This resource from Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is a practical, classroom activity that allows the students to make a balloon model of a disease-causing bacterium. This illustrates its basic shape and structure. Students can choose from three bacteria species...

In this activity, students consider the evidence for causal links between sugar consumption, obesity and disease. They then weigh up arguments for and against banning sugary drink sales to children.

Curriculum links include:

Key Stage Three:

*Working Scientifically: Analysis and evaluation –...

Produced by ARKive, these materials encourage students to gain an understanding of biodiversity, evolution and Darwin’s theory of natural selection. By investigating biodiversity and the process of evolution students learn how traits beneficial for survival are selected for and genetically passed on to successive...

From ARKive, this hands-on activity is designed to remind post-16 students about the concepts of biodiversity, evolution and Darwin’s theory of natural selection. By investigating biodiversity and the process of evolution students learn how traits beneficial for survival are selected for and genetically passed on...

From the Integrating Mathematical Problem Solving project by Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI), this activity for post-16 students demonstrates that if a link is suspected between a risk factor and an illness, statistical methods can be used to test whether such a link exists. Topic areas covered are:...

This SATIS Revisited resource looks at the environmental and ecological consequences of further expansion of biofuel crops due to deforestation, biodiversity and landscapes.

Biodiesel is a fuel derived from biomass (...

This resource pack, aimed at primary learners, links to the topic areas of properties of materials, adaptation and life processes by looking at birds and the nests they build.

An introductory presentation looks at the reasons why birds build nests, different types of nests, where they are found and the...

This activity looks at climate change and its effects on succession in a location in Norfolk over 12000 years ago.

Students carry out a simulation of a bog core analysis, based on work by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research together with data from the Department of Geography, University of...

This unplugged activity from Peter McOwan and Paul Curzon mingles computer science with biology. A group activity is used that mimics the firing of neurons within the brain. These trigger other neurons to fire – these can be compared to AND gates in logic circuits.

The ‘brain in a bag’ kits used in the...

In this module students will study barnacle morphology, life histories and life styles as Darwin did. He based his classification and search for a common ancestor upon his studies. Recent work using genetic and molecular evidence and scanning electron microscopy shows how some of the key difficulties in drawing the...

The Youth Grand Challenges is a new STEM competition that aims to inspire students aged 11-to-19.  This resource provides a selection of ideas for research or practical projects on the subect of the spread of disease.

Curriculum links include pathogens, bacteria, epidemics, pandemics, malaria, water borne...

This is a classroom-based activity from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute that allows students to explore the features of two bacterial pathogen genomes. The aim of this activity is to highlight the role of different genetic components in two closely related subspecies of Salmonella enterica, and to identify how...

In this SATIS Revisited resource students consider the factors that contribute to the greenhouse effect, the possible effects of global warming, and how they as individuals are contributing to carbon dioxide emissions.

Climate change is affecting the natural world. The distribution of some species appears to...

This resource from Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS) describes the work of Charles Darwin on carnivorous plants to determine what causes the leaves to curl up when stimulated.

Darwin’s experiments are very easy...

The lesson is guided by a presentation which introduces the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and describes the application of stem cells in the treatment of disease. Students work in groups to compare images of healthy and MS nerve cells before planning and carrying out a model drug testing investigation.