This resource consists of two field work activities. The first records lichens on trees as an indicator of air quality and the second looks for tar spot fungus on sycamore leaves. This links to curriculum work on plants, habitats, air quality and improving the environment. This resource includes a workbook, field...

Adults drink more frequently than adolescents, but when adolescents drink they tend to drink larger quantities. There is evidence to suggest that the adolescent brain responds to alcohol differently from the adult brain. Scientists at the University of Oxford are...

Alfie, aged 14, was born with chronic granulomatous disorder (CGD), a rare blood condition that stops his immune system working properly; causing him repeated bouts of serious infection. He shares his personal journey through a bone marrow transplantation to cure him of this life-threatening condition. Keywords:...

This Catalyst article looks at the work of Alfred Russel Wallace who developed a theory of evolution in parallel with Charles Darwin; they published their findings jointly. As a scientist he was interested in lots of different things, from how different species came into existence to the question of whether ghosts...

This reliable practical allows students to use algae to look at the rate of photosynthesis with quantifiable and replicable results. In this protocol, the...

This podcast from the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Planet Earth Online collection looks at invasive species of plants and animals. Many of them are well-known. Grey squirrels, harlequin ladybirds, buddleia, Japanese knotweed - the list goes on. Some of these aliens, or invasive species to give them...

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...

This resource explores how there can sometimes be conflict between people and animals in some habitats and how the World Land Trust's conservation partners work to protect local people as well as animals such as Indian elephants and Bengal tigers. Pupils are encouraged to think about what they might do to support...

This resource for Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four students provides some statistics about the eating habits of children in Italy and asks students to compare and contrast these with their own eating habits. Through this activity, students have to interpret charts and graphs, plan how to collect data and design a...

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...

This Cape Farewell video clip shows scientists back at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, analysing the samples of phytoplankton and zooplankton taken in the Arctic, identifying species and counting their abundance.

Activity G - Plankton analysis is...

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...