Many of the current science GCSE specifications require students to study nanotechnology so here are three exciting new applications to make this new area of science topical and interesting.

The World Cup is finally over and to celebrate – one last football-related teaching idea:  What does it take to be a great goalie? Nerves of steel, lightning-fast reactions times and perfect hand-eye coordination are top of my list. So the World’s top goalkeepers must have a great nervous system.

The story: Two scientists have collaborated in a study that suggests that the size of a bird’s beak is linked to the temperature of its natural environment. We already know that a bird’s beak is adapted for the food it eats and sometimes to attract a mate, but now it looks like it is also […]

Another genetics story hit the headline this week. A few weeks ago I reported that scientists were sequencing Ozzy Osborne’s genome to find out how the hell-raiser has managed to survive so long, now we hear that scientists have discovered a way of carrying out a genetic test to find out if you will make […]

For those of you who are football fans, many of the results from the group stages of the World Cup such as past winners Italy and France exiting from the competition at this early stage will have come as a surprise.  Other countries (including England) have not lived up to the promise of the qualifying […]

Get ready for vampire mania as the new movie in the Twilight Saga – Eclipse, is premiering tonight in the USA.  It hits screens in the UK on July 9th so now is a perfect time to teach a little vampire biology. The PowerPoint I have designed for this occasion contains two starters – one for […]

With Glastonbury commencing on Wednesday, the festival season is well and truly underway.  In this post I will attempt to use the famous music festival as a way of connecting exothermic reactions to Ozzy Osbourne (not literally). Music festivals generally involve camping and camping involves heating food over naked flames next to a highly flammable […]

In order to keep science interesting and relevant to students it always good to show them the latest breakthroughs in science and in this post I’ve got a couple of examples related to cells, tissues and organs that would be suitable for KS4 and KS5 biology students.

Nope, not a CD of the latest repetitive football anthem but the vuvezela – a plastic horn that gets blown by South African football fans at matches. This instrument/weapon of torture is fast becoming one of the most talked about subjects in this year’s World Cup. The reason for the scientific interest is that it […]

Ten years into the new millennium shouldn’t we be closer to cracking the problem that is malaria?  It is one of the world’s biggest killers but it is proving incredibly difficult to eradicate.