This Catalyst article looks at the use of polymers in the manufacture of household items. The exciting thing about polymers is that it is possible to make polymers behave in so many different ways by organising their long chain molecules in different ways – polymers are the ultimate designer material. The article...

A Catalyst article about what happens as plants grow. During their growth, plants remove compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from soil which need to be replaced to maintain the soil’s fertility. For centuries farmers have used organic manures, crop rotation or ploughed in specially grown crops; today...

This Catalyst article explores how high-speed photography can reveal how mosquitoes can keep dry while flying in the rain.

To find out how mosquitoes survive impacts with raindrops, a group of engineers from Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) developed a system which allowed them to photograph collisions...

A Catalyst article about in vitro fertilisation. About one in six couples gets help from specialists because they cannot conceive. One possibility is to use in vitro fertilisation (IVF). ‘In vitro’ means ‘in glass’ and refers to the fact that fertilisation takes place in a laboratory dish or test tube, hence the...

This Catalyst article explains how in nature, bioamplification causes substances to become more concentrated as they move from eater to eaten along a food chain. This sequence occurs in relation to the concentration of pesticides like DDT along a food chain, and causes problems for those animals, like birds of prey...

A Catalyst article explaining how much of the food that humans consume comes from systems in which large numbers of plants or animals are grown under closely controlled conditions, designed to maximise production. When they grow plants as crops farmers intervene in various ways to optimise growth, so that the food...

A Catalyst article about the astronomer William Herschel who discovered Uranus in 1781. He became the first person since ancient times to identify a new planet. However, he is also known as the ‘accidental’ discoverer of infrared radiation. The article asks is this a fair description and can such discoveries really...

A Catalyst article about the Nobel Prize for physics 2009 winner Charles Kao, who developed optical fibre systems and CCDs which are the basis of most of today's long distance telephone systems. Kao also developed tiny solid state lasers which work for years without failing. The article also looks at the bringing...

It takes a lot of rare natural resources and energy to make a mobile phone, laptop or computer, the modern technology we use every day. That is why many scientists would like to take inspiration from Mother Nature to help us to make more environmentally-friendly machines in the future.

This Catalyst article...

Work done in this Nuffield 13 - 16 module followed from the S unit called ‘Particles at work’. This D unit provided enough material for eight double periods during a Further Science course and built on the content of the S units for Single Science. The teachers’ guide...

In this Catalyst article scientists investigate the basis of memory using lab animals; this can lead to insights into human memory, and treatments for people suffering deteriorating memory.

The article focuses on two aspects of memory:

*the hippocampus, the part of the brain belonging to the limbic...

A Catalyst article providing examples of some drugs derived from natural substances. Many drugs which are commonly used today are similar to naturally occurring compounds which have been used for centuries to treat illnesses. Chemists have identified and purified these substances. By determining their molecular...

This Catalyst article looks at the process of photosynthesis, by which plants make a range of biochemical compounds. The article explains how photosynthesis actually ties in with growth. Respiration is happening all the time in all cells in all living organisms. Taken on its own, photosynthesis adds materials to...

A Catalyst article about the International Year of Physics, in 2005, also known as Einstein Year. In the century since Einstein’s “annus mirabilis”, when he developed his theory of relativity there has been a revolution in the study of physics. This article explores the links between some of the architects of this...

This Catalyst article outlines volunteering opportunities for young scientists, engineers and medical students who put their studies to good use, working with local people around the world to bring the benefits of technology to communities who otherwise would go without some of the basic needs of life.

This...