Issue 6

Download Issue 6 as PDF [3.0 MB]

Editorial Events Feature article: Tim Hunt Cutting-edge science Teaching activities Projects in science education Science topics Scientist profile Teacher profile Reviews Resources on the web Back in the staffroom

Editorial

• Welcome to the sixth issue of Science in School
  In our feature article, we share with you the thoughts of Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt as he talks to Philipp Gebhardt about his passion for science, the importance of pure research, the influence of enthusiastic colleagues – and the role of serendipity in scientific discovery...
  Read | PDF [208 KB]

Events

• Forthcoming events
  Read (frequently updated) | PDF [172 KB]

Feature article: Tim Hunt

• Eyes on the horizon, feet on the ground: interview with Tim Hunt
  Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt talks to Philipp Gebhardt about his passion for science, the importance of pure research, the influence of enthusiastic colleagues – and the role of serendipity in scientific discovery.
  Read | PDF [312 KB]

Cutting-edge science

• Recovering Pompeii
  Montserrat Capellas explains how modern chemical analyses are shedding light on ancient Pompeii.
  Read (English, Hungarian) | PDF [316 KB]
• Of Roman roads, train yards and inspectors: recent discoveries in RNA research
  Russ Hodge describes some exciting recent research on RNA, a crucial biological molecule that is seldom mentioned in detail in textbooks.
  Read (English, Greek, Portuguese, Turkish) | PDF [276 KB]
• Oxyntomodulin: a new therapy for obesity?
  Katie Wynne and Steve Bloom describe their work on a hormone that could tackle the causes of obesity.
  Read | PDF [240 KB]

Teaching activities

• Counting Buttons: demonstrating the Hardy-Weinberg principle
  Pongprapan Pongsophon, Vantipa Roadrangka and Alison Campbell demonstrate a difficult concept in evolution with a box of buttons!
  Read | PDF [244 KB]
• Monastic ink: linking chemistry and history
  Gianluca Farusi and his students set out to investigate and prepare iron-gall ink, a historically significant material for the transmission of knowledge.
  Read (English, Greek) | PDF [568 KB]
• The Boy Who Would Be Good: understanding ADHD through a film-making project
  An art teacher with a science degree? Karen Findlay put this unusual combination to good use with an ambitious film project.
  Read | PDF [264 KB]

Projects in science education

• Imagine... sharing ideas in the life sciences
  Daan Schuurbiers and Marije Blomjous introduce the Dutch school competition ‘Imagine’, which supports sustainable development in the less developed world.
  Read (English, Portuguese) | PDF [280 KB]
• Science centres working with schools: using peer-to-peer teaching to engage students
  Sheena Laursen describes the Xciter project that helps students motivate each other to delve deeper into science.
  Read | PDF [228 KB]
• DNA labs on the road
  Marc van Mil introduces DNA labs that bring genomics directly to the classroom.
  Read (English, Spanish) | PDF [248 KB]

Science topics

• Why biodiversity research keeps its feet dry
  Marine ecologists Iris Hendriks, Carlos Duarte, and Carlo Heip ask why – despite its importance – research into marine biodiversity is so neglected.
  Read | PDF [272 KB]
• Fusion in the Universe: when a giant star dies...
  Péter Székely and Örs Benedekfi investigate how a star dies and what a nearby supernova explosion would mean for us on Earth.
  Read (English, Dutch, Hungarian) | PDF [268 KB]
• Small molecules make scents
  Angelika Börsch-Haubold demonstrates the olfactory delights of organic chemistry..
  Read (English, Greek) | PDF [384 KB]

Scientist profile

• Nicky Mulder, bioinformatician
  Have you ever wondered what bioinformatics is? Or what a bioinformatician does? Sai Pathmanathan and Eleanor Hayes talk to bioinformatician Nicky Mulder.
  Read | PDF [252 KB]

Teacher profile

• Teaching on ice: an educational expedition to Antarctica
  Eleanor Hayes talks to Phil Avery, one of four teachers who are taking a break from school to journey to the Antarctic.
  Read | PDF [288 KB]

Reviews

• The Talking Ape: How Language Evolved
  Read | PDF [152 KB]
• Experimental Design for the Life Sciences (2nd Edition)
  Read | PDF [152 KB]
• Exploring the Living Cell DVD
  Read | PDF [152 KB]
• Fossils: A Very Short Introduction* and Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction+
  Read | PDF [152 KB]
• The March of Unreason: Science, Democracy, and the New Fundamentalism
  Read | PDF [156 KB]
• Science Magic: in the Kitchen and Science Magic: in the Bathroom
  Read | PDF [152 KB]

Resources on the web

• 'Ask a scientist' websites
  Halina Stanley reviews some of her favourite ‘ask a scientist’ websites in English and French. Thanks to the help of many readers throughout Europe, we can also draw your attention to sites in Croat, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian and Serbian.
  Read | PDF [340 KB]

Back in the staffroom

• Results of the cover competition
  In Issue 4, we challenged you and your students to design the cover for Science in School and were very impressed by the quality of the entries.
  Read | PDF [168 KB]