A Catalyst article about Darwin's travels on the Beagle which gave him ideas about evolution. Darwin spent almost five years on board HMS Beagle as it sailed around the world. The purpose of the voyage was to map navigation channels around the coast of South America. Darwin was the ship’s naturalist and companion...

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,...

Produced by Twig, this animated video is a clear and accessible explanation of how the Solar System fromed. The video describes how:

* the solar system grew from a ball of gas which formed the Sun

* gravity caused heavy material to cluster together and eventually form planets

* the inner...

A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Richard Hollingham finds out that bowerbirds are not just brilliant at making elaborate bowers, they are also good at mimicking other birds and most other sounds they hear, including human voices.

He also...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at what UK farmers are doing to protect the country's vanishing bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinating insects; how scientists are trying to figure out how many types of microbes there are on our...

In this podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Sue Nelson goes to the Eden Project in Cornwall, southwest England and to the South Downs in southeast England to find out what butterfly research is telling us about climate change. As well as the bad news...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, begins with a video that names and describes some the different layers of the atmosphere, with the aim of explaining where the ...

This podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) looks at how carbon capture and storage works, why it's here to stay, the effect of floodplains on water pollution, and how the thickness of polar ice can be measured from space. The venue for this Planet Earth...

A Catalyst article about carbon dioxide which can be used as a solvent in industry, or as a regulator of blood pH. This article looks at some other uses of carbon dioxide and considers its importance in global warming. It also explains how the greenhouse effect is a natural part of the operation of the Earth's...

A Catalyst article explaining how scientists with qualifications in ecology and environmental science play an increasingly important role in assessing the human impact on the Earth. Ecology is the branch of biology that looks at how organisms, plants and animals, depend on each other and their surroundings. It also...

The Careers in Space workshop included inputs from: * Vicki Hodges on Astrium's STEM Ambassadors programme * Rosalind Azouzi on Space Tourism and the Next Generation * Lloyd Marshall on Apprenticeship opportunities with Astrium

Catalyst Magazine is a science journal for young people aged 14-19 and their educators. It brings STEM subjects to life with insights into cutting-edge scientific research and industry R&D exploring the practical applications of complex science in the world around us. Catalyst magazine is a digital only...

This issue of Catalyst includes the following articles:

Fireworks: an Explosive Business

This article looks into how fireworks are made, set off and what gives them their particular colour or effect.

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This issue of Catalyst includes the following articles:

First Flight: the Wright Brothers

The first powered flight was made by the Wright brothers over a hundred years ago. Unlike the try-it-and-see methods used in many of...

Articles in this issue of Catalyst include:

Quick Reactions

This article looks at how the human body can make speedy responses; how the nervous system works and how nerve impulses pass around the human body.

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