Alison Foster has combined her education in Chemistry with her love of plants to engage in some exciting projects at the University of Oxford Botanic Gardens. This Catalyst article gives a profile of her career choices, and introduces a public engagement activity called Chemistry in the Garden.

Alison began...

These activities, from Eurostemcell, introduce students to the science of stem cells and explore four basic themes in stem cell biology: 1. What is a stem cell? – what stem cells can do; types of stem cell 2. Where do embryonic stem cells come from? – the blastocyst; cell culture; IVF 3. Why bother with stem cells...

From the National Non-Food Crops centre (NNFC), this factsheet reviews the potential of anaerobic digestion technology and its suitability to UK farming and waste systems. The factsheet describes the application of anaerobic digestion (AD), which is the conversion of organic non-woody material in the absence of...

These books, from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB), aimed to encourage the use of more practical work on animal and human behaviour and to enable students to develop an understanding of some basic principles of animal behaviour, relevant to biology and psychology.

Although originally...

Produced by the new economics foundation (nef), this resource contains activities that help students to discuss and understand the issues around the use of animals for research. The materials contain teacher guidance, student information and a range of activities that promote discussion and debate. Students...

Produced by Understanding Animal Research, this information leaflet looks at examples of how animal research has led to the understanding of medical conditions and the development of new therapies.

Animal research has been important in the development of many major medical advances. Studies that use animals...

Produced by Understanding Animal Research, this information leaflet looks at how many animals are used in the UK, the types of research undertaken and the species of animals involved.

Both of these leaflets use official figures to provide a precise snapshot of the extent of animal research in the UK in 2011...

A Catalyst article looking at how research using animals causes heated debate. New drugs must be safety tested on two species of animals, the article looks at how many experiments use animals and how they are regulated, scientific procedures and genetically modified animals.

This article is from Catalyst:...

Produced by Understanding Animal Research, this information leaflet looks at the replacement, refinement and reduction (3R's) principle in animal research. It describes:
* Replacement of animals in research with alternative techniques;
* Refinement of scientific procedures to enhance animal welfare;...

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Richard Hollingham finds out that the freezing seas around Antarctica are not barren and lifeless. The Census of Marine Life is building up a picture of the richness and diversity of life in the world's oceans and...

This Catalyst article describes how bacterial colonies produce antibiotics and explains how their growth depends on the medium they grow on. Over sixty years ago, a Russian soil scientist called Selman Waksman discovered that soil bacteria belonging to the Streptomyces genus produce some very useful...

Produced by Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS), this resource encourages students to investigate the effects of various antifungal treatments on the growth of yeast.

This article discovers how geneticists are beginning to discover the significance of junk DNA. The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2015, Volume 25, Issue 4.

Catalyst is a science magazine for students aged 14-19 years. Annual...

This Catalyst article focuses on aquaponic systems, where fish and crop plants are grown in a system designed to minimise inputs.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 27, Issue 2.

Catalyst is a science...

In this podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection, Richard Hollingham reports from an unusual and somewhat cold location - onboard the British Antarctic Survey's RRS James Clark Ross which was stuck in the ice for two weeks 1000 kilometres from the North Pole. He...