Catalyst Volume 27 Issue 4: full magazine

This issue of Catalyst contains the following articles:

MEDO space trek 

This Catalyst article is about a group of school students in South Africa that are helping to develop a spacecraft that will monitor agricultural changes in their country.

When crops die

This Catalyst article looks at agricultural plants, that are prone to many diseases, and scientists who develop new techniques to fight these diseases.

Medicinal plants

This Catalyst article focuses on how many plants have medicinal properties. It also looks at how scientists record traditional knowledge about these plants and use modern genetic techniques to identify and understand valuable plant species.

Postgraduate life

This Catalyst article is about Emily Beardon, a postgraduate student. Here, she explains how she became a research student and describes a typical day in the lab.

Oklo: Nature's nuclear reactor

This catalyst article looks at how scientists have analysed the isotopes of uranium in rocks in Gabon (W Africa) and shown that, for thousands of years in the distant past, a nuclear fission reaction occurred. 

Kidneys and genetic disease

This Catalyst article looks at kidneys and how they are vital organs so it is important to understand how genetic disorders may affect kidneys and develop treatments to overcome them.

Using plastics in the body

This Catalyst article looks at how scientists are learning to use polymers for many medical applications, including implants, bone repairs and reduction in infections.

Gathering space dust 

This Catalyst article looks at how you can collect iron  micro-meteorites using a magnet.