Each individual blade of grass consists of various tissues, each made of cells in their thousands. In these cells an as yet unknown number of reactions and interactions are constantly taking place. The cells contain different parts known as organelles, which can be thought of as the cellular equivalent of the...

This Catalyst article describes how biophysics is helping in the search for novel antibiotics. Bacteria produce an array of proteins to kill off their competitors. These proteins, called bacteriocins, are very efficient at penetrating the defensive outer layers of bacteria cells by moving through specific membrane...

A Catalyst article about light pollution which is a growing problem, especially for astronomers, obscuring the view of the Moon, stars and planets. Astronomers are campaigning to reduce the pollution and bring the night sky back into view. With the aid of statistics the article makes the case for better street...

As transistors become smaller, the doping of semi-conductors becomes a significant challenge. This Catalyst article looks at how Scanning Tunnelling Microscopes can be used to manipulate individual atoms, to create electronic devices of unprecedented accuracy. The technique could also be used to fabricate quantum...

A Catalyst article about a group of young scientists testing scientific claims in advertising. The group thought many claims sounded implausible. They decided to hunt for the scientific evidence behind them and challenge the manufacturers to explain how the products work. The article outlines the investigations...

The human population of Earth has reached seven billion. This Catalyst article explores the impact that human activity may have on the planet. The article looks at the rate of population growth and how human impact is also related on the amount of resources used by an individual. It considers if the effects of...

A Catalyst article describing how engineers have designed an aircraft which will produce much less noise as it approaches and leaves the airport. The Silent Aircraft Initiative is a collaboration between scientists and engineers at two universities, Cambridge (UK) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA...

Produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, this activity gives students the opportunity to practise quickly skim-reading a text to assess its usefulness.

A guided activity asks students to quickly browse through a scientific article and extract information such as its title, author and the subject of...

These activities, produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, help students to look at a text, after an initial skim read, to judge if it is worth considering in more detail.

This ‘second glance’ activity serves several aims:
* It enables students to assess quickly what is the subject of the...

Produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, this activity helps students to consider how useful and informative article titles are.

During the activity, students:
* browse a scientific article.
* look for information such as the author, publication date and content of the abstract.
*...

These activities, produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, help students to identify different sections in scientific texts which help to create an order and logical progression of the information conveyed. It encourages students to look at how the information is split into several principal types and...

Produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, this activity helps students to further examine scientific texts.

Texts can be characterised according to the type of information or knowledge they deal with. There are different kinds of texts and they can be classified and sorted in various ways. This...

These activities, produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, help students to consider the best way to write an abstract or a short summary.

The activity is a useful learning tool as it enables students to:
* organise learning materials and texts.
* understand and remember information....

Produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, in this activity students examine a scientific article and answer questions which encourage them to consider:

* What is the main subject?
* Who are the researchers?
* Why is the study interesting and important?
* What questions does it...

These activities, produced by Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme, help students to look at the structure of a scientific research paper.

The materials contain two activities. Each relates to a scientific paper that is provided in separate sections. Students are presented with the different sections of the...