This report, commissioned by the Wellcome Trust, evaluates Big Picture, its free publication on bioscience, and explores ways in which it could be developed. It was hoped that this summary of the main findings would be of use to other organisations developing materials for teachers and students, particularly those...

A Catalyst article about how burning fossil fuels releases extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. However, burning renewable biofuels is part of the normal carbon cycle and does not contribute to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. This article looks at the ways in...

This Catalyst article examines the differences between fossil fuels and biofuels. At present, fossil fuels are used to provide most of our global energy requirements. Fossil fuels are a finite resource as they take millions of years to form and the remaining supplies are being used at a greater rate than can be...

A Catalyst article describing how glow worms and other insects emit light by bioluminescence. All over the world, on land and in the sea, living things have been making light for millions of years. From the glow of the sea on a dark night due to myriads of phytoplankton, to the dance of the male fireflies trying to...

A Catalyst article describing how new materials can be designed by studying natural materials and how they work. In particular the development of Velcro, military fabric, swimwear and waterproofing is looked at. These products were developed by scientific study of natural products such as plant burrs, pinecones,...

A Catalyst article looking at the use of plant cells to generate electricity via photosynthesis. This branch of science is called biophotovoltaics. The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for almost all life on Earth and harnessing this energy is one of the great scientific and technological challenges....

This Catalyst article describes how, as two tectonic plates separate, wide fissures appear in the ground in northern Ethiopia. Eventually a new ocean will form in the area affected. The Earth’s surface is not stable or permanent. The tectonic plates that form our planet’s outer crust are constantly moving around,...

This Catalyst article explains how chemists build molecular 'traps' to mimic the surface of a cell. To scientists, sugar is much more than a food; sugar molecules can also form polymers which act as ‘molecular bar codes’ to help cells recognise each other. The article describes how chemists made a synthetic...

A Catalyst article about fainting and how it can be the result of a sudden drop in blood pressure, which is often part of a shock reaction. Maintaining blood pressure is an important part of keeping the human body in balance. This article examines hypertension, living with high blood pressure, and the relationship...

A Catalyst article about the use of tiny electronic sensors to monitor the movement of people. As electronic devices get smaller and more powerful, they are finding new uses in monitoring human activity. This article describes a project to develop sensors with uses in medicine, sport and electronic gaming.

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A Catalyst article about a temple singer who was preserved as a mummy over 2000 years ago in Egypt. She now lies inside a coffin in a museum in Manchester. Thanks to developments in medical science, researchers are revealing the secrets of her life and piecing together the diseases she suffered from by using X-rays...

A Catalyst article about buckytubes, a type of carbon nanoparticle.The allotropes of carbon —diamond, graphite and buckminsterfullerene (bucky balls) — are well known. Now scientists are working on buckytubes. These are based on elongated tubes formed from sheets of hexagonally-linked carbon atoms, capped at both...

A Catalyst article about a visit to CERN, the particle physics lab and what the centre has to offer a science student by way of a case study.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2007, Volume 17, Issue 4.

Catalyst is a...

This Catalyst article looks at hearing loss, which is usually associated with the elderly, straining to hear the TV while turning up their hearing aid. As a teenager losing the ability to hear correctly seems decades away but hearing loss is increasingly becoming a problem for young adults and teenagers. The...

A Catalyst article investigating if mobile phones produce harmful radiation. The short article compares the view points of a concerned parent, protester, scientist, official report and a complacent citizen.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2005, Volume 16, Issue 1.

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