Birmingham Institute for Forest Research (BIFoR) has provided a free online learning platform for schools which includes curriculum linked activities, developed to support secondary school students. These activities provide the opportunity for students to join a growing community of citizen scientists who are...

This is a classroom-based activity from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute that allows students to explore the features of two bacterial pathogen genomes. The aim of this activity is to highlight the role of different genetic components in two closely related subspecies of Salmonella enterica, and to identify how...

Produced by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, this resource contains an overview of the techniques involved in making a BAC (Bacterial Artificial Chromosome) library. It consists of an animation that covers the key stages in the process:

From the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, this animation shows a detailed overview of the processes involved in the dideoxy or Sanger method for sequencing DNA. This is the method used to sequence the human genome. The animation demonstrates the principles and techniques involved in the Sanger sequencing method,...

From the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, this resource introduces the Human Genome Project (HGP).

A short animation gives:

* an introduction to DNA and genomes;

* an overview of which countries were involved in the international Human Genome Project;

* a description of the processes,...

This resource is based around the chemical composition of the human body and the origin of elements in the universe. Students can input a mass in the spreadsheet to see what proportion of their mass is from elements created in the Big Bang, in stars and in supernovae. Graphs are also shown for the relative...

This resource was produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) as part of their 'At Work With Science' materials. In this interactive resource, students are introduced to the legal aspects of the Health and Safety regulations; the concept of risk assessments and how to develop them....

This is a classroom-based activity from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute that allows students to explore the features of two bacterial pathogen genomes. The aim of the activity is to highlight the role of different genetic components in two strains of Staphylococcus aureus and to identify how these have led to...

This online ecology practical, from SAPS, uses random sampling to measure the abundance of various different species on an area of grassland.

Objectives

To give students practice at

• using random sampling to measure the abundance of various different species on an area of...

In this resource from SAPS, students learn about random sampling, diversity and different measures of abundance, before looking at close-up photographs of quadrats and using the field guide to identify them. The resources are intended to help students develop skills and plant identification techniques before going...

This online ecology practical, by SAPS, is designed to give students an opportunity to see how systematic sampling can be used to

• investigate changes in species richness across a footpath
• the distribution of species across a footpath

These online exercises are not intended as a...

This animation shows the major stages of subcloning. This is the process of breaking up fragments of DNA from BAC clones into smaller more manageable pieces for DNA sequencing. This process was very important during the Human Genome Project. Subcloning involves several standard molecular biology techniques...

Produced by the Wellcome Trust, these resources include an interactive evolutionary tree and a video of the Tree of Life. These materials will help students to find out more about the work of Charles Darwin and evolution. The resources contain:

Tree of life video: The video is a short...