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Showing 10 results from a total of 651

Understand issue15biodiversity
| Issue 15

Homo sapiens – an endangered species?

This year has been proclaimed the International Year of Biodiversity. During 2010, governments will seek to reach agreement on a new biodiversity target, to be decided at the Nagoya summit in October. Will this enable us to save not only whales and tigers, but also our own species? Marlene Rau…

Ages: 14-16;
Topics: Biology, Chemistry, Earth science
           

Understand issue15alma
| Issue 15

The ALMA Observatory: the sky is only one step away

Claudia Mignone and Douglas Pierce-Price take us on a trip to the Chilean Andes, to the site of ALMA, the world’s largest radio astronomy facility, which is set to discover the secrets of our cosmic origins.

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Astronomy / space
             

Teach issue14kindergarten
| Issue 14

Physics in kindergarten and primary school

Werner and Gabriele Stetzenbach tell us how kindergarten and primary-school children discover the world of physics together with secondary-school students as their mentors. Why not try it in your school?

Ages: 11-14;
Topics: Physics
         

Teach issue14fuelcell
| Issue 14

The microbial fuel cell: electricity from yeast

We all know that yeast is used to produce beer and bread – but electricity? Dean Madden from the National Centre for Biotechnology Education, University of Reading, UK, shows how it works.

Ages: not applicable;
Topics: Biology, Chemistry
         

Understand issue14evolution
| Issue 14

Natural selection at the molecular level

We know that particular genetic sequences can help us to survive in our environment – this is the basis of evolution. But demonstrating which genetic sequences are beneficial and how they help us to survive is not easy – especially in wild populations. Jarek Bryk describes some relevant recent…

Ages: not applicable;
Topics: Biology, Health
                   

Understand issue14pierrelena
| Issue 14

Science is a collective human adventure: interview with Pierre Léna

French astrophysicist Pierre Léna talks to Marlene Rau about science education as a symphony, the importance of curiosity, and his commitment to spreading inquiry-based science teaching in Europe and beyond.

Ages: not applicable;
Topics: Astronomy / space, General science, Science and society
     

Teach issue14spectrometer
| Issue 14

Spectrometry at school: hands-on experiments

Nataša Gros, Tim Harrison, Irena Štrumbelj Drusany and Alma Kapun Dolinar introduce a selection of experiments with a simple spectrometer designed especially for schools – and give details of how to perform one of the activities.

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Chemistry
             

Understand issue14starch
| Issue 14

Starch: a structural mystery

A string of glucose molecules: starch. It sounds simple, but it isn’t. Dominique Cornuéjols and Serge Pérez explore the intricacies of its structure – and show that the mystery is by no means solved.

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Physics, Chemistry
         

Teach issue14cloud
| Issue 14

Bringing particle physics to life: build your own cloud chamber

Particle physics is often seen as something only for huge research institutes, out of reach of the general public. Francisco Barradas-Solas and Paloma Alameda-Meléndez demonstrate how – with the aid of a homemade particle detector – you can dispel this myth by bringing particle physics to life…

Ages: 16-19;
Topics: Physics