The Nuffield Advanced Biology Topic Reviews for students were an integral part of the Advanced Biological Science materials, but each could be read on its own. Thus, students could use them for their current work or to pursue personal interests.

This topic review reviews evidence from investigations to study...

A Catalyst article explaining what happens when a scientist makes an exciting and new discovery. How do scientists manage to tell as many people as possible, and how can they be sure that someone else has not beaten them to it? Writing and publishing research in scientific journals is a long standing and popular...

This Catalyst article looks at how our knowledge of the human genome has increased greatly during the last 10 years, and genome sequencing techniques have become much faster. On 26th June 2000 it was announced that scientists had completed a first draft of the human genome, the DNA instructions for making a human...

Produced by the Centre for Science Education, this Science Assessment Task for More Able Students, comprises of two investigations with a space-related theme. Students investigate what needs to be considered if humans are to colonise our solar system.

They look at:

* forces and the force of gravity...

This Association for Science Education (ASE) publication about properties of metals was developed in association with the British Aerospace Dynamics Group. At the time the Dynamics Group employed over 20,000 people at ten major design/production establishments...

A Catalyst article looking at the use of plant cells to generate electricity via photosynthesis. This branch of science is called biophotovoltaics. The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for almost all life on Earth and harnessing this energy is one of the great scientific and technological challenges....

The Teaching Primary Science book Candles uses the study of candles to illustrate how much science can come from the study of everyday objects. It describes a selection of the many investigations which start from candles and which give some idea of what science is. The...

These two reports were published by SCORE (Science Community Representing Education), in response to two commissioned reports - Under the Microscope: the...

Produced by Teachers TV, this short video is part of the Lesson Planning Pack series. It encourages primary school children to think about the items in a house that use electricity. It can be used as a lesson starter to stimulate thought and discussion about electricity in the household. Heather is late for work so...

A Catalyst article about fainting and how it can be the result of a sudden drop in blood pressure, which is often part of a shock reaction. Maintaining blood pressure is an important part of keeping the human body in balance. This article examines hypertension, living with high blood pressure, and the relationship...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Describe the cause of friction between two objects.

• Explain how friction, generated by the interaction between two objects, can stop them from moving...

This Catalyst article looks at the work of Robert Hooke, an employee of the Royal Society, Britain's oldest scientific society. His job was to present two or three different experiments each week to the assembled members of the society – and this was at a time when experimentation was new and there were no books of...

A Catalyst article about Hurricane Katrina which caused many deaths in August 2005, and vast damage along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico in the USA. Hurricanes are an unfamiliar phenomenon here in the UK. Why is this? And can people expect to see more hurricanes in future as a result of climate change? The...