Teaching science using chocolate
The story Today is the start of Chocolate week in the UK. This event celebrates the country’s favourite sweet treat with a host of cocoa-filled happenings around the country. And what a great excuse opportunity for some science lessons using chocolate.
Attack of the killer shrimps
The story It may have been killer piranhas hitting our cinema screens this summer but now something not quite as scary but potentially devastating to British wildlife has hit our water ways. Dikerogammarus villosus is a tiny shrimp of between 3 and 30mm but has been given the moniker the killer shrimp because of its […]
Kill germs dead to stop the spread
The story Now the new school year is in full swing how long will it be before the latest nasty pathogen sweeps through the corridors causing illness in both staff and students? Fingers crossed that the latest antibiotic resistant superbug decides not to further its education and stays out of schools.
Seismic shocker
The story This photo shows some of the devastation caused by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit New Zealand’s South Island on September 4th.
A home from home? Solar system discovered like our own
The story Another space post from me this week – seems those astronomers are hard at work at the moment. This story comes via the European southern Observatory (ESO), where astronomers have found a Solar System 127 light years away
What’s the beef? Is cloning cows cruel?
The 7,000 people who signed a petition against cloning certainly think so. This was delivered to 10 Downing Street on Friday by 35 activists from Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and was in response to the recent news that cloned cows have entered the British food system.
Can you think of anything more exciting than a red-fleshed apple?
Yes – okay, so can I, but fruit enthusiasts across the world are getting quite hot under the collar at the thought of tasting this new variety of apple – the Redlove.
Big beaks help cool birds down
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 […]
Is a lack of pressure to blame for World Cup exits?
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 […]
Vampire biology
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 […]