When I recently told a taxi driver that I was on my way to give a lecture on evolution in northern Germany, the young man asked me, looking straight ahead, “So, do you think Darwin got it right?” A bit taken aback, I answered that yes, by and large, Darwin had got it just right – only to be…
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…
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
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.
What is matter? How did the Universe begin? Are there other planets like Earth? And how do we know? Eleanor Hayes reports on the first EIROforum teacher school.
In this issue, a common theme is the nature of science and how to teach it. Pierre Léna, interviewed in our feature article, believes that when teaching science “it’s important to convey the idea that science is a human and collective adventure, not a lonely and national activity”. For him,…
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.
