arabidopsis thaliana is a model species like the fruit fly Drosophila, yeast, and the bacterium Escherichia coli. Scientists work on these species in order to understand as…
Tuberculosis: Can the Spread of This Killer Disease be Halted?
With an increase in tuberculosis (TB) throughout the world during the 21st century, this resource looks at what scientists are doing to combat a disease that many believed was a problem of the past. The TB fact file describes the disease, its symptoms and incidence and reviews current research into its cause, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.…
H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic
This booklet, from the Society for General Microbiology, gives an overview of the swine flu story so far. In eight pages it covers the disease, the causal virus, how it is transmitted, who is affected and how the disease can be treated. The National Immunisation Programme, international pandemic preparedness and the development of…
Malaria: a Global Challenge
Malaria is one of the world's biggest killers. It infects up to 250 million and kills nearly 800,000 people per year. This resource, from the Society for General Microbiology, takes a look at the history of the disease along with its causes, diagnosis, treatment and the prevention strategies employed to tackle this global problem.…
Influenza: a Seasonal Disease
Influenza or flu is a common viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. This resource, from the Society for General Microbiology, gives an overview of the disease, how the infection is transmitted, infection, replication of the virus inside the body, the immune response and how vaccines are developed. It also explores the nature…
HIV and AIDS
The resource, from the Society for General Microbiology, clarifies the difference between HIV and AIDS. The booklet describes the HIV virus, how it replicates and how it causes the disease. The stages of the infection are charted and transmission of HIV is explained, together with sections covering tests, treatments and work on developing…
Microbes and Climate Change
This booklet, from the Society for General Microbiology, discusses the role microbes could play in tackling global climate change. The resource provides an overview of the effect of greenhouse gases on climate and the role of microbes in the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Carbon-fixation in cyanobacteria and the carbon-releasing…
Cholera: Death by Diarrhoea
Cholera is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. There have been seven worldwide disease outbreaks or pandemics since 1817, killing millions of people and infecting millions more. This resource, from the Society for General Microbiology, charts the history of the disease and investigates the causes, diagnosis,…
Investigating Poisoning
Investigating serious crimes such as murder, rape and terrorism requires forensic science experts. These people work alongside the police to find the evidence that will bring the culprit to court. In this Catalyst article, Tony Hargreaves looks at criminal poisoning and shows how forensic science is used to solve serious murder cases.
A Century of Crystallography
This poster, from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, celebrates 100 years since two scientists in the UK pioneered a technique for crystallography. Crystallography uses x-rays to create a diffraction pattern to examine the atomic structure of crystals. The poster explains Bragg’s Law, which allows the calculation…
Colour Mixing
This video from the Royal Institution describes how colour mixing works. Colours of light cannot be mixed in physics but different cones in your eyes are sensitive to different colours. The brain interprets a mixture between the two as a colour somewhere between the two. In the case of magenta, your brain invents this colour…
Cloud Chamber
This video from the Royal Institution shows tracks within a cloud chamber. A supersaturated layer of alcohol vapour exists just above the floor of the chamber and the ionisation radiation causes vapour to condense along the path of the radiation. An Americium source is introduced into the chamber so that tracks from alpha radiation…
How Rich Is Your Habitat?
This practical activity uses a simple and convenient model of the real environment in order to demonstrate the principles of random sampling and how to estimate biodiversity. Students use different coloured sugar balls to represent different species in order to put Simpson's Diversity Index to the test, which takes into account…
Biofuels
Produced by Debating Matters, this topic guide puts the biofuel debate in context, providing information, a reading list and weblinks. The resource encourages students to debate issues such as: • Are biofuels environmentally friendly? • Fuel versus food • A waste if time, money and energy? • Should governments…
Introduction to Lowland Heathlands
This resource is an interactive activity which aims to provide an introduction to the lowland heathland habitat. The five topics relating to lowland heathlands covered by the resources include: • The biotic components of lowland heathlands, focusing on plants • The biotic components of lowland heathlands, focusing on…
Designing Investigations
This resource, from the University of Nottingham, describes a number of investigations which could be carried out in heathland habitats. Heathlands are excellent habitats to use for designing and carrying out experiments. Plants are often relatively easy to identify when compared with other habitats and invertebrate communities are…
Introducing Stem Cells
This presentation and collection of short activities, from Eurostemcell, introduce basic stem cell concepts and include teacher’s notes with each slide and useful diagrams. The materials include: Presentation: Introducing stem cells • Stem cell biology basics: for post-16 students, or adult audiences with little…
Adventures in the Amazon
In this Catalyst article, Laura Plant describes the time she spent in the Amazon rainforest in northern Peru on a project researching the impacts of forestry on the plants and animals that live there. In tropical regions, large areas of rainforests have been untouched for centuries. This means that many rare and unique plants…
Uncovering the Magical World of Signalling
This Catalyst article takes a look at the winners of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2012 who revealed how cells communicate. All functions of the human body require signals to be released, detected by a receptor in the right place and an appropriate response to be mounted. For example, hormones can be released into the blood stream…
Flying Dry
This Catalyst article explores how high-speed photography can reveal how mosquitoes can keep dry while flying in the rain. To find out how mosquitoes survive impacts with raindrops, a group of engineers from Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) developed a system which allowed them to photograph collisions between water droplets…
Memory Myths
This Catalyst article looks at the topic of human memory. While it is clear that memory is essential in so many ways, there are many myths about how memory works. This article explores some of these fairytales and explains what modern psychological science has discovered about how memory really works and why it is so important.
Speak to Me, Lichen
In this Catalyst article, students at La Sainte Union Catholic School in North London investigate the link between lichen species and air pollution around their school. Lichens are indicators of changes in air quality; tolerant species replace those which are sensitive to a given pollutant. This effect is observed across urban…
Genomics
From the Economic and Social Research Council (ERSC), this briefing explores how understanding genomics may offer potential benefits to society, but also looks at how we might use and regulate that knowledge. The resource describes the possible applications of synthetic biology. The emerging personal genomics industry is discussed…
Winning Science
The 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was won by Gurdon and Yamanaka, for their work on adult stem cells. This Catalyst article explains how they discovered that a nucleus from an egg cell transplanted into a specialised cell can still develop into a fully functional organism. Yamanaka named these cells induced pluripotent…
What Are Stem Cells?
This Catalyst article explains the use of stem cells to treat medical problems, and outlines new possibilities for the use of adult stem cells in treatment. Currently, stem cells used for treatment are embryonic stem cells, since they have the ability to form any cell type in the body. The example of the use of stem cells to…
Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water
Reliance on unsafe drinking water is a significant problem in many areas of the world. This Catalyst article looks at the method of solar disinfection to provide safe drinking water. UVA from the sun causes a breakdown in cellular functions, and combined with the increased temperature of the water from a mini-greenhouse effect…
Alison Foster: a Chemist in the World of Plants
Alison Foster has combined her education in Chemistry with her love of plants to engage in some exciting projects at the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens. This Catalyst article gives a profile of her career choices, and introduces a public engagement activity called Chemistry in the Garden. Alison began her career in the pharmaceutical…
Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies or Weetabix
This Catalyst article looks at how scientists can use material recovered from archaeological sites to see how crops have been introduced to different countries over the history of farming. Three processes by which some plant material can be preserved are explained. The ratio of carbon isotopes from the collagen in animal bone can…
Concentrations and Dilutions: a Survival Guide
This resource from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) is presented as a survival guide for students, describing how to handle numbers correctly, standard form, the use of scientific calculators, the definition of a mole, calculating molarity, Avogadro’s number, how to express concentrations and how to calculate dilutions.…
Seeing Into Bacteria
This Catalyst article describes how biophysics is helping in the search for novel antibiotics. Bacteria produce an array of proteins to kill off their competitors. These proteins, called bacteriocins, are very efficient at penetrating the defensive outer layers of bacteria cells by moving through specific membrane transporter…
Clam Shells, Climate Change and Ageing
This Catalyst article looks at the discovery of the Arctica Islandica, a mollusc which carries a record of past environments in the banding of its shell. In 2006, scientists collecting material from the seabed off the north coast of Iceland found some clam shells which remarkably were found to have come from animals having lived…
Filter results by...
Subject
- Science (194)
- Biology (194) Close
- Chemistry (24)
- Physics (19)
- Earth science (40)
- How science works (64)
- Practical work (14)
- Demonstrations (2)
- Enquiries & investigations (16)
- Outside the classroom (2)
- Techniques & procedures (1)
- Technology (2)
- Food technology (1)
- Engineering (1)
- Mathematics (6)
- Careers (16)
- Cross curricular (1)
Publication year
Type
Format
Publisher
- ABPI (5)
- ARKive (1)
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (3)
- British Science Association (2)
- Catalyst (46)
- CREST Awards (2)
- Department for Education (1)
- Economic & Social Research Council (1)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (1)
- EuroStemCell (1)
- Future Morph (3)
- Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (45)
- Innovate Educate (2)
- Institute of Ideas (1)
- Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (5)
- Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) (1)
- Linnean Society of London (1)
- Natural Environment Research Council (38)
- Nowgen (6)
- Nuffield Council on Bioethics (19)
- Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) (2)
- Physiological Society (2)
- Planet Earth Online (38)
- Royal Institution (3)
- Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) (11)
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (5)
- Science Museum (1)
- Society for General Microbiology (9)
- Solar Spark (1)
- STEMNET (2)
- The Avenue (2)
- Understanding Animal Research (5)
- Wellcome Trust (7)
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (13)
- yourgenome.org (13)