Ask students to read the following article from the BBC  www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39947141 (The whole programme is available on iPlayer until 16/06/2017 www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08qkz77/michael-mosley-vs-the-superbugs ). The article has ...

Solids, liquids and gases Ask students if it is possible to turn hydrogen gas into a solid?  If so what would they have to do to it?  Students could be given a particle diagram of a gas and a solid to help them explain.   Scientists have been...

Increasing strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria are potentially a very serious threat to the human population worldwide. This article provides an excellent starting point to highlight the problems associated with resistant bacteria. http://...

Why smoking causes cancer Read the article from the BBC 'Smoking 'causes hundreds of DNA changes' Questions How many mutations are caused in every lung cell each year by smoking a packet of cigarettes a day? Why does this increase the risk...

1. What do you think is meant by the term 'energy positive' Read the article in the Guardian newspaper: Britain's first 'energy positive' house opens in Wales   Where is the energy positive house located? How long did the house take to...

Read the article from The Guardian, 'Britain's oldest dinosaur fossil found on North Yorkshire coast'. Suggested activities Ask students to find the following figures in the text a) length b) mass  c) age of the fossil d) length of time this type...

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Scientists are often inspired by the way nature seems so much better at certain things than man made materials. The most recent news report was the incredible strength of limpets teeth. Read Can your students think of any examples of how animals...

Look at the map.  What does it show? Click here to visit the WWF website to find out more about wetlands. What can be classed as a wetland? List any wetlands that you have visited or that are near you. Why are wetlands inportant? How...

Play the short clip to the class from BBC Radio 4 in four. Ask students to describe the relationship between the leaf cutter ants and the fungus. describe the relationship between the leaf cutter ants and the bacteria. what do the ants use...

Testing out the new ALMA telescope astronomers have found a solar system in the process of formation. Read the article from the BBC here. Quick questions How old is the young star? What do the dark rings show being formed? Where in the sky...

Watch the BBC video of Brian Cox's visit to the vacuum chamber. Teaching ideas Ask students to predict what will happen in air when the ball and feathers are dropped at the same time.  The ask students to predict what will happen when they are dropped...

Read the article from the BBC. Teaching ideas Ask students to describe how Ebola virus can be transmitted. Students could write a list of 5-10 precautions that health care workers should take before treating a patient suffering from Ebola....

Read the article from the BBC. Questions 1. Why was the scientists discovery awarded the Nobel Prize? 2. Red and green LEDs had already been invented, why was a blue LED important? 3.  Do you have a device with a blue LED, if so what is it?...

Read the OpenLearn article 'Influential women scientists in chemistry' Teaching ideas Ask students to work in pairs. They could read the article and take it in turns to underline the names of the women scientists in green. the scientists...

  Read the article from the BBC 'Five bugs you can catch in the changing room' Teaching ideas Ask students to read the article and underline the disease causing organisms in red, symptoms in blue and treatment in green. They could summarise...

Cells, genetics and reproduction (KS5)   Teaching ideas Put students into pairs. Ask one student from each pair  to read the first 6 paragraphs from the BBC article. Then ask them to describe to their partner where DNA is found in a cell....

EU to ban high-energy appliances Currently very topical with the recent ban on selling 1600 Watt vacuum cleaners. Bans on other high powered appliances are being considered.   Teaching ideas As a topical introduction to a lesson on the power...

    Read the article from the Telegraph. Teaching ideas Provide students with a copy of the article and ask them to describe the ways in which the Harlequin ladybird is a threat to our native ladybirds. Maths skills – Using the information...

Teaching ideas See the article from www.cnet.com KS3 - Ask students to read the article and compare the atmosphere of Titan with that of the earth. (See our resource 'Earth's atmosphere – spot the difference' to compare the Earth's early atmosphere...

Teaching ideas Ask students to read the article from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27425217 ). It's often difficult to explain scientific concepts to an audience of non-scientists. Ask them to highlight any words that have...

Task Draw a diagram to show the structure of a short section of DNA. Read the Telegraph article about changes to DNA structure. Draw another diagram to show the unique DNA that scientists have produced. Discuss what implications this might...

Click here to see an article from the BBC about the recent high levels of pollution in the UK. What is air pollution? What has caused the high levels in this recent case? How does it affect health? How could air pollution be reduced? Do you...

Starter activity - click on the picture to see the Telegraph article - can you spot the bird in the video? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/good-to-share/10703943/Animal-camouflage-can-you-spot-the-bird.html What is the advantage of being well...

How old do you think the Universe is thought to be?               Click on the picture for an explanation of the discovery about the Big Bang. What do scientists think has caused the oldest light (we can detect ) to twist?...

Ironman - the 'rise of the human exoskeletons' What do you think 'exoskeleton' means? Which organisms have an exoskeleton? What is the opposite of an exoskeleton? What could an artificial exoskeleton be used for? Read the article from the...

Write down all the different types of training that astronauts need to go through before going on the International Space Station (you could watch the video with the sound turned off to give you some clues). Watch the video and listen to Tim Peake...

Listen to the podcast from Chemistry World. 1.  How were leeches collected in the middle ages? 2. Why were leeches a popular medical treatment? 3. Why did leech smuggling become common? 4. Why did bloodletting using leeches go out of favour?...

Ask students to draw a robot. Does it look like the robot below? Show the BBC clip about the robots being developed now. Which animals are inspiring robot builders? Think of a problem or situation that is difficult for humans to work...

  Click here to watch the BBC clip about pumping water from the Somerset levels. Ten tonnes of water are being pumped every second from the Somerset levels. A. Calculate how many tonnes of water are being pumped a) per minute b) per hour...

KS4 Biology - diversity, conservation, ecology Before watching the film answer the following questions. - How many freshwater fish species are in the UK? - Name as many you can. Click here to watch a film by wildlife photographer Jack Perks...

  Watch the clip from the BBC. Take notes as you watch and listen. Questions What condition is Jonathan Wyatt suffering from? How did Professor Maclaren treat the condition? a) Describe the procedure. b) Explain how the therapy...

Show students the picture - take care to hide the caption. Click here to  view the photo from The Scientist website Task Look at the picture - what do you think it shows? Compose a tweet to describe what you can see (remember to use just 140...

US engineers have used nature for inspiration to develop the most waterproof material yet. Click here to read the article from the BBC. Task i) Which living organisms inspired the scientists with their waterproof properties? ii)What feature...

Find out how the 115 elements in the periodic table got their names, click here to read an article from the BBC. Click here to view our resource 'Periodic tables - for colouring or cut and paste!' Task Find the elements mentioned in the article...

Watch the trailer for the film 'Gravity'. Click here to view the film trailer. Discuss with your partner what conditions are like in space for the astronauts. Further activities Try the Gravity spacewalk on the official film website. Click...

Scientists are concerned about the invasion of the Spanish slug, Arion vulgaris and are asking for the publics help to find out how widespread they are. Click here to see an article from the BBC Task Read the article. How is the Spanish slug...

Two scientists have been awarded the Nobel prize for physics for their work on the Higgs Boson. Click here to see a report from the BBC Task Read the article about the theory and discovery of the Higgs boson. 1) Discuss how scientists worked...

Click here to read the article from BBC News 'Scientists UK ash tree genome'. Task    Read the article and answer the following questions.   1) What is Ash dieback caused by? 2) Scientists have sequenced the genome of a UK Ash tree.  What...

Scientists have sequenced the genome of several big cat species. What is the importance of this?  Q How much DNA do you think a tiger shares with a domestic cat? Click here to read about the story from the BBC.  Task 1. Which cats have had...

A new study tracks the average height of men since 1870. Quick class discussion   1. Do you think that the average height of men has changed since the 1870's? if so how? 2. Is height the result of a persons genes or the environment? 3....

Quick class discussion How would you separate steel cans from aluminium?   Article A machine that can sort your recyclables. Click the link for a diagram and explanation about the science behind how it works.   http://www.popsci...

News story  New evidence from a Swedish team of scientists for element with atomic number 115. Click the following link for the BBC news story.   http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23849334   Task   1.  When was the existence...

KS3 space Click here for pictures and a BBC news story about the recent meteor shower.   Task Answer the following questions What is a shooting star? What is a meteor caused by? What is the difference between a meteor and an asteroid?...