Monthly Archives: May 2015
Why do students still need textbooks?
By Dan Rowson, education policy officer at the Society of Biology At the May Policy Lunchbox, we welcomed Tim Oates, Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment. Previously Tim was Head of Research at the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency and in 2010 he led the Government review on the National Curriculum. On … Continue reading
‘Forest School’ grows respect for Nature
Hannah Brett CBiol MSB, is an ecological consultant who works with the Heart of the Wildwood charity, Oxfordshire, promoting outdoor learning and a holistic educational approach. The Society of Biology’s Regional Grant Scheme is supporting their Forest School for children and parents, throughout 2015. Activities at the Forest School include cooking stick bread on the … Continue reading
How can plants change the world?
Dr Joseph Buhagiar FSB is a lecturer at the University of Malta. He received the first overseas award of the Society of Biology’s Regional Grant Scheme. It all started with an email from David Urry on 6th January pertaining to the Regional Grant Scheme for 2015. Not that I am usually idle but the title … Continue reading
Genetically engineered mosquitoes – the invention of the year?
By Professor Luke Alphey FSB, The Pirbright Institute. Professor Alphey is a finalist for the European Inventor of the Year Award 2015. Each year hundreds of millions of people are stricken by dengue. Though there are thousands of species of mosquito, just one is to blame for major outbreaks of dengue – the Aedes aegypti … Continue reading
Science communication: a selfless task?
By Dr Kate McAllister, winner of the Society of Biology Science Communication Award 2014. A lot has happened in the year since I emailed off my entry for the 2014 Science Communication Award. Since then, I have handed in a thesis, started a job in the industry, left industry and run back to the familiar … Continue reading
Budding Biologists Inspired by the Science of Survival
By David Snowdon, biology student at Imperial College London and science communicator. Articulated hands, bizarre heart facts and a Velcro organ assembly competition; these were some of the interactive activities on offer at the Society of Biology stand at the Science4u Schools Science Conference at the University of Westminster last month. The theme for the … Continue reading
Science must be a key priority for the next Government
By Dr Laura Bellingan FSB, director of science policy at the Society of Biology Election Day 2015 is almost upon us. While it is interesting to contemplate the tangled bank of possible outcomes beginning with the simple casting of a single vote (many times over) even Darwin might not bet on the endless forms of … Continue reading
What are ‘three-parent babies’ and is this an important medical advance?
Professor Nigel Brown FSB, President of the Society for General Microbiology, is writing an article each month for The Bridge, a local magazine delivered to every home in the villages of Corsley and Chapmanslade in Wiltshire. There have been many comments in the news over recent weeks about so-called ‘three-parent babies’. This rather alarmist description … Continue reading