Issue 28
Editorials
Welcome to the twenty-eighth issue of SiS
Although this is only the first issue of 2014, the academic year is already starting to draw to a close. By the time this issue reaches you, spring will have sprung and preparations for the end of year, and those dreaded exams, will be well underway. Spring, however, is a season of renewal – a new start – and for Science in School that is very apt.
Citizen science: have you used it in your classroom?
Science in School would like to hear about your experiences!
News from the EIROs
From construction to destruction: building lasers and melting walls
Science in School is published by EIROforum, a collaboration between eight of Europe’s largest inter-governmental scientific research organisations (EIROs). This article reviews some of the latest news from EIROs.
Cutting-edge science
Glaciers on Mars: looking for the ice
One of the scientists’ main interests in Mars research is water. Is there water on Mars?
From model organism to medical advances
A simple fungus used to brew beer is now used around the world to advance cancer research.
Features
Tales from a plague pit
Archeology and genetics combine to reveal what caused the Black Death.
Reviews
How to fossilize your hamster, by Mike O’Hare
How to fossilize your hamster is a great book to have even if you don’t have a hamster that needs fossilization.
Podcasts ‘The Elements’ and ‘The Compounds’, by Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry
‘The Elements’ and ‘The Compounds’ are two series of professionally produced podcasts, each lasting between 5 and 7 minutes.
Blog: Ciência para Todos/ Science for All, by Haidi D. Fiedler Nome and Faruk Nome
The ‘Science for All’ blog, associated e-book and printed book contain a collection of short essays on a series of topics designed to appeal to young students.
Science topics
Food that shapes you: how diet can change your epigenome
You are what you eat – quite literally. Our diet can influence the tiny changes in our genome that underlie several diseases, including cancer and obesity.
- Read: English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Latvian, Turkish, Greek, Croatian, Czech, Polish | PDF
Inspired by nature: modern drugs
Many naturally occurring compounds are useful in medicine – but they can be fabulously expensive to obtain from their natural sources. New scientific methods of synthesis and production are overcoming this problem.
Making the right moves
Cell’s movements are important in health and diseases, but their speed is the crucial point for the 2013 World Cell Race organised by Daniel Irimia.
Scientist profiles
Doctor in the morning, researcher in the afternoon
For doctor Stefan Pfister, efforts to cure cancer happen at the hospital and in the laboratory.
Teaching activities
The way of the dragon: chemistry for the youngest
In Sweden there lives a small, green dragon called Berta, who invites young children to join her adventures in Dragon Land – all of which are about chemistry.
Classroom fundamentals: measuring the Planck constant
Bring discovery into the classroom and show students how to evaluate Planck’s constant using simple equipment.
