In this mini edition of Catalyst magazine, marine biologists Magnus Johnson and Melanie Coull, from the University of Hull, explore just how little we know about plastic waste in the ocean.

The world generates 288m tonnes of plastic worldwide each year, but little is known about it's fate in the ocean once...

This Catalyst article takes the form of a practical activity. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with iron and it is possible to extract this from the cereal by following the instructions in the article.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2.

...

This Catalyst article explains how to make an elastic band using Copydex, a source of rubber latex. Rubber latex is a liquid polymer. It is made of long molecules which are all separate. Elastic bands are made by cross-linking the polymers in rubber latex. This changes the properties of the polymer and forms a...