Energy – why is it so important, where do we get it and how much do we use? Gieljan de Vries from the Dutch FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen investigates.

Dean Madden from the National Centre for Biotechnology Education (NCBE), University of Reading, UK, suggests an experiment to make lactose-free milk – useful both for cats and for the 75% of the world’s human population that are intolerant to this type of sugar.

In the first of two articles, Shamim Hartevelt-Velani and Carl Walker from the European Space Agency take us on a trip to the International Space Station.

Prudence Mutowo can really identify with the organism she studies. After all, they have a lot in common. She told Vienna Leigh about researching a recently discovered archaeal species, Haloferax volcanii, which thrives in extreme conditions – and coming from Zimbabwe to the UK to pursue her career, Prudence is no stranger to those.

In the first of two articles, climate researcher Rasmus Benestad from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute examines the evidence for climate change.

RNA is a crucial biological molecule that is seldom mentioned in detail in textbooks. In the first article in a series, Russ Hodge describes some exciting recent research on RNA.

Fed up with explaining genomes, genes and proteins? Why not get your students to figure it out for themselves using Johan Leveau’s DNA puzzle?

Is it acceptable to use human embryonic stem cells in research? What about live animals? Professor Nadia Rosenthal, head of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo, Italy, talks to Russ Hodge about the ethics of her research.

When we sleep, are we just passively recovering from a hard day, or is there something more going on? Angelika Börsch-Haubold considers the implications of some intriguing research – was her grandmother right all along? Test the scientists’ conclusions for yourself!

There is an increasing demand for an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, but providing inspiring and achievable lessons is no easy task. Chemistry teacher Gianluca Farusi explains how he used two Italian Renaissance paintings to delve into the chemistry of pigment extraction and the physics of forensics.

Uffe Gråe Jørgensen from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, describes the search for Earth-like planets elsewhere in our galaxy.