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...

The mission of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is to gather and apply knowledge, improve understanding and predict the behaviour of the natural environment and its resources. It was established in 1965.

NERC funds and manages research and training in earth system science, advancing knowledge...

A collection of resources curated for GCSE Design and Technology, to support student understanding of different types of timbers (hardwood, softwood and manufactured board).

This presentation and student worksheet provides an overview of various timbers (hardwood and softwood) and manufactured boards.

This careers case study describes the work of Social Sciences Researcher Dr Annie Tinsley. She describes her work at Caledonian University, where she is the lead researcher and with overall responsibility for coordinating the work, budgetary matters and publishing of papers and articles. Annie has worked on worked...

A Catalyst article about the Open-Air Laboratory (OPAL) project. Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) is an England-wide initiative that has received a grant from the Big Lottery Fund to bring scientists and local communities closer together. The project hopes to uncover new insights into the world by encouraging people to...

The development of new materials with incredible properties is changing the way we live. From LCD TVs to super light airliners, these materials have quickly found their way into the modern technology around us. One area where modern materials have made a huge impact is in the development of prosthetic devices....

This session will allow students to explore how nature has enabled animals and plants to move on the surface of our planet and how this can be used to create future rovers for exploring Mars. How will future machines travel effectively across the various types of Martian terrain and survive some of the...

The Nature of Science is a collection of illustrated stories from the history of science in 40-50 page A5 booklets edited by Joan Solomon. The stories illustrate the thinking and theory building processes of science and show how the application of scientific ideas are affected by the social and cultural context in...

The Nature Year Collection is a 12-book set that contains a book for each month as it tells the story of amazing wildlife around the world. With beautiful illustrations, each book features a detailed narrative providing a description and explanation of each month's major events. 

Navigating numbers: how data are used to create statistics includes a series of five classroom toolkits. Each toolkit is centred around an Office for National Statistics (ONS) tool or dataset that relates to a part of everyday life. The themes for the data toolkits include:

• the gender pay gap
• ...

This resource contains ten instant maths ideas covering a whole range of suggestions that may be used as starter questions, extension questions or probing questions to assess understanding. Areas covered include: true/false statements using greater than and less than signs, using negative coordinates, a resource...

This series of interactive excel sheets explore negative numbers. Answers can be checked each time and new questions generated at the click of a button.

In the first sheet students have to fill in the gaps in a...