Chemicals from living things
A collection of Catalyst articles about chemicals from living things.
Enzymes Outside the Body *suitable for home teaching*
A Catalyst article explaining how enzymes allow chemical reactions in all living organisms to proceed quickly, under conditions where they would normally be very slow.
This article is part of Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2003, Volume 13, Issue 3.
Biofuels
A Catalyst article about how burning fossil fuels releases extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 17, Issue 1.
Fats, Oils and Soaps
A Catalyst article investigating a few of the uses of naturally occurring oils.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2.
Studying Lung Surfactant
A Catalyst article about the inner surface of lungs, which is coated with surfactant, allowing oxygen to enter the bloodstream.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2007, Volume 18, Issue 2.
Process Chemistry
A Catalyst article describing how process chemists work in the pharmaceutical industry, devising methods of making new drugs.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1.
Careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry
This Catalyst article describes the work of five young people who work in the pharmaceutical industry.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1.
Natural Born Healers
A Catalyst article providing examples of some drugs derived from natural substances.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1.
In the Pink: Colour from Carotenes
This Catalyst article explains how in nature, bioamplification causes substances to become more concentrated as they move from eater to eaten along a food chain.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2.
Buckytubes
A Catalyst article about buckytubes, a type of carbon nanoparticle.The allotropes of carbon —diamond, graphite and buckminsterfullerene (bucky balls) — are well known.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 17, Issue 2.
Gertrude B. Elion
A Catalyst article about the life and work of Gertrude B. Elion a pioneer in anti-viral drugs.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 3.
Drug Formulation
A Catalyst article describing how a medical drug is made into a form which works well in the body.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1.
Make Your Own Indicator
This Catalyst article describes how an indicator changes colour when in solutions of different pH.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2009, Volume 20, Issue 1.
Fluoride in Water Supplies
This Catalyst article looks at the use of fluoride in water supplies.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2009, Volume 20, Issue 2.
When the Drugs Don't Work
This Catalyst article explains why there are many anti-bacterial drugs but few antivirals.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 20, Issue 3.
Ocean Iron Fertilisation
This Catalyst article looks at OIF (Ocean Iron Fertilization) a process of pouring iron into the oceans.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1.
Biofuels from Waste
This Catalyst article examines the differences between fossil fuels and biofuels.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1.
Antibiotics on a Plate
This Catalyst article describes how bacterial colonies produce antibiotics and explains how their growth depends on the medium they grow on.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1.
Make Your Own Elastic Band
This Catalyst article explains how to make an elastic band using Copydex, a source of rubber latex.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 21, Issue 1.
Soil - the Final Frontier
A Catalyst article about the organisms which live in soil.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2.
Down on the Farm, 10 000 Years Ago
This Catalyst article looks at how people lived in the past, archaeologists look at the items (artefacts) these cultures left behind.
This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2010, Volume 21, Issue 2.
Food Waste Recycling - Power from Potato Peelings
This Catalyst article describes how food waste can be treated by anaerobic digestion to produce methane and fertiliser.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1.
The Sand Beneath Your Feet
This Catalyst article explains how studying sand can reveal both the geological and biological history of a local environment as sand varies from place to place.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 1.
What Is Biochemistry?
This Catalyst article looks at Biochemistry, the study of chemical reactions in living things, exploring how it differs from other biological subjects and how examples can be found in everyday life.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2.
Careers in Biochemistry
This Catalyst article looks at young people working in biochemistry, detailing how they got to where they are and what their job involves.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2011, Volume 22, Issue 2.
Alison Foster: a Chemist in the World of Plants
This Catalyst article gives a profile of Alison Foster's career choices, and introduces a public engagement activity called Chemistry in the Garden.
The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2012, Volume 23, Issue 2.
Eating Chocolate
This Catalyst article looks at how the structure and properties of chocolate change when it is melted and re-solidified.
This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2013, Volume 23, Issue 3.
Chemistry and Paint
This Catalyst article describes the different techniques of developing paint.
The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1.
Toxic Gases! Therapeutic? What?!
This article discusses how toxic gases gases can be useful in medicine, carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas but it can also help to treat some diseases.
The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 25, Issue 4.
Dr Laura Waters: Research Chemist
This article introduces Laura Waters, who is a chemist at Huddersfield University with an interest in both doing scientific research and communicating her work to a wide audience.
The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 25, Issue 4.
Teixobactin
This Catalyst article investigates teixobactin, which scientists are developing as a new approach to tackling bacterial diseases to overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance.
The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 26, Issue 1.