This Catalyst article looks at how exercise affects our immunity and susceptibility to infection. Recent research indicates that a person's level of physical activity affects their immune function, influencing their risk of respiratory tract infections such as a cold. Whereas moderate levels of regular exercise...

This Mathematics Matters case study looks at how mathematicians are aiding the fight against viruses. Many viruses have a symmetrical structure made from basic building blocks, and biologists have struggled to explain some of the more detailed shapes. Now mathematicians are using complex theories of symmetry to...

This resource, from the Nuffield Foundation, was published in the early 1970s as part of the Science Teacher Education Project (STEP). The book contains detailed reviews of over ninety films that might be used in the professional preparation of teachers at that time. The book is therefore of very limited interest...

In this activity, students to investigate different possible ways of filtering dirty water to improve its cleanliness by designing and building their own water filtration systems. The lesson can be extended with a practical session in which students work in small teams...

This activity asks students to work in teams to design an experiment or experiments which will test the claims of companies producing various types of domestic water filtration equipment. All teams can be given the same advert or all four adverts can be distributed for...

Published in June 2013, this report from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) presents the findings from an investigation into the impact on students of the subject-specific CPD undertaken by teachers at the National Science Learning Centre.

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Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet shows how to use Kepler’s third law to calculate the mass of the black hole in the centre of the Milky Way. Included is an online video that discusses what is inside a black hole. Equations and physical terms are introduced and discussed. Students are tasked...

Chemists analyse the tiny traces of substances which form a fingerprint. This allows them to determine drug abuse and as well as the age, gender and diet of an individual.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume 26, Issue 3.

This resource presents some real seismic data recorded before a volcanic eruption and allows students to locate some of the resulting earthquakes by use of graphs and maps.

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This Catalyst article looks at fireworks and their history, how they are made and set off, and what gives them their colours and effects. The basic chemistry used in fireworks is looked at and how they work once the fuse is ignited.

This article is from Catalyst: GCSE Science Review 2002, Volume 13, Issue 2...

A Catalyst article about the Wright brothers who made the first powered flight. Unlike the try-it-and-see methods used in many of the previous attempts, the Wrights approached the problem of flight in a scientific way and beat the competition. This article looks at the Wright brothers' research and the wing shapes...

This Science upd8 resource draws on research showing that the child raised as the eldest in a family is likely to have a higher IQ than their siblings.

The reasons for this advantage are not yet clear. In this activity students come up with creative explanations and plan how to collect evidence to test them...