An ambitious Australian school project sent spiders into space to experience microgravity. 'Spiders in Space' will form the basis of a future project involving many more schools worldwide. Lachlan Thompson and Naomi Mathers, from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, explain how it all started.
Ages: 14-16; Topics: Biology, Astronomy / space, General science
Want to catch an enzyme in the act? Or watch an embryonic brain hard-wire itself? Russ Hodge from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, explains how recent developments in microscopy show cells and organisms at work.
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…
Dean Madden and John Schollar from the National Centre for Biotechnology Education at the University of Reading, UK, suggest a recipe for a cocktail containing deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA.) This drink has novel features of considerable biological interest.
Dean Madden from the National Centre for Biotechnology Education at the University of Reading, UK, describes how DNA was discovered - and how it can be simply extracted in the classroom.
The incidence of diabetes is on the rise, in both the developed and developing worlds. Klaus Dugi, Professor of Medicine at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, discusses the causes, symptoms and treatment of diabetes.
We tend to think of our genetic information as being encoded in DNA – in our genes. Brona McVittie from Epigenome NoE, UK, describes why this is only part of the story.
At the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, Peer Bork’s research group has meticulously reconstructed a new tree of life – tracing the course of evolution. Russ Hodge explains.
Are you a biologist with a mission? Do you want to fight crime with science? Martin Hall and Amoret Brandt from The Natural History Museum in London, UK, introduce the fascinating (and smelly) field of forensic entomology.
Mariolina Tenchini, Director of Cus-Mi-Bio in Milan, Italy, introduces a university initiative to motivate science teachers and provide both them and their students with hands-on experience of cutting-edge science.
Ages: not applicable; Topics: Biology, General science
