A Catalyst article describing the species that have had the greatest impact on planet Earth during its billions of years of history. Which come out on top of the 'league table of life'? As hominids have only walked the Earth for part of its existence the article looks at the history of life, from the dawn of...

This poster looks at the structure of matter. One side of the poster discusses the limits of imaging with light and the use of electron microscopes, and looks at the 20th century pioneers – from J. J. Thomson’s plum pudding model, through Rutherford and Chadwick’s advances in understanding the nucleus, to the use...

This booklet, from the Institute of Physics, considers what and how future scientists and engineers can be taught about different states of matter. [b]Content includes[/b]: • advances in materials – past, present and future • motivating students • resources to support teaching and learning • virtual experiments and...

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this leaflet describes our Sun and its impact on Earth. It looks at the properties of the Sun and how current space missions and ground-based experiments are providing new understanding of our nearest star. STFC is a part of the Research Councils UK (RCUK)...

This Catalyst article looks at the effect exercise has on the body. Poor fitness contributes to poor life expectancy, and inability to exercise reduces quality of life in the ill or aged. Scientists hope to understand the mechanisms which limit 'exercise tolerance' which would contribute to enhanced performance for...

From the National Non-Food Crops Centre, this factsheet looks at the sources and supply of biofuels in the UK. It describes:

• how biodiesel and bioethanol are produced
• blends of biofuels used in vehicle fuels
• sources and biofuel production in the UK
• greenhouse gas emission...

These Nuffield Council on Bioethics resources aim to help students make informed decisions about the use of animals in research.There are 10 activities to choose from, made up of individual starters, activities, plenaries and an assessment exercise which can be dropped into a lesson or used as a whole according to...

This is one of the 14 Background Books published for Stage III of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book consists of a series of articles about scientists who won the Nobel Prize between 1929 and...

Most people are all too familiar with the idea of animal parasites, including tape worms, ticks and lice. But did you know that plants can also act as parasites, exploiting resources from unwilling hosts? Rather than being rare anomalies, however, there are over 4000 known species of parasitic plants, with...

In this practical protocol students investigate one way in which bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance through conjugation - horizontal gene transfer from one bacterial strain or species to another.

Plasmid-mediated evolution is fast because whole functional ‘modules’ are lost and gained, rather than the...

This Catalyst article investigates high pressure chemistry and discovers that, when put under extreme pressure, the properties of a material may change dramatically.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 27, Issue 1.

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We all share something amazing in common – that we developed from a single sperm and egg to become complicated, sophisticated organisms, made of trillions of cells. But what are these cells like and how do they vary from one tissue to another?

This poster gives a flavour of the complex make-up of a...