A Catalyst article about Hurricane Katrina which caused many deaths in August 2005, and vast damage along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico in the USA. Hurricanes are an unfamiliar phenomenon here in the UK. Why is this? And can people expect to see more hurricanes in future as a result of climate change? The...

In this podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Sue Nelson visits the ice cloud chamber in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.

Scientists know that fluffy stratocumulus clouds act like a blanket on the Earth - they stop...

A Catalyst article about giant asteroids. Astronomers say that, one day, a giant rock from space will collide with the Earth and cause mass devastation. This could lead to the extinction of many species, including humans. The article looks at what can be done to prepare for such an impact and what happened when a...

A Catalyst article describing how the VISTA telescope, which is located in Chile, works. It detects infrared radiation - electromagnetic radiation beyond the red end of the spectrum. This has two great benefits:

*The telescope can detect radiation from distant stars which are otherwise hidden behind clouds...

A Catalyst article explaining how new data suggests that it is very unlikely that life ever existed on Mars. When the presence of water was confirmed a few years ago, there was a lot of speculation that at least simple life forms had once lived there as water is essential for every known living organism. The latest...

A Catalyst article about the Kepler spacecraft, which is used to look for extra-solar planets. Scientists are hoping to shine light on the age old question of life’s existence elsewhere in the Universe using a new space-based telescope named Kepler. Launched on 6 March 2009, Kepler is searching the sky for small,...

This set of activities for students builds toward them being able to answer the question 'Assess whether the UK is becoming more extreme in the 21st century.'  Initially students are asked to define the terms 'rare' and 'extreme' and then order the layers of the Earth's atmosphere. This is followed by tasks to:...

In this podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection, Sue Nelson reports from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where she finds out that some plants like the Snake's Head Fritillary have enormous amounts of DNA in their genomes.

These plants struggle in extreme...

This item is one of over 25,000 physical resources available from the Resources Collection. The Archive Collection covers over 50 years of curriculum development in the STEM subjects. The Contemporary Collection includes the latest publications from UK educational publishers.

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). British Geological Survey scientists have completed the first full geological survey of Lake Windermere in the English Lake District since the Royal Navy surveyed it in the 1930s.

Among other things, the...

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). In this recording, Richard Hollingham talks to expert seismologist Brian Baptie from the British Geological Survey, who uses musical software to find out if earthquakes are getting more frequent.

Another...

A Catalyst article about Earth’s biodiversity much of which appears to be teetering on the brink of a man-made extinction crisis. Scientists have suggested that, unless urgent action is taken now, many species will disappear in the next 50 years. This article looks at some of the issues involved.

This...

A Catalyst article about the idea of life on Mars. Scientists involved with the Mars Express mission aim to find out more and will try to establish if there ever has been life on Mars. The article looks at the miniature devices that they will employ on the mission. 

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE...

This resource, provided by the Association for Science Education (ASE), introduces a group of scientists working in a range of different careers. The resource is part of the SYCD: Science Year Only Connect? collection.

The scientists describe:

*How they got into science
*Where they have worked...