• About Science in School
  • About EIROforum
  • Submit an article
Science in School
Science in School
  • Understand
    • Recent research and science topics
      • Astronomy / space
      • Biology
      • Chemistry
      • Earth science
      • Engineering
      • General science
      • Health
      • History
      • Mathematics
      • Physics
      • News from the EIROs
      • Science and society
  • Inspire
    • People, events and resources
      • Advertorials
      • Career focus
      • Competitions and events
      • Education focus
      • Resource reviews
      • Science and society
      • Science miscellany
      • Scientist profiles
      • Teacher profiles
  • Teach
    • Activities and projects
      • Astronomy / space
      • Biology
      • Chemistry
      • Earth science
      • Engineering
      • General science
      • Health
      • History
      • Mathematics
      • Physics
      • Science and society
  • Archive
  • Login
  • Contact
Issue 26
 -  20/02/2013

Welcome to the twenty-sixth issue of SIS

Eleanor Hayes

As I write this editorial, the bare tree branches outside my office are outlined in snow and the ground is dangerously icy. However, by the time this issue of Science in School has been copy edited, laid out, proofread, printed and distributed, those bare branches will be sprouting young leaves and the first flowers will be blooming below.


Image courtesy of EMBL
Photolab

We take these predictable seasonal changes – very noticeable towards the poles, almost negligible at the equator – for granted. Were you aware, though, that without the Moon, Earth would be a very different place: with less predictable seasons, smaller tides, higher winds and shorter days?

The Sun’s influence is still more profound; for a stunning classroom demonstration, why not simulate solar wind and the aurorae (northern and southern lights? Our star inspires not only classroom activities but also international research collaborations: in the search for a clean and sustainable source of energy, fusion scientists are recreating the processes taking place in the Sun’s core. But how do you design a thermometer to withstand millions of degrees Celsius inside a fusion reactor?

Moving from the sky to the ground beneath our feet, find out how plate tectonics may have started millions of years earlier than we used to think. Or discover how one engineer combated the effects of ground movements and helped to save the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. On a more personal scale, damage to our own leaning tower – our spinal cord – can cause incontinence, loss of feeling or paralysis. Might stem cell treatment offer hope for sufferers?

Staying at the level of our cells, did you know that most of our ‘junk’ DNA is very far from being junk – it is, in fact, alive with activity? Elsewhere in our genomes, particular genes may even hold the key to obesity. Why not get your students to research the genetics of obesity and extract their own DNA in the lab?

Finally, who could fail to be inspired by the participants in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists? Among the many winners were students, some as young as 16, who discovered how to simulate gravity, characterise a new steel alloy and improve light microscopy.

We hope you enjoy this issue – and we are always happy to have your feedback.

 

Author

Eleanor Hayes
Editor-in-Chief of Science in School
editor@scienceinschool.org
www.scienceinschool.org

CC-BY-NC-ND
Log in to post a comment

Issues

  • Current issue
  • Archive

Events - Teacher Training

ELLS virtual LearningLAB: ‘Taking a fresh look: teaching molecular biology techniques in the classroom



12 April to 2 May 2021

EMBL’s European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences invites secondary school science teachers to explore this essential area of biological research in a virtual training course - in English - entitled ‘Taking a fresh look: teaching molecular biology techniques in the classroom’. The course is free of charge and the workload is designed to fit around a busy teacher’s schedule. Application deadline: 28 March 2021.

Tools

  • Download article (PDF)
  • Print
  • Share

Related articles

  • Welcome to the twelfth issue of Science in School
  • Citizen science: have you used it in your classroom?
  • Editorial issue 44
  • Welcome to the thirteenth issue of Science in School
  • Welcome to the twenty-nineth issue of Science in School

Login / My account

Create new account
Forgot password


Contact us

Please contact us via our email address editor@scienceinschool.org.

  • More contact details

Get involved

  • Submit an article
  • Review articles
  • Translate articles

Support Science in School


EIROforum members:
CERN European Molecular Biology Laboratory European Space Agency European Southern Observatory
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility EUROfusion European XFEL Institut Laue-Langevin


EIROforum
Published and funded by EIROforum


  • About Science in School
  • About EIROforum
  • Imprint
  • Copyright
  • Safety note
  • Disclaimer
  • Archive
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
ISSN 1818-0361

CERN
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
European Space Agency
European Southern Observatory
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
EUROfusion
European XFEL
Institut Laue-Langevin
EIROforum

Published and funded by EIROforum
  • About Science in School
  • About EIROforum
  • Imprint
  • Copyright
  • Safety note
  • Disclaimer
  • Archive
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
ISSN 1818-0361