We sit on them, wear them and cook with them: plastics are everywhere. Yet this very versatility makes it difficult to produce and dispose of plastics in environmentally friendly ways. David Bradley explains how researchers at the University of Manchester, UK, are working on a solution.
Elisabeth Schepers from the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany, introduces a school programme linking climate change and the future of traffic technology.
Ages: <11, 11-14, 14-16, 16-19; Topics: Earth science, General science
Ellen Raphael from the charity Sense About Science explains why peer review is so important in science, and describes how an existing guide is being adapted to meet the needs of science teachers.
Paul Tafforeau from the University of Poitiers and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, explains what synchrotron X-ray studies of fossil teeth can tell us about the evolution of orang-utans – and our own origins.
Caroline Molyneux, from Balshaw’s Church of England High School, UK, explains how she kick-starts her classes and helps her students remember certain lessons, facts or concepts.
Ages: 11-14, 14-16, 16-19; Topics: Science and society, General science
Does alchemy sound too good to be true? Paola Rebusco, Henri Boffin and Douglas Pierce-Price, from ESO in Garching, Germany, describe how creating gold – and other heavy metals – is possible, though sadly not in the laboratory.
Germany, like many other European countries, has difficulties attracting women into science. Diana Schimke from the University of Ulm, is working improve matters by putting schoolgirls directly in contact with women scientists.
Ages: 11-14, 14-16, 16-19; Topics: Science and society, General science
Did witches once soar through the night sky on broomsticks? Or were they hallucinating after eating or touching certain plants? Angelika Börsch-Haubold explains how modern pharmacology helps us to understand the action of many toxic plants – some of which are still used in medicine.
Could spider silk be the answer to medical and military challenges? Giovanna Cicognani from the Institut Laue-Langevin and Montserrat Capellas from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, France, investigate Christian Riekel and Tilo Seydel’s research into this remarkable material.
