Stem cells, genetic modification and natural selection are all GCSE biology topics that feature in this week’s Science in the News-letter. Students can also read about an evacuation caused by warning signs of a volcanic eruption in South America and a new theory as to why Neanderthals became extinct.
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.
Stories from this week’s newsletter include unearthed 14th century plague bodies, pharmacogenetics, a theory as to why Neanderthals became extinct, the world’s most powerful telescopes and a new technique in liver transplantation.
In the news last week: scientists have DNA evidence that bacteria living underneath the ice in Lake Vostok are a new species. In a similarly hostile environment, on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists have gathered evidence that salty water exists there which may be a source of chemical energy for life.
Other stories from last week reported in the newsletter include camels that once lived in the Arctic, a possible cure for lung cancer using gene therapy and the chance of seeing a comet this Friday.
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.
The first of 2013s Science in the News-letters is now here!
Sorry about the wait but normal service will resume from now on. In this edition, your students can watch videos on the exciting discovery of Richard III’s remains and meet the million-dollar bionic man. We are due for a visit from an ultra-bright comet this year but let’s hope it doesn’t result in an impact because another story looks at new evidence which strengthens the theory that this is what wiped out the dinosaurs.
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