This Catalyst article looks at the process of baking biscuits. All cooking involves chemical reactions but you are not normally aware of them happening. There is an obvious thermal decomposition reaction which takes place in the middle of this recipe – and you get fabulous ginger biscuits at the end.

Paint has been developed and used for thousands of years, allowing artists an increasing range of colours and textures. This article describes the different techniques of developing paint.

The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014, Volume 25, Issue 1.

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A Catalyst article about chemical reactions that occur in a blast furnace during the steelmaking process. This short article features a diagram of a blast furnace showing the active ingredients used to produce iron from ore.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2006, Volume 16, Issue 3.

This Catalyst article explains how zeolites, sponge-like materials developed from naturally occurring minerals, are used as chemical sieves and as catalysts. Zeolites have incredibly widespread applications. They are used in consumer products such as washing powder and cat litter while many of the petrochemicals...

This Catalyst article looks at how an internal biological clock within every cell of the human body helps to co-ordinate and organise human behaviour and metabolism into approximately 24-hour rhythms – allowing organisms to synchronise with, and anticipate, day and night. When the body clock is disrupted in humans...

This Catalyst article looks at the discovery of the Arctica Islandica, a mollusc which carries a record of past environments in the banding of its shell. In 2006, scientists collecting material from the seabed off the north coast of Iceland found some clam shells which remarkably were found to have come from...

A Catalyst article about the sudden onset of an ice age and whether it is a scientific likelihood. Looking at evaporation, greenhouse gases and thermohaline circulation in the world's ocean currents the article explores likely scenarios for a major drop in temperature.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE...

A Catalyst article about climate control, and specifically the process known as cloud seeding. Cloud seeding has met with initially encouraging results. The method entails adding silver iodide to the air in clouds to encourage ice crystals to form, so that they grow rapidly and produce more snow or rainfall than...

A Catalyst article examining what causes breaking waves to leave foam on the beaches. The article explores the human impact on the environment and the changes in the growth of algae in the seas.

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

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This article discusses how simple observations of pests on horse chestnut trees can contribute to a 'citizen science' project. The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 25, Issue 4.

Catalyst is a science magazine for...

In this Catalyst article, David Edwards studies ways of reducing the impact of human activities in tropical regions. The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014, Volume 25, Issue 3.

Catalyst is a science magazine for students aged...

A Catalyst article looking at the use of gas and electric for cooking. The article focuses on the latest hobs which use radiant, halogen or induction electric heating, to see if they can compete with gas.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2004, Volume 14, Issue 3.

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A Catalyst article about the work of a scientist from the British Antarctic Survey, gathering data about climate change by studying ice cores from Antarctica. One of the areas of research was to find out whether it is possible to learn how much sea ice there was around Antarctica in the past by measuring how much...

A Catalyst article explaining how scientists have found that the overturning circulation in the Atlantic Ocean, which maintains Europe’s moderate climate, was weaker in 2004 by 30% relative to earlier estimates. What does this mean and what impact could it have on our climate? Scientists' research and their climate...

This Catalyst article looks at how scientists can use material recovered from archaeological sites to see how crops have been introduced to different countries over the history of farming. Three processes by which some plant material can be preserved are explained. The ratio of carbon isotopes from the collagen in...