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
Science on Stage and the European Science Teaching Awards 2005: choosing the best of the best, special mentions and how the jury voted. Myc Riggulsford, UK science broadcaster and journalist, and Barbara Warmbein, from the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, describe how the…
Svein Sjøberg and Camilla Schreiner from the University of Oslo, Norway, explain how they are investigating young people's attitudes towards science and technology.
Sometimes in the wealth of detail of modern science, we lose sight of the unifying factor: the scientific method. Alfredo Tifi, Natale Natale and Antonietta Lombardi explain how they encourage the skills of enquiry, hypothesis and testing.
Ages: <11, 11-14; Topics: Physics, 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.
For the questions, see Shipwreck: science to the rescue! The hull timbers of both the Vasa and the Mary Rose have been found to contain about 2 tonnes of sulphur, as the element S. If 1000 kg sulphur in the wood were in the form of the pyrite, FeS2, how much sulphuric acid (H2SO4(aq)) would be…
The Mary Rose is one of several famous and historical ships salvaged from the sea in recent decades. Thanks to the anaerobic conditions on the seabed, the remains are well preserved. Montserrat Capellas and Dominique Cornuéjols from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), in Grenoble,…
Stéphanie Blandin explains her work on malaria to Russ Hodge from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany – and describes how she became a molecular biologist.
The energy demands of our society continue to increase, while the stocks of fossil fuels - still our major energy source - are declining. Chris Warrick from the European Fusion Development Agreement explains why research into fusion offers the hope of a safe and environmentally responsible energy…
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…
