Science news stories in this week’s Science in the News-letter include a topical example of bioaccumulation of toxins in a food chain, a new hope in the eradication of malaria and a  worrying climate change milestone.

Last week saw the 60 year anniversary of the famous discovery by Watson and Crick which heralded the start of the modern era of biology. Also in the news last week: a possible cure for HIV begins human trials, the Earth’s core is 1 000 degrees Celsius than previously thought and why we urgently need to remove space debris.

Some very useful links to new stories on topics featured in science GCSEs are in this week’s newsletter including a look at a new fossil of a human ancestor, how bees are important to food security and lab grown organs for transplants.

In this week’s newsletter your students can find out about how we may soon reach the tipping point when it comes to climate change as it looks likely that there will be a major release of methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere from melting permafrost. Also, how sailors are helping scientists to measure plankton population in the oceans, a world record for the discovery of the deepest hydrothermal vent, good news in the fight against the ‘flu virus and how a   woman in Texas beat odds of 1 in 70 million to give birth to two sets of identical twins on the same day.

What a week for science with the meteor hit in Russia and the near miss by an asteroid (if you can call 17 000 miles a near miss). These stories and others are featured in this week’s newsletter. All have a link to GCSE science including stories about extremophiles found in the Antarctic, gene therapy to cure diabetes, the Hubble Space Telescope and the importance of collecting valid evidence and making scientific conclusions.

This edition of the newsletter covers two weeks of sciency news so get ready for some great stories!

We have the news that frozen water has been found on Mercury. Your students can take a look into why this is unexpected, where it is found and how scientists have discovered it.

Also, are people getting dumber? One scientists has put forward this controversial hypothesis in which he outlines how he thinks mutations are meaning that we are less intelligent that our ancestors. Is this an example of natural selection in humans and how exactly could we be selecting for this characteristic.

I always like a food based story and so have found two on un-meltable chocolate and mould-free bread. Finally, the exciting new that the double helical structure of DNA has been seen for the first time by using electron microscopy.