How many schools Autumn 2010 Issue 16 and teachers do you reach – In this issue: worldwide? Car racing in the physics classroom Also: Life savers in the sky: flying doctors

Advertising in Science in School · Choose between advertising in the quarterly print journal or on our website. · Website: reach 30 000 science educators worldwide – every month. · In print: target up to 15 000 European science educators every quarter, including 3000 named subscribers. · Distribute your flyers, brochures, CD-ROMs or other materials either to 3000 named subscribers or to all recipients of the print copies. For more details, see www.scienceinschool.org/advertising

Published by EIROforum EIROforum:

Initially supported by ISSN: 1818-0353 the European Union: Subscribe (free in Europe): www.scienceinschool.org Highlighting the best in science teaching and research sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 2

About Science in School Science in School promotes inspiring science teaching by encouraging communication between Editorial teachers, scientists and everyone else involved in European science education. The journal addresses science teaching both across Europe and across disciplines: highlighting the best in teaching and cutting-edge research. It covers not only biology, physics and chemistry, but also earth sciences, engineering and medicine, Welcome to the sixteenth focusing on interdisciplinary work. The contents include teaching materials; cutting-edge science; interviews with young scientists and inspiring issue of Science in School teachers; reviews of books and other resources; and European events for teachers and schools. Science in School is published quarterly, both online and in print. The website is freely available, with articles in many European languages. The English- rogress in science can be sporadic. For nearly 40 language print version is distributed Pyears, no human has visited the Moon, but interest in free of charge within Europe. lunar exploration is now growing, as Adam Baker reports Contact us Dr Eleanor Hayes / Dr Marlene Rau (page 10). If a trip to the Moon sounds daunting, why not Science in School take a deep breath and explore the deep seas instead: European Molecular Biology Laboratory Meyerhofstrasse 1 hydrothermal vents (page 14) and cold seeps (page 60)? 69117 Heidelberg The more we find out about these and other marine envi- [email protected] ronments, the clearer it becomes that they are extremely Subscriptions vulnerable, as Jean-Luc Solandt explains (online). The damage that we can Register online to: cause to our oceans has become all too obvious, as specialists battle with the · Receive an email alert when each issue is published oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. With some of the activities described by Astrid · Request a free print subscription (within Europe) Kaiser (page 45), primary-school children too can investigate how best to · Swap ideas with teachers and scientists in the Science in School online forum treat oil spills. · Post comments on articles in Science in School. This and all our other articles are intended to be used by our readers – so we Submissions We welcome articles submitted by scientists, teachers were delighted to hear about a teaching unit based on our article about a and others interested in European science education. potential treatment for obesity (page 19). See the author guidelines on our website. Before they reach the market, however, all medical treatments need to be Referee panel Before publication, Science in School articles are thoroughly tested in clinical trials, as Sarah Garner and Rachel Thomas reviewed by European science teachers to check that explain (page 54). Of the many therapies tested, cancer treatments seem to they are suitable for publication. If you would like to join our panel of referees, please read the guidelines get the most headlines – but how much do we really know about this dis- on our website. ease? Over the past few years, it has become clear that genes play a signifi- Book reviewers cant role in the development and growth of many tumours. Now, with the aid If you teach science in Europe and would like to review books or other resources for Science in of some real genomic data, your students can search for mutations that can School, please read the guidelines on our website. cause cancer (page 39). Translators We offer articles online in many European languages. After someone is diagnosed with cancer, fast action is crucial – as it is for the If you would like to volunteer to translate articles into victims of accidents. Anne Weaver, a flying doctor with London’s Air your own language, please read the guidelines for translators on our website. Ambulance, knows that only too well, as she describes in our feature article (page 6). Advertising in Science in School Louis Palmer is also no stranger to speed; the organiser of the Zero Emissions Science in School is the only European journal aimed Race was the first person to tour the world in a solar car (page 50). Cars can at secondary-school science teachers across Europe and across the full spectrum of sciences. It is freely provide inspiration closer to home, too: Nick Poynter’s students learned to available online, and 15 000 full-colour printed think scientifically as they competed to build the fastest car (page 33), whereas copies are distributed each quarter. The readership of Science in School includes everyone Rudolf Ziegelbecker’s students designed an award-winning gyro-car (online). involved in European science teaching, including: As a teacher, you will have your own ideas about what works well in the · Secondary-school science teachers · Scientists classroom – so why not join our referee panel, helping us decide which arti- · Primary-school teachers cles to publish? We welcome the involvement of both primary- and second- · Teacher trainers · Science communicators. ary-school teachers in Europe; see: www.scienceinschool.org/submissions/panel Web advertisements Finally, don’t forget to visit our website and browse the online-only articles, Reach 30 000 science educators worldwide every month. the events list, and our new ‘science in the media’ section. For details of · € 200-350 per week these and many other features, see our online help page: Print advertisements Reach over 15 000 readers per issue. www.scienceinschool.org/help and remember – your feedback is important to us! · Full page: € 3150 · Half page: € 2285 · Quarter page: € 990 Eleanor Hayes · Back cover (full page): € 5000 Editor-in-Chief of Science in School Distribution [email protected] Distribute flyers, DVDs or other materials to 3000 named subscribers or to all 15 000 print recipients. www.scienceinschool.org For more information, see www.scienceinschool.org/advertising or contact [email protected] sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 1

Contents

Editorial Welcome to the sixteenth issue of Science in School Events 2 Science on Stage: sharing teaching ideas across Europe Feature article 6 Life savers in the sky: flying doctors 6 Cutting-edge science 10 Space exploration: the return to the Moon 14 Hot stuff in the deep sea Teaching activities 19 Using cutting-edge science within the curriculum: balancing body weight 27 Microscale chemistry: experiments for schools 33 Car racing in the physics classroom 39 Can you spot a cancer mutation? 19 Project in science education 45 LeSa21: primary-school science activities Science topics 50 Solar cars: the future of road transport? 54 Evaluating a medical treatment 60 Cold seeps: marine ecosystems based on hydrocarbons

50 Additional online material

Spotlight on education Sven-Olof Holmgren: science education is more complex than particle physics Teacher profile The physics of inspiration: teaching in Scientist profile 54 Jean-Luc Solandt: diving into marine conservation Review Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution

See: www.scienceinschool.org/2010/issue16

Events calendar: www.scienceinschool.org/events

60 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 1 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 2

The launch of the publication Teaching Science in Europe 3: what European teachers can learn from each other Science on Stage: sharing teaching ideas across Europe

Image courtesy of Science on Stage Germany Originally, Science on Stage was the brainchild of EIROforumw1, the publisher of Science in School. Since then, the commitment of the national organisers has enabled this network of local, national and international events for

How to demonstrate teachers to grow and grow. Eleanor Light and shade to Image courtesy of Science on Stage Germany Hayes reviews some of the kindergarten and pri- mary school children latest activities. – a project by Werner Stetzenbach

Searching for the best teachers in Europe In April 2011, about 400 science teachers from across Europe will meet in , , to share ideas and inspiration in a dizzying whirl of workshops, lectures and dra- matic presentations at the internation- al Science on Stage teaching festival. The search for the lucky 400 teachers is still continuing. In a series of national events, enthu- siastic and inspiring teachers are com- peting to represent their countries in Copenhagen. Austria, , Canada, the , , Ireland and the Slovak Republic have

2 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 3

Events

Images courtesy of Science on Stage Germany

Can a sparkler burn underwater?

It takes only a few chemicals and tricks to be a magician, as stand-up chemist Joachim Hecker demonstrated at the launch of the publication Teaching Science in Europe 3: what European teachers can learn from each other

already selected their winners. The of these discussions under the guid- Why does money not burn? This and national representatives of , ance of Science on Stage Germany. many other tricks were part of stand- up chemist Joachim Hecker’s per- Germany, , , , The outcome is the publication formance at the launch of the publi- , , and Teaching Science in Europe 3: what cation Teaching Science in Europe 3: have yet to be selected. European teachers can learn from each what European teachers can learn To find out more, and – if it is not other, divided into three sections. from each other too late – apply to take part in your 1. How is a shadow cast? How are national event, visit the Science on colours formed? What causes day Stage Europe websitew2. and night? How can we tell the time from the Sun? These are just some Inspiring ideas for teachers of the investigations to encourage 2. Five examples are used to illustrate In 2008, the Science on Stage festival young children to look at the world the benefits of non-formal educa- in , Germany, brought together in a new way. There is also a discus- tion initiatives: a science learning teachers from across Europe in several sion of how science education can centre in Zurich, ; a discussion workshops. Over the be used to improve not only the web-based learning platform hosted course of two years, 55 science teach- children’s knowledge of science but by the European Space Agencyw3; a ers from 12 countries continued three also their language skills. travelling exhibition based in

www.scienceinschool.orgwww.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 33 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:33 Uhr Seite 4

Images courtesy of Science on Stage Germany

Werner Stetzenbach demonstrates how light and shade can be explained to children in kinder- garten and primary school

Front cover of the publication Teaching Science in Europe 3: what European teachers can learn from each other

Stand-up chemist Joachim Hecker melting a yoghurt cup

Nuremberg, Germany; a science on Stage Germany to share some of mal energy; refrigeration was demon- museum in Barcelona, Spain; and a the ideas that have come out of the strated with a latex loop that is cooled science competition run from national and international Science on on one side (relaxed) and heated on Czosnow in Poland. Stage events. the other (expanded). To learn more 3. Terraforming Mars – the spectral In the German part of the work- about the latex motor, see analysis of light and protein biosyn- shop, ‘Nanotechnology and school’, Eidenberger et al. (2009). thesis. These and other teaching teacher Walter Stein demonstrated the units address the role of the teacher, experiments he had done with his 16- Reference and how to find the balance year-old students to produce single- Eidenberger L et al. (2009) The latex between moderating the students’ wall nanotubes out of carbon, a field- motor. Science in School 13: 34-38. learning and merely instructing effect transistor out of graphene, and www.scienceinschool.org/2009/ them. low-cost and colourful photonic crys- issue13/latex The publication (in English or tals out of latex spheres. German) can be ordered by email The Austrian project, ‘The latex Web references ([email protected]) or down- motor’, investigated the conversion w1 – EIROforum – the publisher of loaded from the website of Science on and conservation of energy via four Science in School – is a partnership of Stage Germanyw4. experiments using latex. A latex glove seven European inter-governmental was used to convert thermal energy research organisations. For more Teacher training into potential energy, lifting a weight information, see: Science on Stage Germany has not when heated; the heating and cooling www.eiroforum.org only been active at a European level – of condoms was used to create a w2 – The national Science on Stage it also caters for teachers closer to motor driven by heat from a spot- events culminate in a European home. On 18 June, physics teachers light; the same latex motor was teaching festival every two years; from in and around Berlin took part reversed to demonstrate that kinetic the next one is in Copenhagen, in a workshop organised by Science energy can be transformed into ther- Denmark, from 16-19 April 2011. To

4 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 5

Events

How can I hear without

using my ears?

y

n

a

m

r

e

G

e

g

a

t

S

n

o

e

c

n

e

i

c

S

f

o

y

s

e

t r

u

o

c

e

g a m I

learn more about Science on Stage Resources www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ issue14/kindergarten and find your national contact, see To learn more about how Science on the Science on Stage Europe web- Stage was established, see: site: www.science-on-stage.eu Hayes E (2009) Science on Stage: w3 – To find out more about the heading for a country near you. Dr Eleanor Hayes is the editor-in- , see: Science in School 13: 2-3. chief of Science in School. She studied www.esa.int www.scienceinschool.org/2009/ zoology at the University of Oxford, For details of the education issue13/sons UK, and completed a PhD in insect materials produced by ESA, see All previous Science in School articles ecology. Eleanor then spent some time the ESA Education website about the Science on Stage activities working in university administration (www.esa.int/education) and the can be viewed here: before moving to Germany and into ESA Human Spaceflight Education www.scienceinschool.org/sons science publishing, initially for a website Werner Stetzenbach not only con- bioinformatics company and then for (www.esa.int/esaHS/education.html). tributed primary-school and kinder- a learned society. In 2005, she moved w4 – To learn more about Science on garten activities to the publication to the European Molecular Biology Stage Germany, to download the Teaching Science in Europe 3: what Laboratory to launch Science in School. publication Teaching Science in European teachers can learn from each Europe 3: what European teachers can other but also shared some of his learn from each other or to find out other ideas with the readers of about the teacher training on offer, Science in School: visit www.science-on-stage.de Stetzenbach W, Stetzenbach G (2010) Physics in kindergarten and pri- mary school. Science in School 14: 48-53.

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 5 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 6

Life savers in the sky: flying doctors Anne Weaver, lead clinician for London’s Air Ambulance, tells Marie Mangan about her job: saving lives. Image courtesy of Iain Crockart, www.iaincrockart.com Image courtesy of Iain Crockart,

Anne Weaver at work

6 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 7

Feature article

Image courtesy of Iain Crockart, www.iaincrockart.com nne Weaver regularly sees ALucy, 14, at fundraising events for London’s Air Ambulancew1 in the UK. What is remarkable is that seven years ago, Lucy almost died from massive multiple injuries after she was hit by a jeep while running across the road to go to the park. She had head and facial injuries so severe that blood pumped into her airway and stopped her breathing. Anne, a doctor with London’s Air Ambulance, recalls: “We were on scene in nine minutes. There was a doctor desperately trying to manage Lucy’s airway, with the help of the ambulance crew, but there was so much blood it was impossible to con- General science trol. She wasn’t breathing. We gave tors and they spend the first month of Ages 9-19 her an emergency anaesthetic, their six-month placement working This is an inspiring story released the pressure in her collapsed alongside one of the existing doctors describing a profession and bruised lungs with surgical holes who will be training them, de-briefing that combines some truly in the chest cavity, packed her face them after every mission, challenging, wonderful traits: medical and then flew her back to hospital.” questioning, supporting them. service, emergency treat- There, Lucy had almost 12 hours of “As lead clinician, I am responsible ment, dedication to help- surgery to reconstruct her face, fol- for the day-to-day running of the ing people in need, and lowed by three months in intensive service, making sure the doctors and flying. Anne Weaver, the care. “This was the moment that paramedics are trained, maintain their clinician being inter- made it totally clear to me why we do skills and are supported. I run twice- viewed, is enthusiastic this job,” Anne says. “I now see a girl weekly case review sessions with the about her job and through who is enjoying being a teenager but I whole team where we challenge and some of her memories, know that she was snatched from learn from each other. she passes this enthusiasm death by the quick work of the doctor “When they are on duty, team on to the reader. in the park and then our critical inter- members can call day or night for ventions at the scene and in hospital.” guidance or to discuss the best course The article is very interest- Anne has been the lead clinician for of action for a patient. The service has ing and easy to read. It London’s Air Ambulance since 2007. a good reputation internationally and could be read in any The service, now more than 20 years I need to ensure we not only maintain classroom (science or not) old, pioneered the concept of trauma- our high standards but also stay and at any level (even ele- trained doctors and paramedics treat- ahead of the game using cutting-edge mentary school). It is not ing critically injured patients at the technology and techniques. It’s a chal- an article to teach with scene and taking them to a hospital lenging role and there are never but one to inform and that specialises in trauma. enough hours in the day!” inspire – and not only at “When I started with London’s Air One day that is still clearly imprint- school. Perhaps policy Ambulance, it felt a bit like trying to ed in Anne’s memory is 7 July 2005, makers in other cities and pass your driving test: there were so the day that suicide bombers attacked countries that do not have many things to consider. I remember four locations on London’s tube and similar flying doctor pro- thinking I was never going to manage bus networks. grammes should read it it all. You are the only doctor on the “It was so surreal,” Anne says. “I and think about adopting scene and making the right decisions was in a meeting with 16 past and such practices. rests on your shoulders. That’s why present air ambulance doctors, some- Michalis Hadjimarou, the training is so thorough. The doc- thing we do once a month. The chief REVIEW tors we recruit are always senior doc- pilot must somehow have been aware

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 7 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 8

of something awry and said that we Anne, as lead clinician, was responsi- ed. I knew that if I hadn’t done the should all get our flight suits on. It ble for organising the effort. organisation at the start, we wouldn’t seemed ridiculous at the time for 16 “I remember standing in the opera- have had people in the right places. of us to get ready when normally tions room on the helipad, looking But it was a relief to then go to King’s only one doctor is on duty, but min- over London and feeling sick and Cross myself and do what I felt I was utes later a major incident was guilty that I was sending my friends meant to do in this situation: be a declared.” and colleagues out into dangerous sit- doctor. Later that day, the chief execu- The helicopter and cars ferried the uations. tive gathered 400 staff from the hospi- medical teams to the four London “I thought I was going to get a call tal and air ambulance service together locations – Aldgate, King’s Cross, to say that a doctor or paramedic had to de-brief. It was an amazing feeling Edgware Road and Tavistock Square. been killed if another device detonat- of camaraderie. Everyone had pulled together and we felt very emotional Image courtesy of Iain Crockart, www.iaincrockart.com about the events. We knew we had provided a good service for patients that day.” So how did Anne’s interest in medi- cine start? It was sparked in the last two years of school, when she attend- ed a course at the Queen’s Medical Centre, where the University of Nottingham’sw2 medical school is based. “The medical school was an integral part of the hospital and had a really clinical feel. Unlike other medical schools where you spend your first two years in lectures, from week one you were allowed to see patients. Being in a medical environment, sur- rounded by doctors who were con- stantly inspiring you, you were reminded of why you were doing so many exams! “I remember my first day at univer- sity so clearly. I really enjoyed meet- ing people from different courses; on my floor in the hall of residence, we had art history, theology, philosophy and engineering students. We became like a little family. When I was revis- ing for medical exams, they made me tea at three in the morning. “So many of my tutors inspired me. Seeing one of them, Dr Demas Esberger, in action just weeks after I started at university was a landmark moment. It was 5 November 1990 and I was in the accident and emergency department. Two boys, both very badly injured in a car accident, were brought in. I was shaking and thinking I was so glad I was not qualified, as I would have had no idea where to start.

8 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 9

Feature article

“I was in awe of Dr Esberger and Acknowledgement w4 – Alumni Exchange, the alumni the team and from that moment, I The original version of this article magazine of the University of wanted to be able to do what they was published in Alumni Exchangew4, Nottingham, is freely available to did. Officially, you only did two the alumni magazine of the download. See: weeks in accident and emergency as a University of Nottingham, UK. www.alumni.nottingham.ac.uk medical student but I think I spent every available waking moment there. Web references Resources They couldn’t get rid of me! Later in w1 – To learn more about London’s If you enjoyed this article, you might my training, I made sure I chose Air Ambulance, see: like to browse the other feature arti- placements that would enable me to www.londonsairambulance.com cles published in Science in School: help these patients.” One of those w2 – For more information about www.scienceinschool.org/features placements was a six-month stint Nottingham University, see: For a list of all medicine-related arti- with London’s Air Ambulance, which www.nottingham.ac.uk cles published in Science in School, sowed the seeds of Anne’s future see: career. w3 – Barts and The London NHS www.scienceinschool.org/medicine Today, Anne juggles her air ambu- Trust manages three leading lance responsibilities with being a London hospitals: St Bartholomew’s senior doctor (consultant) in accident (Barts) in the City, The Royal and emergency. She also finds time to London in Whitechapel and The Marie Mangan is a fellow alumna of be a trustee of the air ambulance’s London Chest in Bethnal Green. the University of Nottingham and for- charity. The service is partly funded To learn more, visit: mer head of media at Barts and The by the UK National Health Service www.bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk London NHS Trustw3. and corporate sponsors but still has to © Marie Mangan find £1.2 million a year from charita- ble donations. “We are feeling the impact of the recession. We now have to have contingencies to reduce the service when what we really want to do is increase it. It’s frustrating.” Current challenges aside, Anne does not take her achievements for granted. “It is a great privilege to head the service that is on call for 11 million people in London.” Image courtesy of Iain Crockart, www.iaincrockart.com Image courtesy of Iain Crockart,

London’s Air Ambulance

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 9 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 10

s on mm Co ia ed im ik W e rc u so e g a im r; u to ia V c u L f o y s te r u o c e g a m Space exploration:I the return to the Moon

Have you ever looked up at the Moon in a clear night sky and wondered about the very few people who have walked on its surface? What did we learn, and what are we still unsure about? When might humans return to the Moon? Adam Baker investigates.

General science

n 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz although we can study the Earth The space exploration IAldrin became the first humans to more easily, its surface has been race of the 1960s was a walk on the surface of another astro- altered by weathering, whereas the very exciting period and nomical body: the Moon. Over the surface of the Moon has remained important in the develop- next three years, ten more American more or less unchanged since its ment of a number of tech- astronauts landed on the Moon as formation. nologies; the Moon land- part of the USA’s Apollo programme. · The overall chemical composition ings were a major high- Since then – nearly 40 years ago – and internal structure of the Moon. light. After a gap of sever- there have been no further manned This will start to tell us how the al decades, people are missions to the Moon. Why is that? Moon originated, and whether it again planning to explore And when might people return to the formed from bits of Earth debris, as the Moon – this article Moon? some theories claim. considers how and why. In the 1960s and 70s, the Apollo · Whether resources such as water The article could be used programme and the unmanned are available on the Moon, which as the starting point of dis- Russian Luna and US Surveyor mis- would enable astronauts to use the cussions in science or sions concentrated on the surface of Moon as a base for exploring other technology lessons, for the near side of the Moon and left planets. example on the history of many key questions unanswered, in Today, space technology is seen as science. It could also be particular: mostly addressing problems on Earth, used in science clubs or · The age of the Moon and how this such as climate change; the European similar activities. is linked to the age of the rest of Space Agency (ESA), for example, has Eric Deeson, UK the Solar System. The rocky surface launched many satellites to observe REVIEW of the Moon is key to this research: the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and

10 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 11

Cutting-edge science

The locations of spacecraft that have landed on the moon. Green trian- gles represent Apollo missions, yellow are NASA Surveyor missions, and red are Russian Luna spacecraft

Smart-1, ESA’s lunar orbiter mission

Image courtesy of National Space Science Data Center / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Image courtesy of ESA

ice capsw1. Nonetheless, after years of strategyw4 was agreed between 14 space Little data from Chang’e-1 has been inaction in lunar exploration, the past agencies and organisations, encom- released to the international commu- decade has again seen many countries passing the US vision, as well as nity, however. sending missions to the Moon. space exploration plans from other In April 2008, the Indian In 2003, ESA sent the robotic countries such as the UKw5. Chandrayaan-1 orbiter was launched (unmanned) Smart-1 missionw2 to September 2007 saw the launch of to address many of the same ques- orbit the Moon, to test technology for the Japanese Kaguya orbiter mission tions as the Kaguya orbiter. sending missions accurately beyond (originally known as Selene). While Additionally, Chandrayaan-1 carried Earth’s orbit, and to conduct basic sci- orbiting the Moon’s surface, it a radar instrument, allowing scientists ence such as X-ray observations of the searched (unsuccessfully) for water to peer into dark craters near the Moon. Shortly afterwards, ESA also on the lunar surface, measured the lunar poles for the first time. These launched the Mars Express mission, strength of the lunar gravitational radar measurements suggested that its first mission to orbit another plan- field using a small satellite, and stud- water ice was present at the lunar et, with a package of scientific instru- ied the chemistry of the lunar surface. south pole. This was confirmed in ments. These missions marked the Kaguya also imaged the lunar surface 2009 when the US LRO orbiter fired a reawakening of interest in space in visible wavelengths, generated rocket, the LCROSS impactor, into a exploration. maps of much of the surface, and south pole crater: instruments on the In the USA in 2004, President George measured the radiation in orbit to orbiter detected evidence of water ice W. Bush directed NASA to return to assess the risk to future astronauts. in the particles that were thrown into the Moon and build a long-term out- The Chinese orbiter Chang’e-1, space by the crashw6, w7. Data from the post on the lunar surface as part of launched a month later, also studied LRO orbiter even showed where – 37 his vision for space explorationw3. the topography and chemistry of the years before – a Russian lunar rover Subsequently, a global exploration lunar surface and searched for water. had come to restw8.

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 11 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 12

Image courtesy of NASA Kennedy Space Center (NASA-KSC) Image courtesy of NASA

Launch of Apollo 11 in 1969

This is one of the few photographs show- ing Neil Armstrong on the Moon (he car- ried the camera most of the time). He is reflected in Buzz Aldrin's visor

build bases and transmitting the data directly back to Earth via radio links. Already, such missions are being planned. China and India intend to follow their recent orbiter missions with robotic landers (Chang’e-2 and Chandrayaan-2, respectively). To build on these and other lunar mis- sions and to cover a larger portion of the unexplored lunar surface, the UK is developing small, low-cost space- craft. With their automated guidance systems and miniaturised instruments, These recent missions, therefore, missions, orbiting far above the these spacecraft would enable regular, have gone some way to addressing Moon’s surface, cannot answer. What, inexpensive, small missions to the the questions left unanswered in the for example, is the effect of lunar dust Moon – starting as early as 2014. With 1970s, providing information about on people, vehicles and telescopes? the support of ESA, other European the chemical composition of more of Can we survive on the Moon for peri- nations are also studying advanced the Moon’s surface, and hinting at the ods as long as several weeks? What lunar landersw9. These will carry a presence of water and other resources new technology, such as power wide range of technologies and can that might be found at the cold, dark sources and thermal insulation, is test systems suitable for carrying astro- south pole (below 100 K). More infor- needed to help astronauts survive nauts and for future Mars expeditions, mation is still to come – some of the comfortably when working in the but will be larger and more costly, and extensive maps generated by Japanese, dark, extremely cold lunar polar are not fully funded yet. Chinese, Indian and American orbiters craters? Although the US vision for space are still being processed. The answers to these questions will exploration – with a manned lunar However, to fully understand the require landers – robots to land on the base by 2020 – sounds exciting, nature of the Moon and its environ- surface of the Moon and directly NASA and the US government have ment – and potentially to prepare for measure the properties of dust, rock recently decided that their plans are people to visit and stay safely on the and the lunar environment (such as unaffordable. Instead, it will be robot- Moon for long periods, making astro- moonquakes) over extended periods. ic lunar missions that characterise the nomical observations, investigating Unlike the unmanned missions of the lunar environment and map available the lunar geology, preparing for more 1960s and 70s, future lander missions resources, providing a logical, faster distant space exploration or even would need to investigate the entire and more affordable route to a sus- mining lunar resources – we need lunar surface, carrying out scientific tained presence on our nearest neigh- information that even these recent studies, seeking the best places to bour. Although it will probably be

12 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 13

Cutting-edge science

Image courtesy of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA-JPL) Image courtesy of SSTL Image courtesy of SSTL

The far side of the Moon, a view of the The UK’s planned MoonLITE orbiter The UK’s planned MoonRaker lander lunar surface not possible from Earth, has four penetrators – small daughter would give accurate indications of the taken from the Galileo spacecraft in spacecraft to be fired into the Moon’s age of the Moon, sampling regions which 1990 surface no mission has yet visited

some time before the 13th human water on moon’, see The Guardian watch?v=oXxGE4tBBEA lands on the Moon, robotic missions website (www.guardian.co.uk) or NASA’s archive for lunar mission are key to bringing that day ever clos- use the direct link: data: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ er. This is a lasting legacy of Apollo. http://tinyurl.com/ylmb6pm planetary/lunar w7 – For more information about the To mark the 40th anniversary of the Reference LRO mission, see: Moon landings, BBC Radio 4 pre- Hodge R (2006) The sky’s the limit. http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov sented the story of the British Science in School 1: 70-71. w8 – To learn more about the recently MoonLITE project and the lunar www.scienceinschool.org/2006/ discovered Russian lunar rover, see ambitions and achievements of the issue1/baker the Science Daily website other space-exploring nations. See: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lnycv Web references (www.sciencedaily.com) or use the direct link: If you enjoyed this article, you might w1 – To learn more about the http://tinyurl.com/yfbzjcv like to browse all the Science in European Space Agency’s earth School articles about space science. observation programme, including w9 – ESA is inviting industry to See: www.scienceinschool.org/space the CryoSat-2 ice satellite to study submit proposals for a lunar lander the effects of global warming, see: mission. For more details, see the www.esa.int/esaEO ESA website (www.esa.int) or use the direct link: Adam Baker works for Virgin w2 – To learn more about ESA’s http://tinyurl.com/2utzaq7 Galactic as their safety manager, in Smart-1 mission, see: charge of assessing and ensuring the www.esa.int/SPECIALS/SMART-1 w10 – Surrey Satellite Technology specialises in designing, building safety of future sub-orbital passenger w3 – To learn more about the US flights. He wrote this article while vision for space exploration, see: and launching small satellites. See: www.sstl.co.uk working at Surrey Satellite http://history.nasa.gov/sep.htm Technologyw10, which defined the w4 – For more information about the Resources MoonLITE and MoonRaker missions. global exploration strategy, see: Adam studied materials science at www.globalspaceexploration.org For more information about the the University of Oxford, UK, where Apollo programme, see: w5 – The 2007 report of the UK space he then completed a PhD on compos- exploration working group can be Flightglobal’s website devoted to ite materials for jet engines. During his downloaded from the UK Space Apollo missions: PhD, he built rocket engines as a Agency website (www.bnsc.gov.uk) www.flightglobal.com/page/ hobby, which is how he came to work or via the direct link: Apollo-40th-Anniversary for Surrey Satellite Technology and http://tinyurl.com/3xe8vr7 A video commemorating the 40th then Virgin Galactic. For more infor- w6 – To read the article ‘NASA ‘ecsta- anniversary of the first walk on the mation about Adam, see Hodge (2006). tic’ after LCROSS impact reveals Moon: www.youtube.com/

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 13 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 02.09.2010 11:01 Uhr Seite 14

Hot stuff in the deep sea

How do fossils form around esearch on the deep-sea floor is a serious Rundertaking. It requires specialised hydrothermal vents? Crispin Little equipment like the famous manned sub- mersible Alvin and very expensive oceano- describes how he and his team graphic vessels capable of operating far from found out – by making their own land for a long time. Potential problems are not only technical – ships’ engines malfunc- fossils. tioning or submersible cables tangling, for example – but can also be due to factors beyond anyone’s control: bad weather has scuppered many a well-planned research cruise.

14 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 02.09.2010 11:01 Uhr Seite 15

Cutting-edge science

Images courtesy of Crispin Little

Some of the dominant animals found at vent sites on the East Pacific Rise: vestimentiferan tube worms, vent fish and vent crabs. The shimmery water towards the top of the image is diffuse flow hydrothermal fluid

Collecting vent mussels and crabs using one of Alvin's manipulators (left)

Biology Evolution Ages 12 to 18

This is a superb article that describes the process of scientific investigations in the extreme environmental Hydrothermal vent chimneys are conditions of hydrothermal vents. Suitable for students formed mainly of sulphide minerals aged 12 to 18, it could be used in lessons on biology in extreme environments, adaptation, life in space or mineral resources. For example, it could be used to Image courtesy of Crispin Little discuss the probability of life on other planets. Suitable comprehension questions include: 1. What kinds of organisms are found near deep-sea Working on the mid-ocean ridges is even vents? harder, because these are among the most 2. How can organisms survive at these depths without geologically active areas on the planet. Here, sunlight? new ocean crust is being formed as lava erupts onto the sea floor, accompanied by 3. What do these organisms eat? strong earthquakes (see Searle, 2009). Not 4. What sorts of minerals are found near the only that, but the ridges are also sites of hydrothermal vents? intense hydrothermal activity, with highly The multidisciplinary aspect of this research makes the acidic vent fluids at 370 °C gushing out of article very useful when discussing how science real- towering mineral chimneys on the sea floor. ly works.

At these depths, the high pressure raises the REVIEW Eric Demoncheaux, UK boiling point of water enough for it to stay

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 15 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 16

Image courtesy of Dr Peter Auster, NOAA / OAR / OER / Mountains in the Sea Expedition 2003 liquid even at these temperatures. This challenging environment was the setting for our project to study fossilisation in deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Indeed, these challenges were confirmed when we lost an entire set Alvin being of experimental devices to a major launched from the research vessel sea-floor volcanic eruption early on in Atlantis the experiment.

Presumably our cages are still there, but covered by several metres of basalt!

Why are we interested in fossilisa- tion at deep-sea hydrothermal vents? cal energy from hot rocks. The most major environmental events, like the The aim of the study was to better important compound in vent fluid is mass extinctions and global climate understand the evolutionary history hydrogen sulphide, and many vent change that affected contemporary of the extraordinary communities of animals, including giant tube worms photosynthesis-based ecosystems. animals that live only at hydrother- (vestimentiferans), vent mussels and Thus, the evolutionary history of vent mal vents. First discovered in 1979 on clams, depend for food on symbiotic fauna is probably very different from the Galapagos Rise, these communi- bacteria that live by oxidising this that of other marine biotas. ties have radically changed our view sulphide. The only direct evidence for this of the diversity of life in the deep sea, This dependence on geochemical history comes from the fossil record. partly because their primary energy rather than solar energy may have But at present this is sparse, with only source is not sunlight, but geochemi- shielded vent communities from 25 examples known from the past 550

Image courtesy of OAR / National Undersea Research Program (NURP); Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Alvin descends to its maxi- mum depth of 4000 m (mean ocean depth is 3800 m)

16 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 17

Cutting-edge science

Image courtesy of Crispin Little million years, and there are funda- the other research groups’ scientific mental questions about why this is. equipment) were destroyed by a For example, why do some ancient major submarine volcanic event in the vent deposits contain fossils, while area late in 2005, in which an estimat- others in the same state of preserva- ed 22 million cubic meters of lava tion don’t? There are also significant erupted. Presumably our cages are groups of animals, such as crabs and still there, but covered by several shrimps, that are abundant at modern metres of basalt! vents but which do not appear in the We had to restart the project, build- vent fossil record. Why should this ing new cages and negotiating ship be? Is it a case of imperfect preserva- time with our American colleagues. tion, or were these groups not present Happily, we have since enjoyed great Crispin Little back on the deck of the at vent sites in the past? success. We deployed new sets of fos- research vessel Atlantis after his first To find out, we decided to in - silisation cages at two different vent dive in Alvin in December 2007. Being doused with cold seawater is tradition- vestigate how modern deep-sea sites in November 2006 and al. During the dive, he and his col- hydrothermal vent animals (molluscs, December 2007, and recovered them leagues deployed a new set of fossilisa- crustaceans and tube worms – both after 373 days and 319 days, respec- tion cages at a vent site; they were sub- vestimentiferans and polychaetes) tively. The results are very interesting, sequently recovered around a year later become fossilised at vents. To do this and go a long way towards answer- we chose an area on the East Pacific ing many of our questions about fos- Rise, 500 nautical miles south of silisation at hydrothermal vents. For tiferan tubes, periwinkle, mussel and Mexico, where scientists have been example, we now know that fossilisa- clam shells) only occurred in the studying vents for two decades. tion is very dependent on exactly high-temperature areas of the vent In partnership with colleagues at where the remains are located around sites, or where the vent changed over Woods Hole Oceanographic the vent. time – for example, where a diffuse Institution and the University of New In our experiment, fossilisation by flow vent turned into a black smoker Hampshire, USA, the plan was to use the growth of sulphide minerals on during the experiment. Sulphide min- Alvin to deploy specially designed the biological materials (vestimen- eralisation did not generally occur at duplicate sets of experimental materi-

als at different hydrothermal vents in Image courtesy of Crispin Little three different micro-habitats: the high temperature ‘black smoker’ hydrothermal fluid habitat (up to 370 °C), ‘diffuse flow’ sites where hot fluid and seawater mix (at 10-40 °C, this is where the majority of animals live), and a control site away from active venting (3 °C). We’d then recover these experimen- tal materials at roughly yearly inter- vals for transport back to the UK and investigation. The experimental devices consisted of identical titanium mesh cages, inside which were wired a variety of control materials and bio- logical substrates: dried vestimentifer- an tubes, vent mussel and clam shells, periwinkle shells and tiger prawn carapaces. We deployed the first fossilisation Crispin Little extracting a pair of fossilisation cages from Alvin’s collection basket cages at two vent sites in May 2005. (Alvin’s claw can be seen on the right), recovered from 2.5 km down on the sea floor. Unfortunately, our hard work came to After around a year in the high-temperature vent fluid, the cages have a pyrite chim- nothing – the cages (together with all ney growing through them

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 17 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:34 Uhr Seite 18

Image courtesy of OAR / National Undersea Research Program Image courtesy of OAR / National Undersea Research Program (NURP); Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (NURP)

Alvin in 1978, Alvin hovering a year after first above deck exploring before diving to hydrothermal 4000 m vents

diffuse flow sites, although mollusc shells, called the periostracum, pro- natural and environmental science, shells suffered considerable dissolu- tects them to some extent from disso- published by the UK’s Natural tion here, or at control areas away lution and makes it more likely that Environment Research Council. See from active venting. The implication shells with thick periostracal layers Little (2009). is that the fossils found in ancient will be preserved as vent fossils, par- To subscribe to Planet Earth, email vent deposits reflect only the parts of ticularly as the periostracum on its [email protected]. those communities that lived at the own can be mineralised. The implica- higher-temperature areas around the tion is that crustaceans such as crabs References vents. and shrimps were present at Little C (2009) Hot stuff in the deep We found that the mollusc shells hydrothermal vents in the past, but sea. Planet Earth Winter, 18-19. and tubes acted as simple substrates were just not preserved. http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/ for the growth of pyrite (iron sul- Our results are consistent with features/story.aspx?id=576 phide), with mineralisation occurring observations from ancient vent sites Searle R (2009) Holes in the crust. on both shells and tubes. This is and let us better interpret the fossil Planet Earth Autumn, 28-29. exactly what we might expect from record of vent communities. From http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/ the preservation of vent fossils in this, we now know more of how vent features/story.aspx?id=511 ancient vent deposits. fauna evolved, because we now We also discovered that the appar- understand how organisms are pre- ent bias towards the fossilisation of served in these environments, includ- Resources worm tubes and mollusc shells is a ing the extremely rapid pathway to If you enjoyed reading this article, real phenomenon and reflects how fossilisation – less than a year. you might like to browse the other I t f El th i / iSt k h t well the various biological substrates However, because fossilisation at Science in School articles on biologi- resist chemical dissolution in the vent vent sites happens so quickly, we still cal topics. See: environment, which puts them under don’t fully understand the very early www.scienceinschool.org/biology high pressure due to depth and stages of mineralisation of shells and exposes them to hot, acidic vent fluid. tubes by pyrite, and future experi- Thus, no shrimp carapaces remained ments should have shorter durations in any of the ten cages, including – in the order of a few months. Ship Dr Crispin Little is a senior lecturer in those from the control sites away time and submersible seats, anyone? the School of Earth and Environment from active venting. Vestimentiferan at the University of Leeds, UK. tubes, by contrast, proved resistant Acknowledgement enough to decay to become fossilised. This article was first published in The organic coating of mollusc Planet Earth, a free magazine about

18 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 19

Teaching activities

Using cutting-edge Biology Medicine science within Mathematics Health Human body the curriculum: Metabolism Obesity Ages 15+

rtesy of e cou Eckh ag ard Im K balancing body ro t When students are actively sc h e c k involved in their lessons, they always both enjoy and weight Friedlinde learn more. This article Krotscheck shows how this can be achieved using a cutting- Friedlinde Krotscheck edge science article from Science in School that can describes how she used a be used to cover a whole topic of the curriculum. cutting-edge science article from The work is involved and Science in School as the main focus of will challenge many stu- dents with mathematics, a teaching unit on the human body. biology and discussions on health and well-being. The students must feel secure in the classroom before they begin to discuss weight issues and it may be a good idea to mention that person- al issues are confidential and should not be discussed outside the room. The issue of drugs to control weight and promote weight loss is an interesting topic and could be extended to include herbal and over-the-counter products. Image courtesy of Elenathewise / iStockphoto Students could discuss the social, commercial and eth- ical issues of weight-loss products and promotions. It should be a fun and inter- esting way of studying a topic by making it relevant to the students’ own lives. Shelley Goodman, UK REVIEW

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 19 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 20

or teenagers, school lessons can Of course, when addressing the Below are guidelines for reproduc- Fbe of secondary importance. topic of obesity, one concern is how to ing the teaching unit. I used it to Many students are interested princi- deal sensitively with any overweight introduce (with the students’ agree- pally in their appearance, their part- or obese students in the class. Because ment) a different approach to biology ners and having a good time outside the teaching unit began with a fairly lessons, similar to the way scientists school; they are also very sensitive to lengthy consideration of homeostasis work. It also made my students the opinions of their peers. When I and metabolism, the students were realise that basic factual knowledge is reviewed an article for Science in quite relaxed by the time we dis- important for understanding cutting- School about a new potential hormone cussed body mass index – and of edge research. therapy for obesity (Wynne & Bloom, course the students’ individual data If you are not able to devote such a 2007), therefore, I wondered whether I were not made public. Once we start- long time to the topic, you could just could use the article and the concerns ed discussing obesity and the research use small parts of the project, or indi- of teenagers to get my Year 10 stu- article, my two overweight students vidual worksheets. dents (ages 15-16) more involved in were elated, realising that their condi- their biology lessons. tion was not necessarily their fault – 1) The daily life of a student The first semester of Year 10 is dedi- and began to discuss their eating Start the first lesson with the simple cated to ‘the human body’; this is the habits openly in class. Other students question “How are you?” Discussing first and only time the students look talked openly about other weight the students’ answers and separating at the topic in depth. Over three problems, including anorexia and them into polite answers and honest months, I devoted all 24 biology bulimia. reflections of their current state of lessons (45 minutes each) to the sub-topic of ‘homeostasis and the human body’, focusing on the Weight maintenance Science in School article, supplemented with video clips from The Science Weight gain Weight loss of Fat lectures (Evans & Friedman, 2004). I began by asking my students if they would like to try a different teaching approach, based on a folder I had prepared containing worksheets and tables. The students would work Food intake Energy expenditure independently and in groups to develop their own portfolios of infor- mation (notes, diagrams and essays), present their results to the others and take part in class debates. The stu- dents responded enthusiastically to the idea. During the next three months, the Image courtesy of Katie Wynne students’ enthusiasm for both the The energy balance topic and the teaching approach con- tinued. They were motivated to study the organ systems, grasp the principle of homeostasis and critically analyse Food intake Energy expenditure their own lifestyles. I was impressed at how hard they worked on their Day Food description ml or g Activity Time Distance portfolios – also outside lessons – and at their eagerness to learn more about the science involved, to influence the direction of the teaching unit, to teach each other and to discuss the ethical Table 1: Food intake and energy expenditure. Each day, record what you eat, how issues involved. much you eat, what type of physical activity you do and for how long

20 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 21

Teaching activities

Image courtesy of Friedlinde Krotscheck

Skeletal and Digestive and Editor’s note muscular system excretory system

If you have used one of our science articles in your lessons, please tell Cardio-vascular Nervous and system endocrine system us how. Contact: [email protected] BACKGROUND

Reproductive system Immune system

emotions (e.g. sad, happy, tired, bored) should lead to factors that influenced their answers, for example: Worksheet 1: Body homeostasis. The human body is an assemblage of organ · Whether they like school systems; each system has its own characteristics, but all systems work together, · Whether they are hungry or thirsty constantly exchanging information and adjusting input and output to meet the How much food or what type of demands of the current situation. This cooperation and communication results · in homeostasis food they have eaten · How much sleep they have had. From there, lead the discussion on about the different organ systems); then give a 15 minute presentation, to human metabolism and one of the the students should gather the facts providing their audience with a quiz diagrams (the energy balance, left) by themselves. I gave my students to complete. from Wynne & Bloom (2007). As very little guidance about which facts Once they have collected informa- homework, the students should com- to collect – providing support mostly tion about all the organ systems, the plete Table 1 each day for a week, list- for the weaker students. Other teach- students should use Worksheet 1 to: ing what they eat and what exercise ers may prefer to provide more struc- 1. Describe the functions of each sys- they take. All tables and worksheets ture. tem and name the organs belonging needed for the unit can be down- Each group of students could con- to it. loaded from the Science in School web- centrate on one organ system and 2. Use arrows and labels to describe sitew1. the influence that the organ systems Image courtesy of scol22 / iStockphoto 2) The organ systems above have on each other. To address the topic of metabo- I spent 12 lessons on the first two lism, the students need to parts of the teaching unit, after understand the organ systems which my students had a of the body and how they basic understanding of the work together to maintain organ systems, how they homeostasis. Over the depend on each other and course of the whole unit, the what homeostasis is. The students should gather a only teacher lecture I gave portfolio of information was about the central nerv- about the diverse functions of ous system; otherwise all the the organ systems, working either in topics were student-led. groups or individually, in the class- room or at home. It is important that 3) An evaluation of food intake the teacher is only the provider of and activity materials (textbooks, websites, mod- Referring to their data in Table 1, els, diagrams and other information the students should each state a

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 21 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 22

At this point, metabolism at the Food intake minus energy expenditure level of the cell can be introduced Day + kJ (food intake) - kJ (energy Energy balance using Worksheet 2. The students expenditure) should use their textbooks to answer the following questions, making the connection between our own energy balance and the activities of the cells, tissues and organs. 1. List the cell structures and Table 2: Food intake and energy expenditure balance organelles involved in each of the functions in the diagram. 2. In Worksheet 2, use arrows to show hypothesis about their own energy and the energy used during activity. the interdependency of these balance (e.g. weight loss or weight However, Table 2 only includes the functions. gain). They should then consider how energy expenditure during activity – 3. Compare your knowledge about their results can be compared quanti- and the basal metabolic rate will vary cell functions with the homeostasis tatively to those of their classmates – from student to student. of the human body. Describe any and arrive at the idea of using the Our metabolic energy expenditure parallels you see. body mass index (BMI). can be estimated, based on our Among my students, this led to a BMI = body mass (kg) height, weight, sex and agew4, w5. The discussion of the fact that our pheno- (height (m))2 students could estimate their basal type – for example, whether we are Using the equation or an online metabolic rate and include it in the tall or whether we are fat – is affected BMI calculatorw2, each student should calculation of their energy balance in by how the cells in our organs func- calculate his or her own BMI. The first Table 2. How does this change the tion. Sometimes these cells are present of The Science of Fat holiday lectures students' positions on the ‘energy but they do not function properly. My (‘Deconstructing obesity’ by Jeffrey M balance’ diagram (see page 20)? students then concluded that home- Friedman) can be used to introduce some of the limitations of BMI, in par- ticular that it does not apply equally Image courtesy of Friedlinde Krotscheck well to everybody. Then, using Table 2 and the data from Table 1, each student should cal- culate his or her energy balance each Structure Replication Metabolism to day and average the data over the pho ck to iS / week to see in which direction his or n o xi ra her energy balance tips. To do this, E f o y the students will need the teacher’s s te r u o guidance to convert the data in Table c e g 1 into kilojoules. There are also many a m

I websites that do the calculations or Regulation Communication provide the necessary informationw3. The calculated energy balance will vary from student to student – and may differ from the hypotheses made at the beginning of this section. On the ‘energy balance’ diagram (see page 20), fill in the energy balance (in kJ) calculated for each student and Transport Defence discuss the results. The students will realise that total energy expenditure can be divided into the energy that the body uses for metabolic processes Worksheet 2: the cell as the smallest living unit when at rest (our basal metabolic rate)

22 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 23

Image courtesy of JurgaR / iStockphoto Teaching activities

ostasis happens at all levels – between cells and between organs – and that homeostasis (balance) is necessary for a healthy body. 4) Introducing the Science in School article Even if the variation in metabolic energy expenditure were taken into account, not all the students would have an energy balance of close to 0; instead, some of them clearly con- sume more (or less) energy than they expend. Why? The discussion should lead to the concept of satiety: the feel- ing of having eaten enough. Introduce a second diagram (below, right) from Wynne & Bloom (2007) – but without labelsw1. Describe the research reported in the article and explain the signalling involved in appetite, eating and satiety. In partic- ular, the role of the L cell can be researched and discussed, drawing on Satiety the students’ knowledge of cell func- tions within our organ systems. The students should label the dia- gram accordingly. Since the students are now familiar with the concept of BMI and the defi- Brain nition of obesity, get them to discuss Hypothalamus in small groups the problems of obesi- ty and the necessity for help, with the aid of Worksheet 3w1. Blood-brain barrier Ask the students to imagine they were obese and answer the following questions: 1. Which one of the disadvantages associated with obesity (see Oxyntomodulin Circulation Worksheet 3) would you like to address first? 2. How would you do it? L cell Small intestine 3. Would you ask for help? If so, from whom? 4. Make a list of small steps to reach your goal. Food 5. How do the disadvantages of obesi- Oxyntomodulin ty relate to each other? What could induces satiety these disadvantages lead to? 6. Do you think that obesity is something that could happen to you? Explain. Image courtesy of Katie Wynne The discussion should lead the

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 23 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 24

Image courtesy of Friedlinde Krotscheck drug trials (right) to show that before Expensive life drugs are licensed, they go through many stages of testing to identify and minimise side effects. The following questions may arise or could be posed: Reduced activity Health risks 1. What effect does injected oxynto- level modulin have on the receptors in the brain? 2. What effect did oxyntomodulin have on the volunteers in the study, other than triggering satiety? 3. Could the injected hormone disturb Social isolation Reduced sexual the production of oxyntomodulin desire by the body (substrate-induced inhibition)? State a hypothesis.

Concluding the topic Difficulty Ask the students to write a short finding a job essay – either a creative story or a factual discussion – about the possible Worksheet 3: An obese person impact of using oxyntomodulin to treat obesity. Finally, the students could discuss tockphoto egal / iS sy of whether this type of research should ourte ge c Ima be funded at all. Why? Why not? With my students, this led to a lively students to the conclusion debate, including the point that many that obesity is a sign of more people starve to death around disturbed homeostasis, the world than die of obesity-related when some individuals problems. do not recognise sati- By the end of the unit, the students ety because their L should have understood that our cells may not func- organ systems depend on and influ- tion properly. ence each other, and that if one Treatment with parameter is changed there will be a oxyntomodulin chain of changes elsewhere in the sys- has the potential tem. This is true of any disturbance of to cause weight body homeostasis, whether overeat- loss by correcting ing, starvation or even drug abuse. the body’s energy balance, enabling References a healthy weight to Evans RM, Friedman JM (2004) be maintained. Howard Hughes Medical Institute holiday lectures: The Science of Fat. 5) Outlook of In these lectures for secondary the treatment school, leading scientists discuss Before oxyntomodulin how the body regulates weight by can be used widely to treat carefully controlling the storage and obesity, further study is nec- burning of fat – and how a better essary. From Wynne & Bloom understanding of these complex (2007), use the box about clinical metabolic systems could lead

24 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 25

Teaching activities

Hadjimarcou M (2006) Review of Learning from Patients: the Science of Medicine. Science in School 2: 83. www.scienceinschool.org/2006/ Clinical drug trials issue2/patients New drugs must go through a series of trials, known as phases, in Hadjimarcou M (2007) Review of order to test whether they are effective and safe. Clockwork Genes: Discoveries in Biological Time and Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads. Science in School 7: 66-67. Early trial in a small number of usually healthy PHASE I: www.scienceinschool.org/2007/ volunteers to establish a safe dose and look for potential issue7/clockwork side-effects. Hadjimarcou M (2009) Review of PHASE II: Larger group trial of volunteers (up to 100) with the Potent Biology: Stem Cells, Cloning, illness to be treated, to establish short-term effectiveness and and Regeneration. Science in School 11: safety. Both studies described in this article were early Phase II 92. www.scienceinschool.org/2009/ trials. issue11/potentbiology

PHASE III: Large group drug trial of volunteers (up to sever- Wynne K, Bloom S (2007) al thousand) with the illness, over an extended period of a year Oxyntomodulin: a new therapy for or more to compare the treatment with an existing therapy or obesity? Science in School 6: 25-29. a placebo. www.scienceinschool.org/2007/ issue6/oxyntomodulin PHASE IV: Drug trial usually performed after a treatment has been licensed, to establish the effectiveness of the treatment Web references when it is used more widely and to investigate long-term risks w1 – The necessary tables and work- and benefits. sheets for this activity can be down- loaded from the Science in School Phase website: III IV I II www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ issue16/obesity#resources Number 124 259 169 55 w2 – Body mass index can be calcu- Table 3: Potential obesity drugs entering each phase of clinical trials lated using online tools such as: in 1994-2007. Although many potential drugs are investigated, few www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ reach the market: only two are currently licensed in the USA. bmi-m.htm and

BACKGROUND www.bmi-calculator.net (in either metric or imperial measures). w3 – To calculate their energy intake in kJ, the students might find the search function on the Nutrition researchers to treatments that curb These and all other lectures in the Data website helpful. See: obesity and improve public health. Howard Hughes Medical Institute www.nutritiondata.com Lecture 1: Deconstructing obesity, holiday lecture series can be viewed To calculate their energy expendi- by Jeffrey M Friedman, MD, PhD online or ordered free on DVD. The transcripts of the lectures are avail- ture in kJ, they could use the infor- Lecture 2: Understanding fat: syn- able to download. See mation on Answers.com: drome x and beyond, by Ronald M www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/ www.answers.com/topic/average- Evans, PhD obesity energy-expenditure-of-various- Lecture 3: Balancing the fat equa- activities-and-sports To learn more about some of the tion, by Ronald M Evans, PhD Howard Hughes Medical Institute w4 – To calculate their own basal Lecture 4: Exploring obesity: from holiday lectures, see the following metabolic rates, the students could the depths of the brain to the far reviews: use the following website: Pacific, by Jeffrey M Friedman, www.bmi-calculator.net MD, PhD

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 25 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 26

Image courtesy of SaulHerrera / iStockphoto

w5 – A useful slideshow presentation Stage Austria, see: In 1988, she and her family moved to about basal metabolic rates is avail- www.scienceonstage.at Texas, USA, where she taught science for six years, and organised the annu- able here: To read about the Science on Stage al science and mathematics day at the www.slideshare.net/Meggib/energy Austria national event in February school. After summer courses on -expenditure-presentation-703878 2010, see: biotechnology and gene technology, w6 – To learn more about the Hayes E (2010) Science on Stage: she became a biotechnology ambassa- European Molecular Biology gathering momentum. Science in dor, teaching the subjects to US high- Laboratory (EMBL), see: School 15: 2-3. school teachers. www.embl.org www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ Returning to her old school in For more information about the issue15/sons Heidelberg (the Internationale European Learning Laboratory Gesamtschule) in 1995, Friedlinde for the Life Sciences, EMBL’s Resources became involved with the education science-education facility to bring activities at the European Molecular To learn more about clinical trials, see: secondary-school teachers in Biology Laboratoryw6, visiting the lab- contact with EMBL’s scientific envi- Garner S, Thomas R (2010) oratory with her students and taking ronment, see: www.embl.org/ells Evaluating a medical treatment. part in teacher-training courses. These w7 – Science on Stage is a network of Science in School 16: 54-59. emphasised the importance of ‘real’ local, national and international www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ science in science teaching – planning events for teachers. National issue16/clinical and doing experiments and under- Science on Stage events culminate To browse all medicine-related standing the process of scientific dis- in a European teaching festival articles in Science in School, see: covery. every two years, the next one being www.scienceinschool.org/medicine Since moving to Austria after her in Copenhagen, Denmark, from retirement in 2008, Friedlinde has 16-19 April 2011. continued to review articles and resources for Science in School, and to To learn more about Science on chair Science on Stage Austriaw7. Stage and find your national con- Friedlinde Krotscheck has taught tact, see the Science on Stage for a total of 25 years. After qualifying Europe website: as a teacher, she taught both biology www.science-on-stage.eu and sports at secondary schools in To find out more about Science on Hamburg and Heidelberg, Germany.

26 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 27

Teaching activities

Microscale chemistry: experiments for schools

Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas introduce a selection of very small- scale chemistry experiments for school.

Chemistry Ages 11-19 An important part of the job of a science teacher is to teach not only sci- entific theory but also experimental skills. For this reason, traditional practical work cannot and should not be replaced. However, con- siderations such as eco- nomic factors and envi- ronmental awareness Image courtesy of tap10 / iStockphoto and protection are also valuable in this age of ‘green chemistry’. Inte- grating some micro scale y industrial Image courtesy of Kraska / iStockphoto chemistry into tradition- Bstandards, all school al laboratory practical chemistry is small-scale – 50 work will help develop ml here, 1 g there. For the past three dents to these ideas. Working years, however, we have been doing think about with microscale quanti- microscale chemistry experiments at environmental ties is also appropriate our school – using one or two drops protection. Although for younger children. of each reagent. safety precautions are Marie Walsh, Republic Working at this scale has many still necessary, the risk of Ireland advantages. Using smaller amounts of involved is lower with smaller REVIEW reagent reduces the time, cost and volumes – and the students had waste involved, and encourages stu- no difficulties manipulating such

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 27 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 28

small quantities. At this scale, the The tables (experimental procedures Aims experiments do not need normal labo- and results) for all the experiments The purpose of Experiment 1 is for ratory glassware but can be per- can be downloaded as a Word® docu- the students to realise both that acids formed using simple household mate- ment from the Science in School web- and bases change the colour of pH rials such as chewing-gum packets; sitew1. indicators, and that the colour change these are cheap, can be reused several is different between acids and bases. times and require little storage space. Preparation In Experiment 2, the students Below are instructions for some To prepare the red cabbage indica- observe how acids react with metals. microscale experiments that we per- tor, cover 10 g fresh, chopped red They should observe the production form with 14- to 15-year-old students. cabbage leaves with 200 ml distilled of bubbles (effervescence) and also Our students carried out the experi- water and bring to the boil. Boil until that magnesium reacts more strongly ments in groups of four. Alternatively, the liquid turns light purple. Leave it (producing more heat and more bub- the teacher could demonstrate the to cool and strain off the liquid, which bles) with acid than iron does – experiments by placing the apparatus is the indicator solution. although less acid is used. We explain on an overhead projector. To prepare the sodium hydroxide to our students that the gas produced The reactions are part of the usual (NaOH) solution, dissolve 0.4 g sodi- is hydrogen. Greek education curriculum for this um hydroxide in 100 ml water. In Experiment 3, the students age of students, but would normally To prepare the limewater (saturated observe how acids react with carbon- be studied on a larger scale. calcium hydroxide solution), fill a ates. They should observe the produc- 500 ml beaker one-third full with cal- tion of bubbles (effervescence). We Experiments cium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] and add explain that the gas in the bubbles is Rather than using normal, full-scale distilled water up to the 400 ml mark. carbon dioxide. laboratory equipment, these experi- Stir the mixture well and leave the Experiment 4 gives the students the ments are carried out in a chewing- resulting suspension to settle for opportunity to practise using pH gum blister packet, from which the several hours. The colourless, saturat- indicator paper. They should learn foil and the gum have been removed ed solution (limewater) should be that the pH of a solution can be deter- (see image). Tablet packets would be poured into a dropping bottle, taking mined with indicator paper and the fine too, if the tablets were large care not to disturb the sediment. solutions classified as either acid or enough. Each experiment takes place Hydrochloric acid solution (15% base. in a separate well of the packet. w/w) can be bought in the supermar- In Experiment 5, the students inves- ket in some countries. Alternatively, tigate the conductivity of distilled Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas make a 1 M solution (approximately) water, hydrochloric acid and sodium in the laboratory. hydroxide solution. They should learn (Note that the hydrochloric acid that whereas distilled water does not solution used is more concentrated conduct electricity, both acid and base than the sodium hydroxide solution, solutions do. to ensure that the acid reactions can be observed with the naked eye, while the base reactions do not waste Our reaction vessel: a chewing-gum reagents.) packet For the experiments, each of the Red cabbage solutions should be placed in a dropping bottle.

Safety notes: to o h p Hydrochloric acid and sodium k · c o t S hydroxide, required for the majority i /

of the experiments described in this a v

o article, should be used only when k i l

u

wearing gloves and safety glasses. K

a

r With such small quantities and low a

· m a

concentrations, any remaining T

f

o

reagents can simply be washed y

s

e

t

down the sink. r

u

o

c

e

g

28 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 a www.scienceinschool.org

m I sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 29

Teaching activities

Experiment 1: Colour change of indicators

Equipment Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas Chewing-gum blister packet (see image on page 28) · Cut the drinking straw · Drinking straws, cut diagonally (see images, right) diagonally, so that it · Scissors can be used to meas- · Disposable gloves ure out small quanti- · Safety glasses ties of powder Materials · Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) · Ammonia-containing household solution (e.g. Ajax® window cleaner) One drinking-straw tip · Sodium hydroxide solution (0.1 M, of iron powder for preparation, see page 28) · Limewater (see page 28) · Red cabbage indicator (see page 28) · Litmus indicator solution · Phenolphthalein indicator solution · Lemon juice · Crushed aspirin tablet · Distilled water

1. Referring to Table 1, add a test solution (e.g. lemon juice) and a pH indicator (e.g. litmus indicator solution) to each well. Method

Well 1 Well 2 · 10 drops of lemon juice · 10 drops of limewater · 2 drops of red cabbage indicator · 2 drops red cabbage indicator Well 3 Well 4 · 1 drinking-straw tip of aspirin powder (see image above) · 10 drops household ammonia solution · 10 drops of water · 2 drops litmus indicator solution · 2 drops litmus indicator solution Stir the mixture

Well 5 Well 6 · 10 drops hydrochloric acid solution · 10 drops of sodium hydroxide solution · 2 drops of phenolphthalein · 1 drop of phenolphthalein

Table 1: Procedure for Experiment 1

2. Using Table 2, record the observed colour changes. 3. What can you conclude from your results?

Indicator Original colour of indicator Colour after acid is added Colour after base is added

Red cabbage Well 1: Well 2:

Litmus indicator solution Well 3: Well 4:

Phenolphthalein Well 5: Well 6:

Table 2: Results for Experiment 1 Image courtesy of: alexeynovikov / iStockphoto Image courtesy of: alexeynovikov www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 29 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 30

Experiment 2: Effect of acids on metals chalk) and an acid solution (hydrochloric acid) to each Equipment well. · Chewing-gum blister packet 2. What do you observe when the acid is added to the · Drinking straws, cut diagonally carbonate? · Scissors · Disposable gloves Experiment 4: Using pH indicator paper · Safety glasses Equipment Paper towels Materials · A4 white paper Iron (Fe) powder · · Scissors Magnesium (Mg) powder · · Disposable gloves · Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) · · Safety glasses Method · pH indicator paper or universal indicator strips 1. Referring to Table 3, add a metal powder (e.g. iron) and an acid solution (hydrochloric acid) to each well. Materials 2. What do you observe when hydrochloric acid is added · Vinegar to the iron powder? · Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) 3. How does this differ from the effect of the acid on · Ammonia-containing household solution magnesium? (e.g. Ajax window cleaner) 4. Can you explain the reason behind the difference? · Limewater · Distilled water Experiment 3: Effect of acids on carbonates Equipment Method Image courtesy of Diffydave / iStockphoto Image courtesy of Diffydave · Chewing-gum blister packet 1. Place a layer of paper towels on the table and lay an A4 · Drinking straws, cut diagonally sheet of paper on top of it. · Scissors 2. Cut five 4 cm strips of pH indicator paper and lay them, · Disposable gloves well spaced out, on the white sheet. (Alternatively, use · Safety glasses five universal indicator strips.) Materials 3. Onto each strip, pour two drops of a different test solution (e.g. vinegar or limewater). · Powdered chalk (CaCO3) 4. Once the strips have changed colour, compare the · Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) colour to the colour chart for the indicator paper and · determine the pH. Method 5. Using Table 5, record the pH of each solution and 1. Referring to Table 4, add a carbonate (e.g. powdered decide whether it is an acid or a base.

Well 1 Well 2 Well 1 Well 2 · 1 drinking-straw tip of · 1 drinking-straw tip of · 1 drinking-straw tip · 1 drinking-straw tip of iron powder magnesium powder of chalk powder sodium bicarbonate · 10 drops hydrochloric · 2 drops of hydrochloric · 5 drops of hydrochloric · 5 drops of hydrochloric acid solution acid solution acid solution acid solution

Table 3: Procedure for Experiment 2 Table 4: Procedure for Experiment 3

Solution Vinegar Hydrochloric acid Ammonia Limewater Distilled water

pH

Acid or base

Table 5: Results of Experiment 4

30 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 31

Teaching activities

Image courtesy of Jobalou / iStockphoto

Experiment 5: Conductivity of distilled water, The next step is to construct the electric circuit (see image, acid and base solutions below). Equipment N P Chewing-gum blister packet – · + · Scissors · Disposable gloves · Safety glasses · Aluminium foil D G · 3 connecting cables with crocodile clips A Sticky tape · B · 4.5 V battery · LED (5 mm in diameter) Well 1 Well 2

Materials F Distilled water · C · Hydrochloric acid solution (15% w/w or 1 M) · Sodium hydroxide solution Assembling the (0.1 M, prepared as above) electric circuit

LED Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas

An LED (light-emitting diode) has two electrodes. The positive electrode (anode) can be identi- fied by its longer wire 3. Using one of the cables, connect the positive terminal of the battery (P) with the anode of the LED (A). With a second cable, connect the LED’s cathode (B) to one of the aluminium foil strips (C). Via a third cable, connect Longer wire (anode) Cathode the other strip of foil (D) to the negative terminal of the battery (N). 4. Half-fill Well 1 with distilled water. This forms a com- plete circuit. Method Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas Does the LED light up? 1. Cut four strips of aluminium foil, each 6 cm x 0.5 cm. What can you conclude? Does distilled water conduct 2. To form the electrodes, bend two strips of foil into Well electricity? 1 of the blister packet, then use sticky tape to attach the strips to the table to prevent them from moving (see 5. Add 3 drops of hydrochloric acid to Well 1. image, below). Does the LED light up now? What can you conclude? Does hydrochloric acid solution conduct electricity? 6. Disconnect the cables from the two strips. 7. Bend two new strips into Well 2 and attach them to the table (as in step 2). 8. Connect the cables to the ends of the new strips (F and G). 9. Drop by drop, add sodium hydroxide solution to Well 2 until the ends of the aluminium strips are covered (we needed six drops). Does the LED light up? What can you conclude? Does sodium hydroxide solu-

Image courtesy of Elias Kalogirou and Eleni Nicas tion conduct electricity? Attaching the electrodes

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 31 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 32

Acknowledgement To view all chemistry-related articles Eleni Nicas trained as a biologist in Science in School, see: The authors would like to thank and for the past six years has taught www.scienceinschool.org/chemistry Penelope Galanopoulou, who teaches biology, chemistry and physics at English at the 3rd Pyrgos Lyceum middle school (ages 13-15), currently th Pierre de Coubertin, for translating at the 4 Junior High School of this article from Greek into English. Elias Kalogirou is a secondary- Pyrgos. For the last three years, she school science teacher. He is responsi- has used microscale experiments in Web references ble for the Laboratory Centre of her chemistry lessons, in collaboration w1 – The tables (experimental proce- Physical Sciences, which works with with the regional Laboratory Centre dures and results) for all the experi- secondary-school science teachers to of Physical Sciences. She is currently ments can be downloaded as a promote the use of experimental work studying for a postgraduate degree in Word document from the Science in in science teaching. In particular, he physics education. School website: encourages the use of microscale www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ experiments at school. issue16/microscale#resources

Resources Williams KL, Little JG (1997) Microscale Experiments for General Chemistry. Boston, MA, USA: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780669416060 Zubrick JW (2003) The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual: A Student’s Guide to Techniques 6th edition. New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 9780471215202 Skinner J (1998) Microscale Chemistry: Experiments in Miniature. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry. ISBN: 9781870343497 Greek speakers may find the follow- ing book useful: Κ. Γιούρη ∠ Τσοχατζή (2003) Σχο− λικά Πειράματα Χημείας, Από τη Μακρο− στη Μικροκλίμακα. Θεσ− σαλονίκη , Ελλάδα : Εκδόσεις Ζήτη ΙSBN: 9604318608 For another activity using red cabbage indicator, see: Lorenc A (2008) Investigating the action of urease. Science in School 9: 39-44. www.scienceinschool.org/2008/ issue9/urease If you enjoyed this article, you might like to browse all the other teaching activities that have been published in Science in School. See: www.scienceinschool.org/teaching Image courtesy of DOConnell / iStockphoto

32 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 33

Teaching activities

Car racing in the physics classroom

Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter

Physical science teacher Nicolas Poynter wanted his students not only to learn but also to think for themselves. His solution: a competition to build the fastest car!

Physics Ages 15+

The article presents a novel activity for a series of physics lessons, cover- ing a wide range of top- ics. In addition, teachers could use ideas in the article to stimulate a dis- cussion of speed, velocity The car prototype and acceleration or of dif- ferent types of energy (e.g. kinetic and electri- cal). o motivate my students and knowledge gained in lessons. Comprehension questions Tteach them about simple I felt that the usual textbook activi- arising from the article machines, electricity, experimental ties were too constrained: the stu- include: variables, the laws of motion and dents followed instructions as if · What are gear ratios? the scientific method, I developed a baking a cake. I wanted to make · How can you calculate car-racing project, spanning the top- them reason and think. The project power of a circuit? ics of the entire first block of a stan- was a complete success: not only · What is the relationship dard textbook for ninth-grade (aged did the students gain a deep under- between mass, acceler- 15) physical science in the USA standing of the subjects, but their ation and work done? (Hsu, 2005). Teams should compete enthusiasm was strong and infec-

REVIEW Eric Demoncheaux, UK to construct the fastest car, using the tious.

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 33 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 34

Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter

J hook

Bolt Eye hook

Car components required for the activity

The activity · A set of three or four tyres (a selec- Tools Timing: Each section described tion for the students to choose · A soldering iron below takes approximately 80 min- from). · A box saw utes: 20 minutes for the introduction, I bought old remote-controlled cars Wire cutters and an hour for practical work. Before · cheaply and then pulled wheels, axles Small screw drivers starting, students should know about · and motors off for parts. However, A small carpenter’s square measurements, unit conversions and · anything that rolls, such as screen- the scientific method. · A drill and small drill bit door castors, can be used as wheels; I taught the class every day of the Weighing scales many cheap, acceptable items can be · week, alternating between introducto- found in any hardware store or on the ry laboratory activities and the car Additional materials Internet. project: e.g. after two days of simple · Two prototype cars, one set on high circuit construction, we would speed (low torque), the other set on advance to building a circuit from Hardware and supplies low speed (high torque). These will scratch for the project. · 1.2 cm screws (suitable for wood) take about one afternoon to build. It Rules: In addition to a gearbox, · 5 cm bolts with washers and nuts is vital for the students to be able to each car should have a wooden chas- · 0.8 mm thick wire continually refer to a working model, sis, be powered by two 1.5 volt batter- · Eye hooks and J hooks even though they may greatly devi- ies, and have a switch included in the Solder ate from it in their own design. design of the circuit. · · Electrical tape · Optional: a bicycle with gears Glue suitable for metal, wood and · Optional: a NERF™ toy gun (a type Car components · of childproof plastic gun) with sty- plastic – the stronger the better Each group of students needs: rofoam bullets, sticky tape Paint and brushes · A gearbox and motor (identical for · Two photogates and a 10 m phone 3 mm diameter aluminium rod (for · each team). I used a three-speed · cord (to time the car race) gearbox with a 3 V motor from the front axles), approximately 3 cm w1 per car. The Tamiya gearbox kit Tamiya (item #70093), but any Assembling the gearboxes: gears comes with a spare axle that can will do and sliding friction A battery holder also be used for the front. · Students should learn the function A standard switch Coarse sandpaper · · of gearing as they construct the gear- · A pine, bamboo or oak board (7.5 · Pencils box for their car, and understand the cm x 25 cm x 2 cm) for the chassis · Grease (from the gearbox kit) parallels with the gears in a real car

34 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 35

Teaching activities

Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter Demonstrating Newton’s second law of motion with a NERF gun, styrofoam bullets and tape

Tools, supplies and hardware required for the activity

and bicycle. Newton’s laws and gears 5. Ask the students to select a gear air resistance (drag), and translate should be covered before you start. ratio (16.6:1, 58.2:1 or 203.7:1) and what they have learned to the design 1. Introduce the two prototype cars. assemble the gearbox, following of their car chassis. Demonstrate that one is faster on the supplier’s directions. They 1. Introduce Newton’s second law of an even surface, but unable to should choose the high-speed set- motion, and the concept of air climb steep gradients (>45 degrees) ting (16.6:1). If they choose incor- resistance. while the other, low-speed, high- rectly, they won’t realise this until I used a simple NERF gun which torque car can handle these easily they test the cars and will then fires toy foam bullets with the (see image on page 37). have to reassemble their gearbox – same force every time. I wrapped 2. Optionally, you may mount a bicy- quite a lot of work. The two proto- sticky tape around some bullets to cle on the desk to show the stu- types help them decide correctly increase their mass, and had stu- dents that at the lowest gear ratio, and minimise this extra work. dents weigh them (for some rea- the tyre spins most per turn of the 6. Place the leads across a battery to son, it makes all the difference pedals. At the highest gear ratio, check that the motor is operating whether they weigh them or the the tyre does the fewest revolutions properly and that the axle is spinning. teacher does). Then I asked my stu- per turn of the pedals, reducing the 7. Apply grease to the gears to reduce dents how far the bullets would force necessary to pedal (as when friction, increasing speed. The fly: if a bullet had twice the mass of climbing a hill). Thus, when it is results are minor, so many teams another, it would go half as far. The easiest to pedal, the speed is small- forget to grease their gears later on. law is fundamentally simple, but it est. This really helped my students The important thing is for them to is also vital to winning this car understand the purpose of gearing. understand that sliding friction race. 3. Give each team of two to four means lower efficiency. This is an 2. Show the students the prototype cars. students one of the identical opportunity to explain that the Mine had a 7.5 cm x 25 cm x 2 cm gearboxes. standard automobile (internal com- wooden chassis made from bam- 4. Tell the students that their cars will bustion engine) is less than 25% boo. race on level ground. efficient because of all the moving 3. Ask each team to choose the mate- From the very beginning of the parts – all the sliding friction. rial (a board cut to similar propor- project, I told them the precise length tions) for their chassis. of the race and the track: 10 m on a Designing the chassis: Newton’s I gave students the choice of oak, waxed floor. It is important that they second law of motion and air pine or bamboo, with pine being know the distance they are aiming resistance the lightest. Balsa would also be for: some cars run straight for 5 m The students should understand possible, and is even lighter. I and then fly off course. Newton’s second law of motion, and chose bamboo, the densest and

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 35 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 36

Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter

Draw a perfectly perpendicular line to mount the gearbox on the chassis

A selection of tyres to choose from

least efficient, for the prototype, in 1. Each team already has its own deal of satisfaction from these ‘real’ order to reward teams that selected gearbox with an axle and motor. tasks. the lightest wood, rather than those Give each team a battery holder that simply copied the prototype. and a switch. 6. Break open one of the electric motors, and show the students the Weighing scales were available in 2. Be sure to draw a perfectly perpen- copper coils and magnets inside to the classroom. I guided the stu- dicular pencil line on the chassis dents as little as possible, but for the gearbox, using a carpenter’s demonstrate electromagnets. answered all their questions and square, and mount the gearbox ensured that they all had a choice carefully on that line, setting the Choosing tyres: friction between heavy and light wood. axle and tyres at right angles to the Students are again taught about When the finished cars were weighed chassis later on – otherwise the car friction. Although air resistance and several lessons later, I explained will not run straight. sliding friction are detrimental to why pine was the best choice. 3. Secure the battery holder and gear- their cars’ speed, some rolling friction 4. Ask the students to draw their box to the chassis using wood is essential for the cars to move for- design on the wood for further screws, and attach the switch using ward at all. The goal is for the stu- cutting. The teacher should do the bolts, nuts and washers. Most dents to comprehend the balance cutting with a box saw. teams copied the prototype, between beneficial and detrimental 5. Let the students sand the chassis. though they could attach these friction: a paved highway is better 6. Paint and number the cars. components where they wished. than a gravel road because there is Students should attempt to make 4. Connect the components in a sim- less friction, but if ice coats the road, their cars lighter by choosing the right ple circuit using 0.8 mm thick wire. the cars will not be able to function wood, cutting pieces away, and sand- Be sure to check for loose connec- without using chains to bring back ing their cars into more aerodynamic tions. Drilling a hole through the some friction. shapes. centre of the board allows wiring The students should choose to travel from the top to the bottom between tyres that supply a great deal Wiring the chassis: simple of the car more efficiently than of friction and tyres that supply very electric circuits and motors looping over the sides. little. By pure chance, each group of Students should learn about simple 5. Optionally, students may solder my students chose a different type of electric circuits and electric motors. their finished connections with a tyre. Unfortunately, their cars also dif- They should have been instructed on soldering gun, under the teacher’s fered in many other ways, so it was voltage, current and resistance, as supervision. This is not a necessary impossible to tell precisely which well as simple circuits. step, but students derive a great tyres were best. Ideally, a smaller

36 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:39 Uhr Seite 37

Teaching activities

Image courtesy of Nicolas Poynter 3. Allow the students to make further modifications before the finals. We had battery holders for both AA and D batteries. Two teams chose the larger batteries, incorrect- ly supposing that they supplied more power. During time trials, their mistake became obvious (their cars had twice the mass and half the speed of the others), and they quickly switched to the lighter AA batteries. 4. Divide the class into groups of three cars per race. The lane posi- tion during the race will be very important, and there must be some Low speed, high torque way to determine who gets what lane. If your car runs straight, you want a middle lane. If your car goes a little left, you want the far right lane. selection of tyres might be used, and mounted on the bottom), different I allowed the fastest cars during they could be tested beforehand cars will need different tyre diame- time trials to select their lanes first under controlled conditions. ters for ground clearance. and had textbooks lined up as For us, it was obvious which tyres 4. Use strong glue, solder or sticky retaining walls for the cars to stay did not work, but not so clear which tape to secure the tyres to the axles. on track. During the race, contact ones worked best. Smooth tyres spun was allowed between the cars. In a little whereas tyres with very deep Racing fact, it was common for cars to col- treads grabbed the road too much. 1. Let the teams test their functional lide. Wider tyres seemed to be better, but if cars to evaluate and modify them. 5. Let the winners of the individual they were too wide, their mass The most common problem was races then race each other for one became an issue. The students who cars that ran off-course and had to overall winner. picked first chose abnormally large have their gearboxes realigned to The two fastest cars during head- tyres with large masses. The cars with be square with the chassis. Slow to-head racing were not at the top these tyres were horribly slow, so the cars often needed the screws of the of the list during time trials. This tyres had to be exchanged. Still, the gearbox to be tightened properly. turned out to be the result of a hid- entire class learned something from A small grub screw locks the gear- den variable – the orientation of watching this happen, and such mis- box axle into place, spinning it. It the switch. Most teams copied the takes can help everyone examine the readily works itself loose and must prototype, so the switch was science involved. The teams were be tightened with a hex wrench, flipped backwards to turn the allowed to change tyres at any point. included in the gearbox kit. motor on, giving the car backward 1. Cut a 3 cm length of aluminium 2. Once all cars are in working order, momentum that needed to be over- rod for the front axle using the start the time trials. I used two come. Two cars had the switch wire cutters. It can be mounted photogates as timers, 7.5 m apart reversed, giving them large head using eye hooks (see images on and linked by a 10 m phone cord. starts when pitted against other pages 33 and 34). For a three- There must be a pair of students: cars. This did not show in the time wheeled car, a J hook can be used. one flipping the switch, the other trials because cars were timed not 2. The gearbox axle will go in the rear. catching the car and switching the from a standstill but when passing 3. Allow the students to select from a motor off. the first photogate. variety of tyres. Depending on Now the teams can see how they This turned out to be a fantastic where they mount the gearbox (it rate against each other. The fastest opportunity to teach test variables can be mounted on top of the chas- car recorded a speed of 2.776 m/s (mass of the car, aerodynamics of sis, but seems to do better if and had a mass of 298 g. the body shape, detrimental fric-

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 37 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 38

Images courtesy of Nicolas Poynter

The finalists of the car race

Reference Hsu T (2005) Foundations of Physical Science 2nd edition. Cambridge, MA, USA: CPO Science. ISBN: 9781588921574

Web reference w1 – You can buy a three-gear box and other supplies for building electrical and mechanical models from Tamiya. See: www.tamiya.com

Resources If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also want to take a look at the physics articles previously published in Science in School. See: www.scienceinschool.org/physics The 2010 derby champion

Nicolas Poynter has a BSc in chem- istry from the University of Oklahoma, USA, and worked for 20 tion, tyres, how well the parts were Conclusion years as an analytical chemist in envi- assembled) and controlled vari- Through this project, my students ronmental laboratories and as a field ables (chassis material, gearbox, not only achieved the academic objec- chemist, searching for underground switch, 3 V battery power). The ori- tives but also became better problem petroleum leaks on cross-country pipelines. In 2009, he decided to focus entation of the switch came as a solvers and learned practical skills on training and education, because he surprise test variable also to me: that will stay with them for the rest of found that he enjoyed this part of his we had to analyse data to find out their lives. Although the project needs job more than any other. Nicolas now why the cars that won time trials a prototype and directions, I would teaches physical science (the first did not win the races. I figured it suggest keeping as much variability out, but did not tell my students. block of which is physics, the second as possible. In fact, I encouraged my being chemistry) at Choctaw High To my delight, several teams came students to deviate from the proto- School in Choctaw, Oklahoma, USA. to the same conclusion independ- type as long as they stayed within the ently, which was the reason for the rules. Although some of their designs project in the first place – to get the were functional disasters, the students students thinking. were deeply involved in the scientific process.

38 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 39

Teaching activities

Can you spot a cancer mutation? How does cancer develop, and how can geneticists tell that a cell is cancerous? This teaching activity developed by the Communication and Public Engagement team from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK, answers these and other related questions.

ll cancers result from changes Ato the DNA sequence in some of our cells. Because the genetic mate- rial within cells is exposed to muta- Biology gens such as UV radiation, it can Medicine accumulate mistakes during replica- Mutation tion. Occasionally, one of these muta- Ages 15+ tions alters the function of a critical gene, providing a growth advantage The teaching activities described in this article aim to actively to the cell in which it has occurred involve advanced secondary-school biology students in a search for and its offspring; these cells will mutations that could potentially lead to cancer development, using divide at a faster rate than their real genomic data. The procedure is not a truly experimental one, neighbours. Gradually, the DNA so no real laboratory instruments are needed. Instead, the search is acquires more mutations, which can a theoretical one based on authentic data. All materials required to lead to the disruption of other key run the activity along with detailed directions can be freely down- genes, resulting in particularly fast- loaded from the programme website. growing and invasive cells. The result is tumour formation, the invasion of Apart from describing the various steps of the activity, the article the surrounding tissue and eventually and the supporting website include important information on what metastasis – the spread of the cancer cancers are, what causes them, how they develop and how genom- to other parts of the body. ic information can be useful in developing treatments. Furthermore, Genes that lead to the development several discussion points are suggested to enhance students’ under- of cancer when mutated are known as standing of cancer. ‘cancer genes’. Michalis Hadjimarcou, Cyprus REVIEW Tumour suppressor genes (TSGs , Figure 1) encode the information for making proteins that normally slow down cell growth, preventing unnec- copy remains, there is still a ‘brake’ teins continually active or lead to the essary division or promoting apopto- on the cell’s growth. gene’s activity not being regulated sis (programmed cell death) if the Proto-oncogenes (Figure 2), in con- anymore, they become oncogenes, cell’s DNA is damaged. Both copies of trast, encode proteins that promote promoting uncontrolled cell growth a TSG would have to be inactivated cell division and differentiation (spe- and division. For proto-oncogenes, a by mutation before this control of the cialisation). When these genes acquire mutation in one copy of the gene can cell cycle is lost. If one functional mutations that either make the pro- be enough to drive cancer develop-

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 39 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 02.09.2010 11:01 Uhr Seite 40

Images courtesy of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Communication and Public Engagement team ment. Cell division Cycle begins (mitosis) Each individual case of cancer is caused by a unique set of mutations in proto-oncogenes and / or TSGs. Cell prepares to divide Cell grows Although the number is not yet known, it is thought that five or more mutations in cancer genes are needed for a cell (and its offspring) to become cancerous. KRAS (pronounced kay-rass) is a proto-oncogene that encodes the pro- Cell decides tein KRAS, an intracellular signalling Replication whether to Cancer of DNA continue protein involved in promoting cell growth (to distinguish genes from Figure 1: Tumour suppressor genes normally function to prevent cell growth and proteins, gene names are convention- division. To lead to cancer, both copies of the gene would have to be mutated ally written in italics). The following (marked in red) activity enables students to use real genomic data from the Cancer w1 Ras Genome Project to investigate com- Cell division Cycle begins mon mutations in the KRAS gene that (mitosis) are associated with oncogenesis (can- cer formation) and the development Cell prepares of pancreatic, colorectal, lung and to divide Cell grows other cancers. Originally developed for school visits to the Sanger Institutew2, the activity was then made available through the Yourgenome.orgw3 website. It recently formed part of the first course on bioinformatics for European teachers Replication Cell decides Cancer of DNA whether to w4 continue run by ELLS at the European Bioinformatics Institutew5 in Hinxton, Figure 2: Proto-oncogenes normally function to promote cell growth and division in UK. The full activity stimulates dis- a controlled manner. A mutation in one copy of the gene (marked in red) can be cussion about the causes of cancer, the enough to drive cancer development function of gene mutations, protein structure and protein function.

Image courtesy of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Communication and Public Engagement team The KRAS activity Estimated duration: 45–60 minutes (with presentation and discussion)

Materials All materials required to run the activity can be freely downloaded from the Yourgenome.org website either individually or as a compressed zip filew6. · One set of 11 worksheets (KRAS_student_wsheet.pdf) – one worksheet per pair or group of stu- dents. An alternative version is available for black and white print- Figure 3: The KRAS gene sheet ers or for use with colour-blind stu-

40 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 41

Teaching activities

Amino acid code

Figure 4: Use the codon wheel to translate DNA codons into amino acids. To decode a codon find the first letter of your

Image courtesy of C Brooksbank, European Bioinformatics Institute sequence in the inner circle and work outwards to see the corre- sponding amino acid. For example, CAT codes for H (histidine). Figure 6: Example from a student

Note that this diagram uses the sense DNA codons (5’ to 3’) worksheet Sanger Institute Communication and Public Engagement team Trust Wellcome Image courtesy of the

tions on the gene sequence, squares for marking regions which have been 5’ 3’ Sense A C A TTG checked (KRAS_annotations.pdf), and DNA reusable adhesive (e.g. Blu Tack®) for Antisense T GCT AA sticking arrows and squares to the Transcription 3’ 5’ gene sequence banner. Find out more Nucleotide about how to use this method in the downloadable teacher notesw6. A C A U U G mRNA 5’ 3’ In addition, you might find it help- Translation ful to have DNA, peptide and/or pro- tein models to hand, and to use the

Protein Thr Leu Kozlowski Image courtesy of Cleopatra Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute can- cer animations (Cancer: Rogue cells and Amino Acid Role of cancer genes) on the KRAS activity websitew6. Figure 5: mRNA is synthesised from the antisense strand of DNA. The sense strand of DNA, used in this activity, has the same sequence as the corresponding mRNA strand, Introduction to the activity except that T is replaced by U The Investigating Cancer presenta- tion (available onlinew6) provides stu- dents. For large groups (20 or more), together, enables the results from dents with an overview of cancer. It use two sets of worksheets, provid- the whole class to be displayed introduces the concept that cancer ing double coverage of the gene. simultaneously. arises due to abnormalities in DNA · One KRAS gene sequence banner · One codon wheel sheet sequence, explains the various causes (KRAS_gene_banner.pdf; Figure 3) (KRAS_codon_wheel.pdf or any of these mutations and introduces the for the whole class, and one KRAS other codon table for sense DNA, 5' worksheets and activity. Several sec- gene sheet (KRAS_genesheet_yg.pdf; to 3') per group, see Figures 4 and 5 tions of the presentation encourage Figure 3) per group of students. The · One summary sheet (KRAS_ student discussions (see the presenta- gene sheet (printed on A3 or A4) data_sheet.pdf) per group tion notesw6). requires little preparation time. The · Pens In the first part of the activity, stu- KRAS banner, printed on several To use the banner, you will also dents identify differences between sheets of paper that are then stuck need large arrows for marking muta- KRAS gene sequences in healthy and

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 41 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 42

tumour cells on their worksheets, and mark these on the If one of the letters is different (a peak has changed KRAS banner or gene sheet. colour), this indicates a mutation in the sequence. In The worksheets have raw KRAS DNA sequencing traces Figure 7, the A in the DNA sequence from the healthy cell from healthy and cancerous cell samples, represented as has been replaced by G in the tumour cell. coloured line plots – one for each region of the gene. The If the students find a double peak at one base position, four bases are represented on these plots by four different this should be recorded with the two alternative bases at colours. Each coloured peak represents an individual that position, one above the other. In the example below, DNA base: the healthy DNA sequence has a G, whereas the tumour Red: T sequence has both G and C. This is not an insertion: it rep- Green: A resents a heterozygous mutation where only one copy of Blue: C the gene has substituted a C for a G. In this case the Black: G (normally these peaks are yellow but this is not tumour sequence has replaced G with a C. easy to read on paper) All students should indicate the gene regions they have There are 11 numbered worksheets in total, each show- checked by ticking off the relevant region on the gene ing two different regions of the KRAS gene. The six muta- sheet (see Figure 9). tions in the KRAS gene are on worksheets one to six, so be Students who find a mutation should indicate the specif- sure to mix the sheets up before distributing them to the ic base by circling it on the gene sheet (see Figure 9) and class. All must be completed to ensure full coverage of the make a note of which codon this lies in (in this example, gene. It is important to point out to the students that codon 12). mutations are (relatively) rare, so not everyone will find They should also fill in the table at the base of the work- one; this can be used to explore the importance of negative sheet, using the codon wheel to translate the DNA data and comprehensive coverage in scientific studies. sequence into the amino acid, as shown in Table 1:

Identifying the mutations Amino acid Healthy cell Tumour cell Healthy cell Tumour cell number DNA sequence DNA sequence amino acid amino acid Using the worksheets, the students will compare a sec- tion of DNA sequence from a healthy cell and a tumour 12 GGT GTT G (glycine) V (valine) cell from the same patient. The easiest way to identify Table 1: Mutations as listed on the individual worksheets whether a mutation has occurred is to write the DNA sequence below the coloured peaks (there is a colour key When all mutations have been found, record them on on the sheet to help) and to compare the written the summary data sheet (see Table 2). sequences. Amino Healthy cellTumour Healthy Tumour acid cell DNA cell DNA cell cell number sequence sequence amino acid amino acid

Healthy cell 12 GGT GTT G (glycine) V (valine)

13 GGC GAC G (glycine) D (aspartic acid)

Tumour cell 30 GAC GAT D (aspartic acid) D (aspartic acid)

Figure 7: Identifying sequence mutations 61 CAA CGA Q (glutamine) R (arginine) 146 GCA CCA A (alanine) P (proline)

173 GAT GAC D (aspartic acid) D (aspartic acid)

Healthy cell Table 2: Mutations as recorded on the summary data sheet

Discussing the results Tumour cell The results above are all single base substitutions. These Figure 8: A heterozygous mutation mutations within the protein-coding region of the KRAS gene may be classified into one of three types, depending on the information encoded by the altered codon. Figure 9: Ticking off the gene · Silent mutations code for the same amino acid. regions that have been 9 10 11 12 13 14 Missense mutations code for a different amino acid. checked, and marking any AGTTGGAGCTGGTGGCGTA · 30 40 Nonsense mutations code for a stop and can truncate mutations ·

Images courtesy of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Communication and Public Engagement team Trust Wellcome Images courtesy of the the protein.

42 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 43

Teaching activities

cussion on how genomic information can be used to fur- ther our understanding of cancer and develop cancer treat- ments. Discussion points for students include: · What experiments or approaches could be used to establish which cancers involve KRAS mutations? · What could be the advantages of knowing this information? · Cancer is a genetic disease: it is a result of changes in the DNA sequence. This is why many people believe that significant funding of research into cancer genetics is the best way of developing new cancer treatments and thus dealing with the disease. Cancer treatment and care for Figure 10: A 3D representation of the KRAS protein. Amino patients also requires large amounts of money (the UK acids 12 (blue), 13 (yellow), 61 National Health Service spent more than £2 billion on (orange) and 146 (pink) are cancer care alone in 2000). Where and how do students those which carry mutations think money should be spent?

Web references Discuss whether the mutations are significant – will they have an impact on protein function or are they w1 – Learn more about the Cancer Genome Project at the ‘silent’? In this activity, codons 30 and 173 are silent and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute here: therefore do not have a functional impact. www.sanger.ac.uk/genetics/CGP The presentation has a 3D space-fill image of the KRAS w2 – To learn more about the Wellcome Trust Sanger protein (Figure 10); slides 26–30 show where on the pro- Institute in Hinxton, UK, a leader in the Human Genome tein the significant mutations are, and you will notice they Project, see: www.sanger.ac.uk are all in the same region. Codons 12, 13 and 61 were the The institute offers visits for school classes, teachers and first mutations to be associated with oncogenic transfor- the general public, as well as teacher support and further mation in the KRAS protein; mutation 146 was only dis- opportunities to get involved. See: covered in 2005. Use these slides to discuss the impact that www.sanger.ac.uk/about/engagement the mutations could have on protein structure and KRAS’s w3 – The Yourgenome.org website was launched by the function in growth signalling. Sanger Institute to stimulate interest in and discussion As an optional activity, the students can use RasMol, the on genetic research. It includes a section of varied and molecular modelling software used to create the images well developed resources for teachers, including the on slides 26–30, to highlight the mutated amino acids in activity presented in this article. See: w6 the protein structure. See the teacher notes for details. www.yourgenome.org w4 – The European Learning Laboratory for the Life How does information like this influence our Sciences (ELLS) at the European Molecular Biology approach to cancer? Laboratory provides continuing professional develop- The teacher notesw6 contain a wealth of background ment courses (LearningLABs) in molecular biology for information, using KRAS as an example, to stimulate dis- European secondary-school science teachers. In March

Amino acid Healthy cell DNA Tumour cell DNA Healthy cell Tumour cell Type of mutation Significant number sequence sequence amino acid amino acid yes / no 12 GGT GTT G (glycine) V (valine) Point (missense) yes 13 GGC GAC G (glycine) D (aspartic acid) Point (missense) yes 30 GAC GAT D (aspartic acid) D (aspartic acid) Point (silent) no 61 CAA CGA Q (glutamine) R (arginine) Point (missense) yes 146 GCA CCA A (alanine) P (proline) Point (missense) yes 173 GAT GAC D (aspartic acid) D (aspartic acid) Point (silent) no

Table 3: Type of mutation, as recorded on the summary data sheet

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 43 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 44

2010, ELLS ran the first bioinfor- to treat the disease better. See: mutations cause diseases, see: matics LearningLAB for teachers at http://news.bbc.co.uk or Patterson L (2009) Getting a grip on the European Bioinformatics use the direct link: genetic diseases. Science in School 13: Institute in the UK. For information http://tinyurl.com/28o7zgf 53-58. on ELLS courses, please go to: Sample I (2009) First cancer genome www.scienceinschool.org/2009/ www.embl.org/ells sequences reveal how mutations issue13/insight w5 – To find out more about the lead to disease. The Guardian. See For an interview with cancer European Bioinformatics Institute, www.guardian.co.uk or use the researcher Joan Massagué, see: see: www.ebi.ac.uk direct link: Sherwood S (2008) On the trail of a w6 – To download all materials for http://tinyurl.com/yeknj5x cure of cancer. Science in School 8: the KRAS activity and for more Roberts M (2009) Scientists crack 56-59. background information, see: ‘entire genetic code’ of cancer. BBC www.scienceinschool.org/2008/ www.yourgenome.org/teachers/ News. See http://news.bbc.co.uk or kras.shtml issue8/joanmassague use the direct link: For a classroom activity to discuss the http://tinyurl.com/yb59qcz ethics of knowing what your genes Resources This article includes a video inter- have in store for you, including the view with Professor Mike Stratton, Websites for student reference possibility of cancer, see: and discussion leader of the Cancer Genome Project. Strieth L et al. (2008) Meet the Gene The Cancer Research UK website Machine: stimulating bioethical dis- offers accessible information on all Further reading cussions at school. Science in School the major cancers and current Friday BB, Adjei AA (2005) K-ras as a 9: 34-38. research. See: target for cancer therapy. Biochimica www.scienceinschool.org/2008/ http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/ issue9/genemachine cancerandresearch et Biophysica Acta – Reviews on Cancer 1756(2): 127-144. doi: If you enjoyed this article, why not The New Scientist website has an area 10.1016/j.bbcan.2005.08.001 take a look at other medicine-relat- focusing on cancer, featuring the ed articles previously published in latest articles on cancer research Futreal A et al. (2004) A census of Science in School? See: developments and interactive ani- human cancer genes. Nature Reviews www.scienceinschool.org/medicine mations demonstrating targeted Cancer 4: 177-183. doi: cancer drug functions. See: 10.1038/nrc1299 www.newscientist.com/topic/cancer The author version of this paper can The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Nature Milestones in Cancer offers a be freely viewed online. See: Communication and Public collection of selected review-type www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc Engagement programme communi- articles and an online library of or use the direct link: cates the nature, discoveries and won- recent research papers from Nature http://tinyurl.com/3x5hah6 der of science and its implications for Publishing Group, available for For a full catalogue of somatic can- individuals and society. It tries to download as PDFs. It also has a cer genes (COSMIC) described in make complex biomedical research cancer timeline showing major the above paper and created by accessible to a range of audiences, milestones in cancer research. See: the Cancer Genome Project, see: including school students and their www.nature.com/milestones/ www.sanger.ac.uk teachers, through a visit programme, milecancer Stratton MR, Campbell PJ, Futreal AP a range of collaborations, and the The Inside Cancer multimedia web- (2009) The cancer genome. Nature Yourgenome.org websitew3. For more site created by the DNA Learning 458: 719-724. doi: information about the programme, Center offers a multimedia guide to 10.1038/nature07943 see: cancer biology, diagnosis and treat- Download the article free of charge www.sanger.ac.uk/about/engagement; ment. See: www.insidecancer.org from the Science in School website to contact the team, email (www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ [email protected]. Recent news articles issue15/cancer#resources), or sub- The BBC News website has published scribe to Nature today: an interesting article on how newly www.nature.com/subscribe. discovered genetic hotspots for For more information on how genetic bowel cancer might help doctors

44 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 45

Project in science education

LeSa21: primary- Primary General science Chemistry school science Ecology Ages 5+

The Lesa21 website contains a activities very handy and convenient alphabetical list of topics and associated activities for pri- mary school. A good number of these are not restricted to the science classroom, which makes integration between dif- ferent subjects easier. The top- ics can therefore also be used as inspiration for interdiscipli- nary secondary-school proj- ects. The teaching activities detailed in this article may be used as a model of how real-life situa- tions, in this case oil spills, can Teaching science in primary school be used as a starting point for learning science. The article can be challenging. Astrid Kaiser should be of particular interest to teachers in coastal areas, and Marlene Rau describe a rich which are the first to suffer the source of online materials in three consequences of such disas- ters. languages – and highlight some The experiments are interesting and may be used on their own activities about oil and water. or in conjunction with other activities such as comprehen- sion exercises and discussions. Questions to ask could include Image courtesy of Hedwig Storch; image source: Wikimedia Commons “What are the main challenges during an oil clean-up opera- tion?” (e.g. weather condi- aunched in 2002 by Astrid Kaiser from the University of tions), and “What can we do LOldenburg, Germany, the LeSa21 websitew1 offers a range of experi- on an individual level to min- ments, resources and background information for primary-school sci- imise the possibility of such ence and humanities lessons. Materials for both teachers and their disasters?” (e.g. reduce oil con- pupils are available on a wide range of topics (currently 93), including sumption). One can also look ‘The eye’, ‘bicycles’, ‘spring’, ‘health and disease’, ‘girls and boys’, ‘plan- at the implications for the indi- ets, the Moon and the stars’, ‘electricity’, ‘water’ and many others. These vidual, such as how to dispose materials are developed mainly by university students who are training of cooking oil, or how to clean to be primary-school teachers. something covered in oil.

Available in English, German and Spanish, the ‘Learning’ section is REVIEW Paul Xuereb, Malta suitable for both children and teachers, and includes experiments, sto-

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 45 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 46

ries, poems, pictures, book recom- very light; the other is that water has Oil mendations and links to relevant a kind of thin, invisible ‘skin’ on its · websites for each of the topics. surface. Light things do not break this · Liquid soap or washing-up liquid The pages for teachers (in German skin, but are supported by it – some only) contain information, didactical animals, e.g. water striders, can even Procedure hints, literature and web links to walk on it (see image on page 45). 1. Half fill the glasses with water. background information and further This thin skin is caused by surface 2. Add some food colouring or ink to resources on each of the topics. Pupils tension. one glass, and mix it with a spoon. at the six schools involved in the proj- When you added the soap drop, the Leave it for a while until the water ect contribute to further German-lan- pepper probably moved away from it is still again. guage sections. There, they can share and slowly sank. The pin would have their own experiments and ideas on 3. Add a spoonful of oil to each glass. sunk immediately. the topics, and discuss a selection of Observe what happens. the topics in an online forum. Why is that? The soap breaks this 4. Add 1-2 drops of soap to each glass Below are some activities from the thin skin of the water – you could and mix it with a spoon. LeSa21 project, which could form the also say that soap reduces the surface 5. What do you think will happen? basis of a teaching unit on oil and tension. As the skin disappears, there Observe carefully and draw what water, including surface tension and is nothing left to hold the pepper and you can see. the removal of oil spills, suitable for the pin on the surface of the water, so older primary-school children. The they sink. Although this is how it may What happens? individual experiments and further look, pepper and soap do not repel Oil and water usually do not mix materials on the topics can be found each other – the tension of the rest of well. The reason is that water mole- w1 on the LeSa21 website . the water (where the soap has not yet cules can form hydrogen bonds with reached) pulls the floating pepper each other and with hydrophilic Soap has magic powers – surface away from the soap. (‘water-loving’) molecules, but not tension with oil-like hydrophobic (‘afraid of water’) molecules. In addition, oil is This experiment introduces the Soap has magic powers – lighter than water; it has a lower den- notion of surface tension. mixing oil and water sity, so if you try to mix them, the oil Materials Materials layer stays on top of the water. If you · Two bowls of water · Two glasses add some soap and stir it for a while, · Ground pepper · Water the oil and water can be mixed together. If you leave it for a while, A pin Food colouring or ink · · the oil and water will separate again. A spoon (the size is not important) · · A spoon (the size is not important) Why is that? Soap contains special · Liquid soap or washing-up liquid

Images courtesy of Nicola Graf Procedure

1. Half fill both bowls with water. Hydrophilic head Water 2. Sprinkle a spoonful of pepper onto the water in the first bowl. Take a close look while you are doing this. 3. Let the pin float in the second bowl of water. Oil 4. Add a drop of soap to each bowl. 5. What happens? Draw what you observe.

Hydrophobic tail What happens? Initially, both the pepper and pin float. One reason is that they are both Surfactant Surfactant-stabilised oil droplet

46 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 47

Project in science education

Fire boats trying to put out the blaze on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon on 21 April 2010

Image courtesy of US Coast Guard; image source: Wikimedia Commons

ingredients called surfactants, which reaching the southern coasts of the reduce the surface tension of water USA. Attempts to remove the oil and allow water and oil to mix. This included burning it and using chemi- makes soap a wonderful cleaning cal and mechanical binding agents. agent: not only water-soluble dirt but Similar accidents have happened in also oily dirt can be washed away Europe, too: in Autumn 2002, the oil into water. tanker Prestige was involved in an Surfactant molecules have two dif- accident off the Spanish coast and ferent ends, as shown in the diagram sank. Up to 63 000 tonnes of oil were (left). One end (the head) is spilt into the sea, and hundreds of Image courtesy of LeSa21 hydrophilic; the other end (the tail) is kilometres of the coastline of northern Cat litter hydrophobic. Soap contains many Spain and France were polluted with · Sand surfactant molecules, and each of oil. Many animals died: more than · Oil binding / absorbing powder them binds water at one end and oil 18 000 oil-contaminated birds were · (used for oil spills, can be bought at the other end, which is how they counted. Many volunteers helped to online or in well-stocked paint help water and oil to mix, and also clean the beaches, and special ships shops or chemists) bind to oily dirt. tried to stop the growing oil slicks. After a while, the oil and water Let’s find out what oil does to bird Procedure separate again, because the bonds feathers and how we can remove the 1. Pour some oil into a bowl and add between water molecules are more oil from the water. some feathers. stable than those between the surfac- Materials See how they stick together and tant molecules and the oil or the Several big glasses or china bowls imagine what effect an oil spill would water. · · Water have on birds and other animals, once · Vegetable oil the oil reaches the shores. The oil spill · Feathers How might oil spills be cleaned up In April 2010, an explosion on the · A spoon in open water, to prevent them from oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf · A paper coffee filter reaching the shores? of Mexico led to a catastrophic oil · A straw We will test various methods of spill. As we go to press, an estimated · Wooden sticks removing the oil from the water. 5000-100 000 standard barrels of oil · Fine sawdust Either ask the children to get into per day have been leaking out for · Wood shavings groups, with each group testing a dif- several months, the spill eventually ferent method, or let the whole class

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 47 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 48

Images courtesy of LeSa21

Investigating oil spills Materials Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

The origins of Lesa21: boxes of experiments

The origins of Lesa21 go back to the RÖSA projectw2, demonstrate to the children that materials can be used which is still continuing at the University of Oldenburg. over and over again in different and creative ways. Since 1994, images, stories, experiments and back- Individual boxes have been created on 70 different ground information for primary-school science and themes, many of them the same as the current LeSa21 humanities lessons (Sachunterricht) have been sorted topics. The ideas and materials are tested in local by topics and collected in boxes that local teachers can schools by university students and trainee teachers. borrow. Several satellite Lernwerkstätten offer similar collec- The experimental equipment in the boxes is mostly tions of boxes, mainly in schools across northern recycled material found in standard households or Germany, but also at the Pädagogisches industry, such as broken mirrors, pipettes from empty Beratungszentrumw3 (education centre) in Brixen, medicine bottles, boxes of old buttons, stones and used northern Italy. In addition, a book has been published guitar strings. The objects not only provide an inexpen- for Japanese teachers, who are now also working with

BACKGROUND sive source of experimental equipment, but also the box system (Kaiser et al., 1999).

watch as you try out all methods der to bind the oil and remove it plus mechanical diggers to remove together. using a spoon. the floating oil film. 2. Take a new bowl, fill it with water, Compare and discuss the results of add some oil and stir. What hap- the experiments. The children should Comprehension questions pens? realise that the best results are 1. What happens if you pour oil into 3. Skim off the oil with a spoon. achieved with a combination of water? 4. Skim off the oil with a coffee filter. (mechanical and chemical) methods. Answer: oil and water don’t mix- 5. Try to push the oil together with They may also consider the factors the oil floats, forming iridescent sticks. affecting the efficiency of each streaks and / or grease drops. 6. Mix the oil with wood shavings. method, e.g. the volume of removal 2. How can you separate the oil from Now try to push the oil-soaked agent used. Finally, they should notice water? wood shavings together. that there will always be some oil left Answer: using a combination of 7. Does it work better with cat litter? in the water at the end; in real-life sit- the above methods, but it is diffi- If so, why? uations, we have to rely on the cult. 8. Bind the oil with sawdust (it will ecosystem to deal with this remainder 3. Is the water clean again after your float due to the oil’s hydrophobici- over time. experiment? ty and lower density) and remove Which other methods of cleaning Answer: no, some oil will always it from the water using a spoon or the water can you imagine? Let the remain. paper coffee filter. children come up with some ideas for 4. What is left in the water? 9. Try to weigh down the oil with real-life ‘oil spill removal machines’. Answer: oil, some of which is sand to make it sink. Ideas might include a ring of cat litter clumped together with cleaning 10.Use oil binding / absorbing pow- to stop the oil from floating away, agents.

48 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 49

Project in science education

Step 4 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10 Discussion

Acknowledgements Resources The two experiments ‘Soap has The Australian Maritime Safety magic powers’ are part of the book Authority has developed a series of Chemie in der Grundschule (Chemistry very good educational resources for in Primary School; Kaiser & Mannel, primary- and secondary-school chil- 2004). Published in German, it con- dren about oil spills, including sev- tains many other experiments on dif- eral games, animations and the For a broader consideration of ferent topics. mathematics of oil spills. See the hydrocarbon fuels, see: Parts of ‘The oil spill’ experiment website (www.amsa.gov.au) or use are from Kaiser (2009). the direct link: van Dijk M (2009) Hydrocarbons: a http://tinyurl.com/375ny3e fossil but not (yet) extinct. Science in References School 12: 62-69. You might also want to browse the Kaiser A et al. (1999) Topic – bezu Sogo www.scienceinschool.org/2009/ ‘Bridge’ collection of free marine gakushu. Doitzu no Kyoiku tono Sissen issue12/energy education resources from the taiwa – Nisiu itteheikino Gakkou wo If you enjoyed reading this article, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, hiraku. Kyoto, Japan: Kitaoji-Shobo. you might want to browse the other USA, searching for ‘oil spill’: ISBN: 4762821578 Science in School articles for www2.vims.edu/bridge Kaiser A, Mannel S (2004) Chemie in primary-school teachers: The US National Wildlife Federation der Grundschule. Baltmannsweiler, www.scienceinschool.org/primary offers a special section on the 2010 Germany: Schneider Verlag oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Hohengehren. ISBN: 9783896767660 including background information Kaiser A (2009) Praxisbuch handelnder Both RÖSA and LeSa21 were initiat- and teaching activities. See the web- Sachunterricht Band 1 3rd edition. ed by Professor Astrid Kaiser at the site (www.nwf.org; search for 'oil Baltmannsweiler, Germany: Carl von Ossietzky University of spill school') or use the direct link: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren. Oldenburg, Germany, where she is http://tinyurl.com/36sqg45 ISBN: 3834000167 the director of the Institute of The US National Oceanic and Education Science and teaches didac- Atmospheric Administration has tics for primary-school science and Web references developed a comprehensive teach- humanities lessons (Sachunterricht). w1 – For more information about ing module on how an ecosystem Her main focus is on gender issues, LeSa21, see: www.lesa21.de recovers from a major oil spill, science, ecology and energy education To reach the English and Spanish based on the 1989 Exxon Valdez in primary school and kindergarten. versions of the ‘Learning’ section, disaster in Alaska’s Prince William She has published numerous research click on ‘Lernen / Learning / Sound ('Prince William's oily mess'). papers and more than 40 books. aprendizaje’ in the top menu, then See the website Dr Marlene Rau was born in choose your language flag on the (http://oceanservice.noaa.gov) or Germany and grew up in Spain. After left-hand side. use the direct link: obtaining a PhD in developmental w2 – To learn more about the RÖSA http://tinyurl.com/ofvaxk biology at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, project, see: The US education organisation The Germany, she studied journalism and www.roesa.uni-oldenburg.de League offers a four-lesson plan on went into science communication. w3 – Find out more about the oil, water and wildlife: Since 2008, she has been one of the Pädagogisches Beratungszentrum http://learningtogive.org/lessons/ editors of Science in School. in Brixen, Italy, here: unit377 www.schule.suedtirol.it/pbz/brixen/

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 49 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 50

Solar cars: the future of road transport?

Ever dreamed of a car that needed no fuel and produced no pollution? Mico Tatalovic investigates the solar car.

“ would like to tell you something et he was so eager to get to know bet- Iabout the first tour ever of a vehicle ter. By the time he was 14, Palmer that drove around the world without made plans for an eco-friendly solar petroleum-based fuel: it was a solar car; he figured that in 20 years time, Physics car,” says Louis Palmer, a Swiss math- everyone would be travelling in solar- Chemistry ematics teacher who travelled around powered electric cars anyway. With Social studies the world in a solar car. He did it to all the problems that petroleum- Energy make a point: at least in theory, all the fuelled cars caused, such as global Ages 12+ energy necessary for powering cars warming, polluted air and oil-based could be derived directly from the conflicts, he thought that electric solar Sun – with no need for polluting cars would soon replace them. Renewable energy is an petroleum. Some 20 years later, in 2004, Palmer important topic, discussed The chic, blue Solartaxi got most of decided: “OK, if I cannot buy a solar in all European countries; its energy from the solar panels on its car, I will build it myself. But then I students hear about it not trailer. On a cloudy day, Palmer re- realised I had no idea how to build a only at school but also in charged the car from the electricity car and no money to do it.” These the media. The topic is an grid, but he made sure that it was two problems might have discour- exciting one for young clean solar electricity by installing aged a less optimistic person, but not people, and this article solar panels on his house and feeding Palmer: “I thought that if it was a could be used for all top- the electricity produced into the grid. good idea, I would get support.” And ics involving energy – not He claims that electric car technology indeed he did: more than 200 friendly only physics but also in is viable, and solar panels can fuel all individuals and several corporations interdisciplinary discus- of our road travel. “Sunshine is free,” helped him make a car that would sions (e.g. physics, chem- he says. take him across 38 countries in 18 istry and social studies). Palmer says that he had wanted to months, without emitting any carbon Since the author high- do a road trip around the planet to dioxide and using only clean solar lights how it is possible to “see the beauty of this world” since energy. build and use solar cars, he was eleven, back in 1982. But his Of course, building the car and its the students could discuss teacher warned him that such a trip solar panels requires energy and caus- the problem of storing would damage the planet – polluting es carbon dioxide emissions, but once energy for night or cloudy gases from the exhaust pipe would built, Palmer’s Solartaxi did not emit days.

contribute to the growing pollution any carbon dioxide. He believes, REVIEW Alessandro Iscra, Italy and global warming of the very plan- therefore, that solar cars have an

50 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:40 Uhr Seite 51

Science topics Images courtesy of Louis Palmer and solartaxi.com Images courtesy of Louis Palmer

Louis Palmer and his Solartaxi in Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 51 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 52

springs to mind: Why aren’t we see- ing more of these cars available for purchase at our local car dealerships? David Sims-Williams, an engineer from the University of Durham, UK, and a technical advisor to Durham University’s solar car team, another undergraduate team of solar racecar engineers, says that solar racecars “are not intended to be prototypes of future road vehicles”. For the small solar panels on their roofs to be enough to power them, solar cars have to be extremely light and aero- dynamic. As a result, most solar race- cars are single-seaters, looking more like space rockets than normal cars – they are built to win races, not to accommodate families on their shop- ping trips. Although they do not translate directly into commercial cars because their purpose is so different, they are still important in raising pub- lic awareness of this technology. At the moment, it would be very difficult to power large, heavy cars purely with solar panels on their Cambridge University roofs. The solar panels that racecars Eco Racing car use are expensive and easily dam- aged, so most commercial solar cars have thus far used less efficient (but cheaper and less sensitive) solar pan- Similar student efforts have helped els that can only partially power build many different solar racecars for them, for example by supplying just the World Solar Challengew1 since the energy to run the car’s air condi- 1987. More than 40 universities have tioning, such as in Toyota’s Solar solar car teams that compete at this Prius or Pininfarina’s BlueCar. Images courtesy of Cambridge University Eco Racing Images courtesy of Cambridge University biennial event in Australia. The 2007 Nonetheless, says Sims-Williams, winners averaged speeds of more the technology developed for solar Cambridge University Eco Racing car than 90 km/hr, were powered solely racecars will find its way into main- by the Sun, and covered 3021 km stream motoring eventually, as big car from Darwin to Adelaide. manufacturers pick up on technologi- important role to play in slowing Similar races take place elsewhere, cal advances made by the specialised global warming. Furthermore, three such as the American Solar race teams, and start implementing years after his world tour in 2007, Challengew2 (Plano in Texas, USA, them in commercial cars, usually with Palmer is still using the Solartaxi as to Calgary, Canada, biennially since a lag of about 10 years. his personal vehicle, driving on the 2001) or the South African Solar Everyone Palmer talked to in every same batteries, paying nothing for Challengew3 (from Johannesburg to corner of the globe would love to buy fuel and spending nothing on repairs Pretoria via Cape Town and Durban, a completely solar car, but “to bring (there have been none). since 2008). But with some of the this technology to the mainstream To design and construct the brightest young engineers working market, the cost of straightforward, Solartaxi, Palmer had the help of stu- on designing solar cars for more than non-solar electric cars has to come dents from four Swiss universities. 20 years now, an obvious question down,” he says. This would require

52 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 53

Science topics

w5 – Find out more about the Australian car manufacturer HybridAuto Ultracommuter here: www.hybridauto.com.au w6 – Learn more about the Zero Emissions Race here: www.zero-race.com w7 – Bluesci is a student-run science magazine at Cambridge University. See: www.bluesci.org w8 – To learn more about SciDev.Net, see: www.scidev.net

Resources

Solartaxi in the mountains The Suntrek website enables you to of southern China ‘take a journey into space and find out more about the Sun and its effect on the Earth’, including a range of school activities and this is up to us. For him, it already projects. See: www.suntrek.org has. ‘Formula Sun’ is a project for UK

Images courtesy of Louis Palmer and solartaxi.com Images courtesy of Louis Palmer As we speak, Palmer’s next quest is secondary-school students to build to organise an electric car race – the solar boats and race them in a Zero Emissions Racew6 – in which national challenge, delivered by international teams of engineers will the ‘Engineering your future’ initia- design cars dependent on renewable tives. See: energy and capable of racing at fast www.engineeringyourfuture.com Solartaxi and Louis Palmer on speeds, again to raise awareness of Taupo Racetrack in New Zealand electric cars’ capability. As we go to Solar-Active offers educational press, the race is planned to start on resources, workshops and courses 15 August 2010 and will go around in sustainable development, energy more investment in the mass produc- the world in 80 days, returning to its efficiency and renewable energy tion of electric cars to overcome some starting point in , Switzerland. technologies, including solar power. of the associated problems. Like all See: www.new.solar-active.com electric cars, solar cars need an elec- Web references tric battery, which has a limited range, w1 – To find out more about the especially when the Sun isn’t shining. World Solar Challenge in Australia, Born in Rijeka, Croatia, Mico So far, these batteries have been now the Global Green Challenge, see: Tatalovic did a bachelor’s degree in rather heavy and expensive to fit into www.globalgreenchallenge.com.au biology at Oxford University, UK, and cars – a limitation that has turned then a master’s in zoology at w2 – Learn more about the American buyers away from electric (and thus Cambridge University. While working Solar Challenge here: solar) cars in the past. on Cambridge University’s BlueSciw7 http://americansolarchallenge.org So far, although a few solar cars magazine, he developed a love for such as Palmer’s Solartaxi, the French w3 – For more information about the science writing and went on to do a company Venturi’s Astrolabw4 or the South African Solar Challenge, see: master’s in science communication at Australian UltraCommuterw5 exist, the www.solarchallenge.org.za Imperial College, London. He is cur- vast majority of cars in use today are w4 – The French automobile manu- rently the deputy news editor at not solar or even electric. Commer - facturer Venturi built the electro- SciDev.Net, the Science and cialising the solar car technology is solar hybrid concept car Astrolab. Development Networkw8. still in its infancy. So will the solar See: www.venturi.fr/ electric car technology ever revolu- electric-vehicules-astrolab tionise the way we drive? Palmer says -concept.html

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 53 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 54

Evaluating a medical treatment

Sarah Garner and Rachel Thomas consider why well- designed and properly analysed experiments are so important when testing how effective a medical treatment is.

In a medical trial, one group of people is given the new treatment and the other group, a placebo or an existing treatment Image courtesy of iStockphoto / gemphotography

Image courtesy of iStockphoto / thelinke uppose a new medical treatment way of telling whether it was due to Shas been developed that may the treatment or to something else. reduce high blood pressure. The treat- There are many other factors that ment has been extensively tested in could have caused the patients to the laboratory and on a few volun- recover: for example, they may have teers, and the researchers believe that felt better simply because they were it will work on the general popula- being treated by a doctor (a reaction tion. Now it is time to find out if they known as the placebo effect); they are right. may have recovered anyway, regard- Historically, doctors found out less of the treatment; or perhaps their whether a treatment worked in practice recovery was due to changes in their by using it on their patients. They could personal circumstances or lifestyle. then compare the patients’ responses Without taking these and other fac- to the new treatment and to previous tors into account, it could be easy to treatments for the same illness, and also conclude incorrectly that the treat- compare how responses to the new ment worked. Doctors would then treatment varied between patients. incorporate it into their everyday However, if patients did indeed recover How do we test whether a new drug for practice, mistakenly believing it to be from their condition, there was no reducing blood pressure really works? effective.

54 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 55

Science topics

The development of the two groups (such as whether each However, the results could still be randomised–controlled trial patient lived or died) were recorded deliberately biased to prove that a In the 19th century, scientists pro- and compared. treatment worked, by including sicker posed a method of controlling exactly Some time later, in 1917, the process patients in the study group than in what was happening and recording of ‘blinding’ improved the scientific the control group. The solution to any changes in the patients’ condi- method even further. If neither the this, first used by the UK’s Medical tion. In these controlled experiments, patient nor the researcher knows Research Council in the 1940s for its there were two groups of patients – which treatment the patient is receiv- study of whooping cough vaccines, is the study group, which received the ing, then the results cannot be inter- to randomly choose which patients new treatment, and the control group, fered with either intentionally or unin- will get the new treatment, and which which received a placebo (an inert tentionally. This is known as a double- will get the control treatment. medication) or an established treat- blind trial (in a single-blind trial, Controlled trials with random allo- ment. The patients were then either the patient or researcher knows cation to the two groups became observed, and the outcomes of the which treatment is being received). known as randomised–controlled tri-

Biology pressure and see how it varies from student to student. Mathematics They could then run up and down the stairs a few Health education times and see how one person’s blood pressure can vary. Against this background level of variation, how Statistics do researchers determine the effect of drugs to lower Ethics blood pressure? Sociology The article could also be used to spark off larger activ- Ages 14+ ities. For example, the students could be given news- paper articles about a piece of clinical research or a The article gives an insight into modern, evidence- ‘wonder drug’, perhaps related to conditions they are based medicine, covering the often overlooked and familiar with, such as migraine, glucose intolerance or seldom understood route from drug development to allergies. In groups, the students could use textbooks, successful medical treatment. Statistical methods and the Internet and other sources of information to their problems are discussed, providing interdiscipli- research: nary opportunities for teaching students aged 14 and The disease being treated; over. · Which treatments are available so far for that disease; It is full of hot topics to be discussed with older stu- · dents and teachers of different subjects. For example: · Whether the new treatment has been tested on ani- mals; · ‘Knowledge’ is not static: as new side effects are reported or other new evidence is accumulated, the · Whether previous clinical trials on that treatment accepted knowledge can change. have been published; · Often the clinical trials that are necessary before a · How the current clinical trial was designed and drug can be marketed require more time than some what statistical analysis was done; very ill people have to live; who should be allowed · How they think the trial could have been improved. to take part in a clinical trial – and which of those On the basis of this research, each group of students patients should get the control treatment and which could then write their own newspaper article about the new drug? the clinical research. Do they think the original news- · Why might the reporting of new treatments be paper article was accurate? If not, why not? biased? For most teachers, the article will also be a valuable · Do statistics give a false sense of security? source of information on the history of medical Picking up on the example of blood pressure and how research and randomised–controlled trials.

REVIEW variable this is, the class could measure their blood Friedlinde Krotscheck, Austria

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 55 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 56

als or RCTs. By randomising, you not from the random fluctuations that the new treatment will reduce a only end up with a random distribu- happen by chance. patient’s maximum blood pressure by tion of sicker and healthier patients Of course, the effect of the treat- 5 mmHg: after treatment, you would between the two groups, but also ment is exactly what you want to find expect that the average blood pres- achieve a random distribution of out with your RCT. Before you start sure of the study group would be at things you do not know about (but an RCT, however, you will already least 5 mmHg lower than the average which may also affect the patient’s have some evidence that the treat- blood pressure of the control group. health and therefore the outcome of ment works, perhaps from laboratory There are statistical formulae to the treatment). Then – because, in or small-scale testing. This allows you determine the sample size you need theory, the only difference between to estimate the effect size. to have a good chance of detecting the two groups is whether they that estimated effectw2. For your received the treatment being tested – Image courtesy of iStockphoto / wwing blood-pressure treatment, these for- you can assume that any differences mulae tell you that you would need in outcome are most likely due to around 64 patients in each group to the treatment and nothing else. detect a treatment difference of RCTs are now universally used in 5 mmHgw3. clinical research to evaluate new treat- ments. How different is different? The trial has run its course, the par- Designing and analysing RCTs ticipants have been monitored, and you have recorded a difference in More people, more power Normal blood pressure is between blood pressure between the patients If you are planning to test your 90 and 120 mmHg in the study and control groups. blood-pressure treatment with an Thanks to randomising, you know RCT, you need to design it carefully. In a healthy patient, blood pressure that the two groups were comparable One important question is: How should be between 90 and 120 mmHg. before the trial. So either your new many patients should you include in But patients with high blood pressure treatment has had an effect, or a very the trial? This depends on how big an will consistently have measurements surprising event has occurred: the effect the new treatment has: the big- of more than 140 mmHg, putting treatment really has no effect at all ger the effect, the smaller the number them at increased risk of heart attack and the difference you recorded in of patients you need to distinguish it and stroke. You might estimate that your RCT was due to chance alone. Imagine that the average blood pressure of the study group was 5.2 mmHg lower than the average blood pressure of the control group. How do you decide if that difference is due to chance or to a real effect of the treatment? After all, blood pres- sure can vary for many reasons, not all of which can be controlled in your RCT. What statisticians do is to allow for some variation; rather than rely on one average for each group, they calculate a range of values for each group that they are pretty confident will include the true value. This range of values is called a confidence interval. If the confidence intervals in your blood-pressure study are Image courtesy of iStockphoto / hipokrat Image courtesy of iStockphoto 141.2-148.9 mmHg in the control Before running an RCT, the treatment is tested in the laboratory and on small groups group and 133.7-139.3 mmHg in the of volunteers study group, you can see that the two

56 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 57

Science topics Image courtesy of iStockphoto / sculpies Image courtesy of iStockphoto

For a medical trial to work, the people taking part must be representative of the real-world population of people to be treated

included enough patients in the trial. Perhaps the effect of the treatment is smaller than you estimated – with a Evidence changes medical larger sample size, you might have detected a difference between the two practice groups of patients.

Before 1994, doctors recommended that patients with lower back Applying RCTs to the real world pain rest in bed. However, after reviewing all the available evidence, A well-designed and properly the Clinical Standards Advisory Group realised that bed rest was not analysed RCT is a very powerful tool beneficial and was perhaps even harmful. This led to a radical for medical researchers – providing change in treatment, with patients being advised to remain activew1. doctors with the information they

BACKGROUND need to make the right decisions when treating their patients. Nonetheless, RCTs do have limita- tions. confidence intervals do not overlap. fact that 5% of the time (or 1 in 20 Firstly, it is not enough to know that Statisticians, therefore, say that the times) they will be wrong due to the new treatment makes a statistical- observed difference between the two chance alone. To be even surer that ly significant difference. Is the differ- groups is statistically significant – and you have the right value, you have to ence also clinically significant – for you can assume that it really was measure more patients and even then, example, does a decrease in maxi- caused by the treatment. the only way to be 100% sure is to mum blood pressure of 5 mmHg But how confident is confident? measure the whole population! make a real difference to a patient’s Statisticians usually say that 95% con- If the result turns out not to be sta- health and well-being? After all, in fident is good enough; this means tistically significant, one of the key our example, the treatment still did that they are prepared to live with the questions to ask is whether you not reduce the blood pressure to the

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 57 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 58

Evidence can change views

A systematic review of the evidence for minocycline, might not necessarily be made with the drug. an antibiotic that was heavily promoted as the best cure It was only when all the information was reviewed for acne, was recently conducted to investigate its effi- together that the link was made. A systematic review cacy and its safety. showed that there was no evidence that minocycline One side effect of minocycline is potentially fatal was any better at curing acne than any other known autoimmune liver problems. These problems are rare treatment. Given the risks, the authors of the review and can have a number of causes. Most doctors do not concluded it should not be used in preference to other come across them, and even if they do, the connection treatments (Garner et al., 2003). BACKGROUND

normal range of 90-120 mmHg. To requirement to report all outcomes. Acknowledgement judge if this is clinically relevant, doc- Journals are also standardising the If you enjoyed this article but tors may have to turn to other types information they require researchers would like to learn more about the of research. to submit with their manuscripts, mathematics involved, read the origi- A further limitation of RCTs is that which makes it more difficult for bad nal, longer version of this articlew3, patients in the trial may not represent results to be hidden. which appeared in Plus magazinew7, a the real-world population of people to Above all, RCTs are expensive and free online magazine which opens a be treated. Because trials aim to con- time consuming. As a result, many door to the world of mathematics trol as many factors as possible, they trials are not conducted at all, or their with all its beauty and applications. usually have strict inclusion and sample size or duration is limited. exclusion criteria. For example, preg- This may mean that the trial is not Reference nant women are not included due to powerful enough to detect whether a Garner SE (2003) Minocycline for acne potential risks to the unborn child; treatment is effective, when in fact it vulgaris: efficacy and safety. this meant that no one realised that is. Smaller trials may also miss impor- Cochrane Database of Systematic thalidomide caused birth defects until tant adverse effects (which may be Reviews 1: CD002086. doi: it was introduced into general prac- rare), and shorter trials are unable to 10.1002/14651858.CD002086 tice in the late 1950sw4. capture long-term outcomes. Then there is the question of how Clinical researchers, therefore, often Web references RCTs are reported. No one wants to review the outcomes of a number of w1 – For more information about rec- publish bad news, particularly people trials together in a meticulous analy- ommendations for bed rest, see the who have spent time and effort to sis known as a systematic review – ‘management’ section of the article develop a new treatment. Historically, this effectively increases the sample ‘low back pain and sciatica’ on the therefore, researchers did not publish size. Organisations such as the Patient UK website w5 trials that showed no difference or Cochrane Collaboration and the (www.patient.co.uk) or use the even that an older treatment was bet- UK’s National Institute for Health direct link: w6 ter. Some unscrupulous researchers and Clinical Excellence base their http://tinyurl.com/y9gghww have also reported selective or incom- recommendations to the medical com- w2 – You can read a good explanation plete results, which made a new treat- munity on systematic reviews. of how treatment effects and sample ment look better than it really was. Since the 1940s, the use of RCTs has size can affect statistical power in The research community has taken significantly changed medical prac- Jerry Dallal’s Little Handbook of steps to stop both these biases by tice. Doctors are no longer reliant on Statistical Practice: making companies and researchers their own observations but can rely www.jerrydallal.com/LHSP/ register the start of a trial, so that it is on rigorous evaluation to ensure that sizenotes.htm more difficult to hide unfavourable the benefit of a new treatment out- outcomes, although there is still no weighs the risks. w3 – For the original version of this article, including more details of the

58 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 59

Science topics

Image courtesy of stevecoleccs / iStockphoto February 2010: Evaluating a medical treatment), visit: http://plus.maths.org/podcast The charity Sense About Science has produced a useful guide about interpreting medical claims in the press (I’ve got nothing to lose by trying it). It can be downloaded free from the Sense About Science website (www.senseaboutscience.org.uk) or via the direct link: http://tinyurl.com/63zv4l Freiberger M (2010) Medical research plagued by bad reporting. Plus Magazine. http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/ jan-apr10/reporting Plus Magazine offers a range of articles, podcasts and classroom activities addressing the mathe - matics behind heath and medicine: ‘Do you know what’s good for you?’ See: http://plus.maths.org/wellcome If you enjoyed this article, you might like to browse the other statistics, see: ble for providing UK national guid- medicine-related articles in Garner S, Thomas R (2010) ance on promoting good health and Science in School. See: Evaluating a medical treatment – preventing and treating ill health. www.scienceinschool.org/medicine how do you know it works? Plus See: www.nice.org.uk Magazine. w7 – To learn more about Plus, the http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/ free online mathematics magazine, Dr Sarah Garner is the associate jan-apr10/rct visit: http://plus.maths.org director for research and development w4 – To learn more about the thalido- at the National Institute for Health mide disaster and also about recent Resources and Clinical Excellence (NICE)w6, research into thalidomide and limb For a brief description of the four which bases its recommendations to formation, see: phases of a clinical trial, see the the medical community on systematic Zimmer C (2010) Answers begin to information box in: reviews. Rachel Thomas is co-editor of Plusw7 emerge on how thalidomide caused Wynne K, Bloom S (2007) 16 Mar magazine. defects. New York Times : D3. Oxyntomodulin: a new therapy for www.nytimes.com obesity? Science in School 6: 25-29. w5 – The Cochrane Collaboration is www.scienceinschool.org/2007/ an international network of people issue6/oxyntomodulin helping healthcare providers, policy Ledford H (2010) Companies pledge makers, patients, their advocates to make more trial data public. and carers make well-informed Nature News 15 Jun. doi: decisions about human healthcare. 10.1038/news.2010.299. See: www.cochrane.org To listen to the podcast that w6 – The National Institute for Health accompanied the original version and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is an of this article (Plus podcast 22, independent organisation responsi-

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 59 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 60

Image courtesy of MARUM, Bremen University

Cold seeps: marine ecosystems based on hydrocarbons

Thousands of white crabs grazing on an extensive mussel bed at a cold seep off the coast of Pakistan

Glossary

Chemosymbiosis: a symbi- David Fischer takes us on a trip to the bot- otic association between a tom of the sea to learn about cold seeps – multi-cellular organism (the host), which provides a their ecosystems, potential fuels, and pos- protected environment, and a bacterium that oxidises sible involvement in global warming. specific chemicals to obtain energy and synthe- What are cold seeps? These hydrocarbons form up to sev- sise organic carbon that is Cold seeps are often oases for eral kilometres below the surface of required by the host microbial and macrofaunal life on the the sediment when organic matter is Methanotrophic: a methan- sea floor – similar to hydrothermal degraded by either high temperatures otrophic organism vents, where hot water emerges or micro-organisms. When the hydro- metabolises methane as its under high pressure, several kilome- carbons are produced in very large only source of energy and tres below the sea (see Little, 2010). In quantities, or where tectonic stress carbon contrast to hydrothermal vents, how- Pore water: the water that ever, cold seeps can occur at water fills the space between depths of between a few metres and individual grains of sedi- several kilometres, often along conti- ment nental margins. Thiotrophic: a thiotrophic They are places where hydrocarbons organism oxidises sulphur – mostly methane but also ethane, compounds propane, or even oil – seep from the sediment. Unlike at hydrothermal Trophosome: a specialised vents, the emanating fluids (gases and internal organ in tube Microbes covering cold seeps in an liquids) are no hotter than the sur- worms, hosting symbiotic anoxic region, which does not support

BACKGROUND bacteria rounding seawater, and they are not macrofauna necessarily under high pressure. Image courtesy of MARUM, Bremen University

60 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 61

Science topics

squeezes the sediments, the fluids rise One such energy source is methane, surface of the sediment (as in cold to the sediment surface through released at cold seeps. The anaerobic seeps), the sulphide produced by the cracks and fissures. The fluids may oxidation of methane (AOM) is a meta- micro-organisms can fuel an entire seep out at a continuous, low rate or bolic process with sulphate as the final ecosystem. Microbial or faunal the rate may vary. electron acceptor, mediated by a sym- colonies at cold seeps can be between biosis of methane-oxidising (methan- 100 cm2 and several hundred square Life at cold seeps: anybody home? otrophic) archaeans and sulphate- metres in diameter. Where the sul- Some fascinating creatures can be reducing bacteria. phide-rich pore water escapes from 2- → - - found at deep-water cold seeps, CH4 + SO4 HCO3 + HS + H2O the sea floor, the seep site will be including giant tube worms, mussels, AOM takes place in anoxic marine colonised concentrically around these clams and crabs. How are these sediments, wherever methane from spots: closest to them will be those ecosystems supported? deep down and sulphate from the organisms which tolerate the highest Almost the entire seabed is home to seawater meet. The end products of concentrations of otherwise toxic sul- micro-organisms. However, to sup- AOM, bicarbonate and sulphide ions, phide (see upper image on page 62). port significant levels of microfauna are released into the surrounding sed- At the basis of these ecosystems in deep water, where the sunlight iment and pore water (see glossary are methanotrophic and thiotrophic does not reach, requires oxygen-rich for all terms in bold). bacteria. Some of them live in water and an alternative energy At locations where high methane chemosymbiosis with mussels source – such as hydrocarbons. concentrations are found close to the (methanotropic bacteria), clams and

Biology The text also provides valuable background reading to Chemistry introduce the origin of life at the bottom of the sea, for example with a comparison to hydrothermal vents. Earth science Marine environments In addition, the article provides references to content- rich websites (MARUM, NOAA) where the reader can Ecosystems find further information and resources (including Energy teaching materials) on the topic. Therefore, I suggest Biodiversity completing the teaching unit with an activity from Climate change one of the cited web resources. Ages 15+ The article can also be used as a comprehension exer- cise. Possible questions include: If you are curious about the extremes of life on Earth, In AOM this is the article for you. David Fischer reports on a) sulphate is oxidised to sulphide exotic biological communities living at the bottom of the sea and on the exploration of these environments. b) sulphide is reduced to sulphate The language is easy enough to understand, with a c) methane is reduced to bicarbonate glossary for technical terms. The article can be used in d) methane is oxidised to bicarbonate. different subjects (biology, earth science, chemistry) Gas hydrates to address a whole range of topics, such as: ecosys- a) consist of water molecules surrounded by gas tems, energy metabolism, food chains, natural molecules resources, sedimentary rocks, non-renewable energy b) consist of gas molecules surrounded by water sources, marine environments and biodiversity, air molecules pollution and the greenhouse effect, oceanographic c) are formed under high-temperature and research, hydrocarbons, clathrates, or redox reac- low-pressure conditions tions. Some of these topics (e.g. ecosystems, energy d) are formed under high-temperature and sources) are particularly suitable for an interdiscipli- high-pressure conditions. nary approach.

REVIEW Giulia Realdon, Italy

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 61 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 62

our increasing energy demands. Cold Cold seeps are often Gas bubbles seeps generally indicate large colonised in a concentric amounts of hydrocarbons below the fashion Tube worms seabed, and they are comparably easy Chemosynthetic to identify because of their typical bacteria colonisation by specialised organisms. Most interesting in this respect are Carbonate gas hydrates. In these ice-like crys- Mussels and clams talline compounds, water molecules form a cage structure called a clathrate around individual gas molecules (see image on page 63) – in natural gas hydrates, this is mostly methane. Gas Gas hydrate hydrates form where pore water is

Image courtesy of BGR, after Sahling et al. (2002) Low / high sulphide concentration saturated with methane gas, within a narrow window of low-temperature Plume: sucks in oxygen, carbon and high-pressure conditions found dioxide, and hydrogen sulphide so only in deep permafrost soils – and in that microbes living inside the trophosome can process it as food marine sediments at depths below about 400 m (see lower image on page 63). At atmospheric pressure, gas Heart Ventral blood vessel hydrates are unstable and rapidly Dorsal blood vessel decompose into water and free gas. Gas hydrates store large amounts of Trophosome: micro-organisms that have a symbiotic relationship with chemically bound energy: because of Trophosome the tube worm live here. They gener- the specific molecular structure, one Capillary ate food for the tube worm through a process called chemosynthesis litre of gas hydrate holds 0.8 l of Worm water and 164 l of methane gas. The Tube Tube: hard cylinder made of a total energy resources in gas hydrates chitin proteoglycan / protein on Earth are estimated to be greater complex that protects the soft than those of all other known fossil insides of the tube worm fuels combined – ever. Several countries, including the Capillary Trunk: the tube worm has no USA, Japan, South Korea, India and anus; all of the waste from the microbial reactions are China, are exploring ways to harvest stored here gas hydrates – safely, which is not a trivial matter. More importantly, how- ever, it is essential to stop the gas Chemosynthethic bacteria: These bacteria use sulphides hydrates from melting. Global warm- and carbon dioxide to pro- ing is increasing the oceans’ tempera- duce oxygen and nutrients tures, and this could cause a large-

Image courtesy of Enduring Resources for Earth Science Education (ERESE) Image courtesy of Enduring Resources to be used by the tube worm scale melting of gas hydrates in the sediment. Tube worms host chemosymbiotic bacteria in their trophosome. This is a cross-section If they were to melt, the methane of Riftia pachyptila, which is found at hydrothermal vents released into the atmosphere would react with atmospheric oxygen to

tube worms (thiotrophic bacteria). The formation and fate of gas form CO2, very efficiently enhancing The mussels and clams harbour the hydrates the greenhouse effect. Left undam- bacteria in their gills, whereas the Cold seeps are not only interesting aged, gas hydrates act as stabilising tube worms shelter the bacteria in because of the ecosystems they host: agents for the continental slopes. If their trophosome; the bacteria, in they could be important contributors they were to melt, the slopes could return, supply their host with organic to climate change and valuable new destabilise, resulting in huge subma- carbon (see image above). sources of hydrocarbons, to satisfy rine landslides and tsunamis.

62 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 63

Science topics

Gas Images courtesy of MARUM, Bremen University molecules

Image courtesy of IfM-Geomar, Kiel, Germany Image courtesy of IfM-Geomar, White gas hydrates consolidate Water molecules Burning gas hydrates sea floor sediments Clathrate structure of gas hydrates

How do we study cold seeps? they had filled with sample material. to collect samples or taking photos of Studying cold seeps is obviously a This of course made it very difficult a larger area to provide an overall pic- big challenge for scientists: how can to have any visual control of where ture of a cold seep location. gases, water, sediment and organisms the tools hit the ground. There is still a lot of research to be sampled up to several kilometres Matters have improved dramatical- be done into the development and below the sea surface? First, you have ly with the development of sophisti- stability of cold seeps over time, and to reach your sampling location – this cated underwater technology, such as little is known about the organisms may take several days by ship, even remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) colonising them. Yet the most for cold seeps on the continental shelf, and autonomous underwater vehicles important question about cold seeps and maintaining such a research ves- (AUVs), equipped with an array of is how much methane is transferred sel costs several tens of thousands of cameras, lamps and sampling devices. into the ocean and subsequently into Euros a day. And when you get there, MARUMw1 has its own workshop to our atmosphere, where it will con- how do you reach the sea floor? Until develop such tools and robots for tribute to global warming. For me, it the 1990s, the only way was to lower ocean research. Researchers use them is very exciting to take part in this special tools on the end of a long steel to investigate cold seeps by either research. cable, and recover them as soon as having them dive to individual spots

Temperature in oC

Under specific combinations of high pressure (water depth) and low temperature, methane can crystallise with water to form gas hydrates, as indicated by the phase boundary line. At higher temperatures or shal- lower depths, methane will instead dissolve in water. In the ocean, there are additional complications: in the water column, temperature decreases with increas- ing water depth, whereas in the sediment, temperature increases with increasing depth. The points at which these temperature profiles cross the theoretical phase boundary determine the depths at which gas hydrates may be found (the gas hydrate stability zone). Depth in m Furthermore, it is mostly in the sediment that methane concentrations are high enough to form gas hydrates (marked in white) – they have seldom been observed in the water column. Note that the scale in this diagram is an example and can vary depending on conditions

Image courtesy of David Fischer, MARUM www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 63 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 64

clams found at cold seeps. See http://www.marum.de/marumTV. html The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offers a number of lesson plans and downloadable teaching activities on cold seeps for all ages, plus background information. See the NOAA website Image courtesy of MARUM, Bremen University MARUM-QUEST 4000m, an ROV Close-up photograph of the symbiotic (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov) suitable for depths of up to vestimentiferan tube worm or use the direct links: 4000 m, equipped with a large Lamellibrachia luymesi from a cold http://tinyurl.com/36zuhfb number of cameras, spotlights, seep at 550 m depth in the Gulf of Image courtesy of Boetius (2005); image source: Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Image courtesy of Boetius (2005); image source: (‘Windows to the Deep’) corers and other tools to collect Mexico. The tubes of the worms are samples from the sea floor as stained with a blue chitin stain to http://tinyurl.com/32f6me6 small as single organisms only a determine their growth rates. (‘Expedition to the Deep Slope 2006’) few millimetres long Approximately 14 months of growth http://tinyurl.com/35g3qrk is shown by the staining here (‘Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007’) For some general information about gas hydrates, see the MARUM Acknowledgements Web reference website (www.marum.de) or use The author would like to thank Dr w1 – To learn more about MARUM – the direct link: w1 Pape (MARUM ) for valuable com- the Center for Marine http://tinyurl.com/3xzzpjj ments, particularly about gas Environmental Sciences, an inde- For more information on hydrocar- hydrates. Moreover, Science in School pendent DFG-funded research facil- bons, including gas hydrates, see: and the author thank the publisher ity at the University of Bremen, van Dijk M (2009) Hydrocarbons: a Inter-Research for permission to reuse Germany, see: www.marum.de fossil but not (yet) extinct. Science in the image from Sahling et al. (2002). School 12: 62-69. Resources www.scienceinschool.org/2009/ References MARUM offers a large selection of issue12/energy Boetius A (2005) Microfauna-macro- German-language resources and If you enjoyed reading this article, fauna interaction in the seafloor: activities for teachers and school you might like to browse our other lessons from the tubeworm. PLoS students, including videos and arti- articles on science topics in Science Biology 3(3): e102. doi: 10.1371/ cles on research topics, a large selec- in School: www.scienceinschool.org/ journal.pbio.0030102 tion of workshops for both primary- sciencetopics and secondary-school students in Little C (2010) Hot stuff in the deep the MARUM teaching lab, work- sea. Science in School 16: 14-18. shops for primary-school teachers, Born in Jülich, Germany, David www.scienceinschool.org/2010/ experimental science theatre work- Fischer has always been fascinated by issue16/hotstuff shops for primary-school children, science and the sea. After graduating Sahling H et al. (2002) Macrofaunal and much more. See: in physical geography, marine geolo- community structure and sulfide www.marum.de/en/entdecken.html gy and biology from the University of flux at gas hydrate deposits from MARUM has produced a wonderful Bremen, he is now working towards a the Cascadia convergent margin, (English-language) video on cold PhD in marine geology at MARUM, NE Pacific. Marine Ecology Progress seeps and methane hydrates. See investigating the biogeochemistry of Series 231: 121-138. doi: www.marum.de/marumTV.html cold seeps. He has participated in a 10.3354/meps231121 number of research expeditions to the In addition, MARUM has pro- The article can be downloaded free North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Arabian duced, in co-operation with the of charge from the Inter-Research Sea, the central east Atlantic, and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, website: www.int-res.com Southern Ocean near the Antarctic a 12-episode series of films about its Peninsula. research (DFG Science TV). Episode six (German only) tells the story of

64 Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 65

Publisher: EIROforum, Safety note website). We are, however, unable to www.eiroforum.org For all of the activities published in check the individual translations and can- Editor-in-chief: Dr Eleanor Hayes, Science in School, we have tried to check not accept responsibility for their accuracy. European Molecular Biology that all recognised hazards have been Laboratory, Germany identified and that suitable precautions are Copyright Editor: Dr Marlene Rau, suggested. Users should be aware howev- With very few exceptions, articles in European Molecular Biology er, that errors and omissions can be made, Science in School are published under Laboratory, Germany and safety standards vary across Europe Creative Commons copyright licences that Editorial board: and even within individual countries. allow the text to be reused non-commer- Dr Giovanna Cicognani, Institut Therefore, before undertaking any activity, cially. Note that the copyright agreements Laue Langevin, France users should always carry out their own refer to the text of the articles and not to Dr Dominique Cornuéjols, risk assessment. In particular, any local the images. You may republish the text European Synchrotron Radiation rules issued by employers or education according to the following licences, but Facility, France authorities MUST be obeyed, whatever is you may not reproduce the image without Elke Delvoye, European Space suggested in the Science in School articles. the consent of the copyright holder. Agency, the Unless the context dictates otherwise, it is Most Science in School articles carry one Russ Hodge, Max Delbrück assumed that: of two copyright licences: Zentrum, Germany · Practical work is carried out in a proper- 1) Attribution Non-commercial Share Dr Rolf Landua, European ly equipped and maintained science lab- Alike (by-nc-sa): Organization for Nuclear oratory Research (CERN), Switzerland · Any electrical equipment is properly Dr Dean Madden, National Centre maintained This license lets others remix, tweak, and for Biotechnology Education, Care is taken with normal laboratory · build upon the author’s work non-com- University of Reading, UK operations such as heating substances mercially, as long as they credit the author Dr Douglas Pierce-Price, European Good laboratory practice is observed Southern Observatory, Germany · and license their new creations under the when chemicals or living organisms are identical terms. Others can download and Lena Raditsch, European used redistribute the author’s work, but they can Molecular Biology Laboratory, Eye protection is worn whenever there is Germany · also translate, make remixes, and produce any recognised risk to the eyes new articles based on the work. All new Dr Fernand Wagner, European Pupils and / or students are taught safe work based on the author’s work will carry Association for Astronomy · techniques for activities such as han- Education, the same license, so any derivatives will dling living organisms, hazardous mate- also be non-commercial in nature. Chris Warrick, European Fusion rials and equipment. Development Agreement, UK Furthermore, the author of any derivative work may not imply that the derivative Copy editor: Dr Caroline Hadley Credits Science in School is published by work is endorsed or approved by the Composition: Nicola Graf, author of the original work or by Science Email: [email protected] EIROforum (a collaboration between seven European inter- governmental scientific in School. Printers: ColorDruckLeimen, Germany research organisations: 2) Attribution Non-commercial www.colordruck.com www.eiroforum.org) and is based at the No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) European Molecular Biology Laboratory Webmaster: Alexander Kubias (EMBL: www.embl.org) in Heidelberg, Email: [email protected] Germany. This license is often called the ’free adver- ISSN: Science in School is a non-profit activity. Print version: 1818-0353 tising’ license because it allows others to Initially supported by the European Online version: 1818-0361 download the author’s works and share Commission, it is now funded by them with others as long Cover images: EIROforum. as they mention and link back to the Octopus author, but they can’t change them in any Image courtesy of Tammy616 / Disclaimer way or use them commercially. iStockphoto Views and opinions expressed by authors and advertisers are not necessarily those of Anne Weaver, flying doctor For further details, see: the editors or publishers. Image courtesy of Iain Crockart, http://creativecommons.org www.iaincrockart.com We are grateful to all those who volunteer All articles in Science in School carry the to translate articles for the Science in relevant copyright logos or other copyright School website (see the guidelines on our notice.

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 65 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 66

Sven-Olof Holmgren: science education is more complex than particle physics Images courtesy of the ATLAS Experiment at CERN ATLAS Images courtesy of the

Do you think particle physics is a com- plex subject? Having moved from basic research to science education, Sven- Olof Holmgren would disagree. He tells

Image courtesy of Kajsa Kax Wåghals Image courtesy of Kajsa Kax Lucy Patterson and Marlene Rau about the challenges of this shift, and about a major reform in the Swedish education system.

Sven-Olof Holmgren

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 67

Spotlight on education

General science Science education Ages 12+ Physics is an exact sci- ence, using clearly articu- lated and universal laws and quantitative methods in research. By testing hypotheses, it seeks to make accurate predic- tions. Unlike physics, sci- ence education is a com- plex field, dominated by a series of psychological and social theories, some running in parallel. In this article, Sven-Olof Holm- gren describes his career shift from research in par- ticle physics to science education. For science teachers, it The tile calorimeter goes down into the ATLAS cavern will also be stimulating to read about an educational reform which made sci- ven-Olof Holmgren began his see the results that the LHC will ence compulsory from Scareer as a particle physicist. He deliver: “After decades of prepara- grade one. The Swedish obtained his PhD in 1970 and a pro- tion, this is the time to reap the NTA programme shows fessorship from Stockholm University, reward.” foresight by being based , in 1992, where he also served Since 1997, however, Sven-Olof’s on inquiry-based learn- as Head of the Physics Department interests have shifted to encompass ing. The reform is thus for several years. During this period, science education as he became aligned with the Rocard Sven-Olof and his group worked on a involved in the development of a sci- report, Science Education number of big experiments, including ence education programme by the Now – a Renewed Peda - w1 w2 several at CERN in Geneva, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gogy for the Future of Switzerland. Involved in both the (KVA). He describes his transition Europew6. development of detectors and data into science education and the last 13 The article can be used in analysis, they most recently worked years with the KVA schools pro- the classroom to stimulate on the ATLAS detector of the Large gramme as among the most exciting a discussion of the rela- Hadron Collider (LHC). Sven-Olof’s times of his career. However, it has tions between science group built the readout electronics for been “a bumpy road with ups and and science education. the tile calorimeter, which will collect downs”, as Sven-Olof puts it. One of the energy deposited by secondary the big changes for him was coping Niels Bonderup Dohn,

particles in the proton-proton colli- with the shift in his research work REVIEW Denmark sions. Of course, Sven-Olof is eager to from the pure science of physics to

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 68

Images courtesy of the ATLAS Experiment at CERN

Tile barrel Tile extended barrel

LAr hadronic end-cap (HEC)

LAr electromagnetic end-cap (EMEC)

LAr electromagnetic barrel LAr forward (FCal)

A computer-generated image of the ATLAS calorimeter

the social science of education. Now, easy to do that – even complicated complex. This is something we natu- he is even co-supervising a PhD stu- experiments such as the LHC are per- ral scientists have to get used to – and dent in science education. formed according to these principles. I think we have been criticising each “The change has opened up a “There is a kind of increase in com- other far too often. whole new world for me and a new plexity through chemistry and biolo- “In education science you don’t kind of research. I have spent most of gy, until you get to the social sciences, have just one individual – you have a my professional life working on hard- which are about as complex as you class of thirty or so students and a core, basic physics. But the way I see can get. There, research is completely teacher, all interacting with one it now, physics is really the simplest different. A theory in social science is another – it’s a very complex system. of the sciences because we can really not at all the same as a theory in sci- There have been attempts to directly control our experiments. Take a pen- ence. It’s psychology – you have to compare two ways of teaching the dulum, for instance: suspend a weight take into account peoples’ way of same science subject – in an inquiry- from a string, give it a push and thinking. Of course it’s called social based versus a traditional setting: the measure the time it takes to swing science because one tries to apply sci- researchers didn’t find much of a dif- from one end to the other – you will entific reasoning. But for me, many of ference. Yet they mostly evaluate the soon find out that its period is con- the theories in social science, and results in terms of how much of the stant. You can then formulate a theory indeed in science education, seem subject matter was conveyed. In terms on what this may depend on – the more like perspectives. You interpret of the students’ or teachers’ motiva- mass or size of the weight, the length your data from one perspective and tion or enthusiasm for science, which of the string, etc.; do controlled exper- even design your study from that per- are important in the inquiry-based iments, changing just one variable at spective. However, someone else approach, there might well have been a time, while keeping the others con- could come along and see the same a difference. stant; and eventually you will find thing from a very different angle. So “Personally, I believe that we have that the period depends on the length you can have several different theo- been concentrating solely on the of the string only. There’s a consensus ries running in parallel and it’s very knowledge of the subject matter for that scientific experiments should be hard to see the development. It’s very too long. We should not only be done like that, under controlled con- difficult to prove that one theory is teaching the results, but also how ditions – and in physics, it’s relatively better than another because it’s all so they are achieved – how science is

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 69

Spotlight on education

Image courtesy of the ATLAS Experiment at CERN

Various phases of the instru- mentation of the barrel tile calorimeter at CERN

done. This is often lacking not only in Since moving into education, Sven- Sweden at primary level was rather school but even at the undergraduate Olof has witnessed a shift in attitudes more haphazard. This all changed university level, and I think it’s high towards science education and teach- gradually, culminating in 1994 with time for a paradigm shift. Then again, ing in general in Sweden – an inter- the introduction of major reforms in this is of course also another perspec- esting time for him to hone his new the Swedish education system, tive, and possibly difficult to prove.” skills. “In the past, science teaching in including new National Standards.

The Swedish NTA programme

In 1997, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciencesw2 technology (e.g. ‘floating or sinking’ or ‘plant growth (KVA) and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering and development’), along with all materials and specif- Sciencesw5 (IVA) began to develop a new inquiry-based ic training for teachers. Following its initial success, the science education programme for primary and NTA program is steadily growing and being taken up by secondary schools, which became known as NTA: an increasing number of schools and municipalities ‘Natural science and Technology for All’w4. As a mem- across Sweden. The latest counts (Spring 2010) include ber of the KVA, Sven-Olof became involved in the proj- 96 000 students and more than 7 000 teachers. In addi- ect early on and currently chairs the development tion, KVA organises ‘teacher inspiration days’, where group. members of the Academy talk about their research to The NTA scheme comprises a series of themed units for science teachers; and they award annual prizes for primary and lower secondary school, covering different teachers’ biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics

BACKGROUND topics from the areas of biology, chemistry, physics and projects.

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 70

These defined certain ‘goals to challenge even the improved model, downloaded from the European achieve’ and ‘goals to strive for’ that and so on.... And we never get more Commission website would have to be met by grades five out of it than when we see a flaw, (http://ec.europa.eu) or via the and nine. Crucially, however, it didn’t because then we have to revise the direct link: prescribe exactly how to reach them. model. http://tinyurl.com/2mjrd7 This handed back control to local “For me, science literacy is about municipalities, schools and teachers getting beyond that first model we Resources who are now expected to design develop based on our senses – it’s To learn more about the Large exactly what gets taught when, using about challenging our intuition and Hadron Collider at CERN and the their best professional judgment. At accepting ideas that might seem particle physics involved, see: the same time, de-centralising control counter-intuitive concepts.” Landua R (2008) The LHC: a look over the schools’ economy and educa- And as far as Sven-Olof is con- inside. Science in School 10: 34-45. tion policy – which was also handed cerned, the need for science literacy is www.scienceinschool.org/2008/ over to the local municipalities – has even greater for the coming genera- issue10/lhchow helped to create a real bottom-up edu- tions. “We’re facing a big problem cation system.” today. If you ask 15-year-olds, they’re Landua R, Rau M (2008) The LHC: In Sweden, students attend nine very keen to discuss societal problems a step closer to the Big Bang. Science years of compulsory school like climate change, sustainable devel- in School 10: 26-33. (Grundskola), after which there are opment and changing values, but www.scienceinschool.org/2008/ three years of optional secondary they often lack the scientific basis to issue10/lhcwhy school. With educational targets in understand and tackle these issues. If you enjoyed reading this article, science subjects that have to be met We are not talking about science for why not take a look at our other by grade five (age 11), the reforms specialists and researchers – this is feature articles? See: mean that the planning to reach these science for everyone. And that, to my www.scienceinschool.org/features goals has to start from grade one (age mind, is what we really need. Science 7). Inspiration for the new National literacy will be really essential to Standards was taken from ongoing understand the alternatives and make work in other countries, particularly the right decisions. For me, in the end Originally a developmental biolo- at the National Academy of Sciencesw3 it’s a question of democracy and even gist, Dr Lucy Patterson is now as a in the USA. This work called for a of the future of this planet.” science communicator. She currently new science education strategy. Sven- works for the Max Delbrück Center Olof himself has been involved in the Web references for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, development of a new science educa- w1 – For more information about Germany – a research institute spe- w4 tion programme called NTA CERN, the European Organization cialising in molecular biology that (Natural science and Technology for for Nuclear Research, see: also tries to apply what researchers All; see box). www..ch learn to help diagnose, treat and pre- Sven-Olof agrees that the best time vent diseases. Here she helps the sci- w2 – To find out more about the to introduce science to children is at entists to communicate better with the Royal Swedish Academy of primary school, while students are rest of the world, and with each other. Sciences, see: www.kva.se still trying to understand the world Dr Marlene Rau was born in for themselves. “By the time children w3 – Learn more about the US Germany and grew up in Spain. After are about five or six, they have National Academy of Sciences here: obtaining a PhD in developmental already pieced together a basic model www.nasonline.org biology at the European Molecular of how the world works, based on w4 – For more information about the Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, intuition. However, this model is very ‘Natural science and Technology for Germany, she studied journalism and limited because our senses are very All’ programme, see: went into science communication. limited. Science challenges this www.nta.kva.se Since 2008, she has been one of the model: when you start to measure the w5 – Find out more about the Royal editors of Science in School. world in a scientific way, you find it Swedish Academy of Engineering doesn’t fit the basic intuitive model Sciences here: www.iva.se anymore. So again you have to revise w6 – The Rocard report, with propos- and refine your model. You then als for widening European educa- make more detailed experiments that tional approaches to science, can be

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 71

Teacher profile

The physics of inspiration: teaching in Austria

Rudolf Ziegelbecker

Using a high-speed camera to record Gyro-cars, gymnastic cats how a water-filled balloon bursts

Image courtesy of Ortweinschule Fotografie Image courtesy of Ortweinschule and a slow-motion slap in the face. Lucy Patterson spoke to Rudolf Ziegelbecker, an Austrian physics teacher, about how to catch the imagination of even the most anti-physics students. Image courtesy of Rudolf Ziegelbecker

Image courtesy of Jakob Jöbstl

nenthusiastic students can be a physics for the first three of their five Uchallenge for even the best years here. Unsurprisingly, some stu- teachers. Rudolf Ziegelbecker teaches dents are quite unwilling to learn.” physics at an Austrian school special- Rudolf enjoys sharing his own ising in civil engineering and in art enthusiasm for physics and encourag- and designw1. With such a strong focus ing the students to develop their own on vocational education in the cur- ideas. This has led to some impressive riculum, teaching more traditional successes over the years, often in col- academic subjects, such as physics, laboration with his colleagues from

can be a challenge. “Many of the arts other disciplines: building a paper Jöbstl Image courtesy of Jakob students who choose to come to our bridge which can carry up to 1.6 What happens when you let a drop hit school are not very good at mathe- tonnes, boats light enough to float on the water surface? Jakob Jöbstl investi- matics and science. Nonetheless, the gaseous CO2, and innovative paper gated at home, inspired by the school curriculum requires them to study boats which can carry several kilo- project

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:41 Uhr Seite 72

Image courtesy of Rudolf Ziegelbecker The gyro-car at a school open day in Image courtesy of Rudolf Ziegelbecker November 2009

A strong paper bridge which can carry up to 1.6 tonnes

ble can be possible,” as one of the stu- dents put it. In 2002-2003, Rudolf and his stu- dents took on another project: ‘The turning cat’ was to be a robot that could simulate a falling cat’s righting reflex – how the cat twists to face downwards for landing, without changing its net angular momentum (zero). After a series of prototypes, the Image courtesy of Rudolf Ziegelbecker team designed and built what Rudolf Light boats floating on CO2 believes to be the “only radio-con- trolled cat model in the world”. Operated by remote control, it can be grams despite weighing only 10 turned during freefall for a perfectly grams; designing a sustainable solar upright (albeit cushioned) landing. and hydro-electric power plant for the Their project won several awards and local river, and a (fish-shaped) aero- prizes, and is still proudly shown at dynamic vehicle which they tested in every school open day. a home-made wind tunnel… Rudolf also tells the story of a shy One award-winning project was the girl who had not dared to confess to gyro-car: together with eight volun- her previous teacher that she was teer students in an afternoon physics actually interested in physics. When a

club, Rudolf designed and built a student dropped out of the school’s Ortweinschule Graz Image courtesy of the HTBLVA remote-controlled 1 m long gyromo- team for the Austrian Young bile capable of balancing automatical- Physicists’ Tournamentw3, Rudolf sug- ly on its two wheels. It was exhibited gested she join. He successfully at science shows, presented at Physics coached her, and she even ended up on Stage 2000w2, and appeared on TV in the team representing Austria in during the Austrian Science Week the international tournament in 2003, crossing the local river Mur Australiaw4. while balancing along the handrail of Inspired by a ‘string telephone’ the main bridge in Graz. The project experiment on resonance that she had was a big hit for the school and the performed for the contest, she then students involved: “It helped me came up with a very practically mind- realise that, sometimes, the impossi- ed diploma project for her Matura: ‘The turning cat’ in freefall

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 73

Teacher profile

A special

Image courtesy of Rudolf Ziegelbecker type of school Spring-coupled masses were added to the pedestrian bridge in Graz after two of Rudolf’s students discovered that its resonance was dangerous After middle school, at the age of 14, students in Austria have at least one “Crossing a pedestrian bridge in Graz school students aged 15 and above. “I more year of compulsory with a classmate, the two friends started the project in two classes, but school education. If they noticed how it seemed to resonate after a few weeks, the other classes wish to go to university, rather a lot, so they decided to do became interested as well, and even- they can attend a secondary their project on the resonance of tually joined and contributed to the school for four more years bridges. They took friends and family final report. Although we didn’t win to obtain the Matura (final to the original bridge to measure its any prizes, it was an invaluable expe- secondary-school examina- resonance, and ‘tested’ it so thorough- rience for the students. We used a tion, required to enter uni- ly that at one point the supervising cheap high-speed camera to film a versity). Alternatively, they teacher decided to call off the experi- range of effects – from the vibrations can spend three to four ment for fear of the bridge collapsing! of a stretched rubber band or the fir- years at a vocational school, They filed their results with the city ing of a blowpipe shot, to what hap- or five years at a combined authorities of Graz. As a consequence, pens to the water in a water-bomb technical college, which not the bridge was closed, investigated by when it bursts, or even the (scientific) only offers the Matura, but stress analysts, and re-opened only repercussions of the slap of a girl’s also the completion of a after the resonance had been damped hand on a boy’s face (without my per- professional education. The w1 by spring-coupled masses which you mission! But at least it got them inter- HTBLVA Ortweinschule in can see under the bridge today,” ested in the science) – and then Graz is such a college, Rudolf says. analysed the slow-motion replay in catering for 14- to 19-year- Most recently, Rudolf and his stu- order to understand the physical olds, and specialising in dents participated in the 2010 ‘Jugend principles involved. civil engineering and in arts

innovativ’ competition w5, a national “This project managed to engage BACKGROUND and design. innovation award for secondary- even some of my most anti-physics

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 74

Images courtesy of Robert Purkarthofer

What are the (scientific) repercussions of a slap in the face?

students in a second-year graphics Web references design class, who, intending to pur- w1 – Find out more about the HTBL- sue a career in arts, were convinced VA Graz Ortweinschule here: Originally a developmental biolo- they’d never need physics again in www.ortweinschule.at gist, Dr Lucy Patterson is now as a their lives. I appealed to their honour, science communicator. She currently w2 – Physics on Stage – now Science showing them what the first-year arts works for the Max Delbrück Center on Stage – is a European initiative students had achieved. This got them for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, designed to encourage teachers interested. They performed their own Germany – a research institute spe- from across Europe to share best experiments on one of the ideas – cialising in molecular biology that practice in science teaching. See: observing what happens to a drop of also tries to apply what researchers www.scienceonstage.eu water falling onto a water surface. learn to help diagnose, treat and pre- Soon, the entire class was involved in w3 – To learn more about the vent diseases. Here she helps the sci- a scientific discussion about the fact Austrian Young Physicists’ entists to communicate better with the that, when the drop hits the surface, a Tournament, see: www.aypt.at rest of the world, and with each other. chain of drops leaps back up, raising w4 – Find out more about the questions like ‘How much of the ini- International Young Physicists’ tial energy and volume is conserved Tournament here: www.iypt.org in these secondary drops? Are they w5 – The ‘Jugend innovativ’ website composed of literally the same liquid offers more information about this as the first drop? Is the effect caused Austrian competition for second- by surface tension, wave reflection or ary-school students. See: hydrostatic pressure?’ www.jugendinnovativ.at “For the project’s success, it was essential that almost all of the ideas Resources emerged from the students. The feed- If you enjoyed reading this article, back was really positive: those stu- you might want to browse the full dents who had initially been most collection of teacher profiles pub- sceptical and disinterested were those lished in Science in School. See: who by the end of the project were www.scienceinschool.org/teachers not only much more respectful – of me and of the lessons – but also seemed to have developed a new- found interest in physics! And it seems to be lasting.”

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 75

Scienctist profile

o

t

o

h

p Jean-Luc Solandt:

k

c

o

t

S

i

/

a

k

w

o

r

o

B

P

f diving into marine o

y

s

e

t

r

u

o

c

e

g

a m I conservation

Soft coralreef fishwith (Anthias)

Marine biologist Jean-Luc Solandt tells Karin Ranero Celius about his commitment to study and preserve one of the world’s biggest treasures: the ocean.

I ma ge co ur te sy the hard corals to grow. In a healthy o f Je a acques Cousteau’s beautiful n reef system, the balance between -L u images of colourful and bizarre c these herbivores and the algae are S o J l a underwater sea life have inspired n vital to keep the coral healthy.” d millions of people around the t Back in the UK, Jean-Luc pur- globe – including Jean-Luc sued a PhD at the University of Solandt. “I became interested in London, doing his fieldwork in science after learning about Jamaica, where the fish herbi- Cousteau’s explorations; they vores were (and still are) being made the marine world seem eradicated by over-fishing. In smaller – yet wondrous.” These the absence of fish, the spiny days, as the biodiversity policy urchin, Diadema antillarum, was officer at the Marine Conservation essential to keep the algae in check Societyw1, Jean-Luc Solandt helps to and give the coral space to grow. In safeguard this wondrous world. 1990, however, a disease nearly wiped At school in London, Jean-Luc out this spiny urchin, leaving the reef found science breathtaking, especially ungrazed. Between 1995 and 1998, as A parrotfish, vital for keep- anatomy and functional design. As ing algal growth in check the population recovered, Jean-Luc his passion and interest for science (photographed during studied the interaction between the grew, he did a marine biology degree surveys of Maldives spiny urchins, algae and other reef at Liverpool University, UK, and then reefs in 2007) species. spent a year volunteering on the His growing interest in marine con- Great Barrier Reef in Australia, where servation then led him to Tanzania to he surveyed reef fish and monitored but instead of the large numbers of work as an expedition scientist for the fecundity of corals, witnessing the ungulate [hoofed] grazers, these are Frontierw2 (a UK-based conservation mass spawning of hard corals. replaced by colourful parrotfish and expedition organisation), and then to “The reefs of the tropic are similar surgeonfish, which are vital for keep- the Philippines and Fiji with Coral to the great plains of the Serengeti, ing the algae in check and allowing Cay Conservationw3. His responsibili-

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 76

Image courtesy of Phil Lockley Image courtesy of Sue Scott

A damaged seabed: a small, broken piece of maerl surrounded by dead maerl gravel

A healthy intact seabed covered in maerl

Maerl is a rare calcareous, reef-forming alga, which in English coastal waters is only found near Falmouth in Cornwall. The area was also popular for scallop dredging, in which fishing gear with 15 cm long teeth was dragged along the seabed, capturing the scallops and damaging the seabed in the process. In 2007, scientific surveys revealed that maerl was growing within the scallop-dredging area and as a consequence, scallop dredging was restricted in the surrounding area

Image ties included training the volunteers – paigning for UK marine protected cour tesy of Co many of whom knew little about areas at the Marine Conservation lin S pe w1 ed marine biology. They soon learned, Society . ie however, to identify more than 75 The oceans harbour many diverse fish species and 40 coral species, and co-existing ecosystems, and have as well as many other inverte- always been a dependable source of brates that they then recorded food for humans – but the vulnerabil- during scuba surveys. ity of these ecosystems is becoming “On a typical day, you increasingly evident. As shown by wake up at six in the recent data, “commercial fish stocks morning, organise the have been reduced by about 95% in dive, meet the volunteers, UK waters alone in the past 100 years lecture them, tend to sores [Thurstan et al., 2010],” notes Jean- and headaches, go on the Luc. Moreover, 88% of Europe’s fish dive, record and enter the stocks are overfished or depleted. For data, lunch on rice and this reason, the Marine Conservation beans, fill the air tanks, Society campaigns worldwide to teach the volunteers, go on a establish areas where marine wildlife second dive, go into town to can recover and flourish. These could resupply fuel, food and the either be marine protected areas, in repair kit, and then carry on enter- which one or more features are pro- ing data,” Jean-Luc says. tected, or marine reserves, which offer These were months of very long the highest level of protection: no days and hard work, but with a very fishing or catch of any kind, and no important purpose: to recommend dumping, dredging or other modifica- A basking shark, on the ‘red list’ areas that needed protection, some- tion of the environment. of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation thing that Jean-Luc became increas- “We know from studies abroad that of Nature. The basking shark ingly involved in. It was the success reducing the level of fishing can allow migrates thousands of of these recommendations – including the marine environment to recover kilometres the establishment of the Danjugan somewhat,” Jean-Luc says. “However, Islands Marine Reservew4 – that this alone is not enough: it is also encouraged him to dive further into essential to have marine reserves – applied conservation work – cam- and big enough ones.” A good exam-

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 77

Scienctist profile

o t

o

h

p

k

c

o

t

S

i

/

s

n

a

v

e

m

f

o

y

s

e

t

r

u

o

c

e

g

a

m I

ple is

the five Australia

large Aerial view of the Georges Great Barrier Reef in Bank marine reserves, which cover a total of 17 000 km2 Conservation off the north-eastern Society, Jean-Luc coast of the USA, and records and maps which have allowed scallop sightings by the general o t

o numbers to increase by 2000% h public of basking shark: p

k

c

o and yellowtail flounder (a flat- t since 1987, the Marine

S

i

fish) by 500%. Analysis of the / Conservation Society has h

s

i

f i

effects of 124 international f compiled more than 12 000

o

y

s

e

marine reserves have revealed t reports of over 25 000 r

u w5

o

an increase in the biomass of pre- c sharks . “It is partly due to

e g

viously exploited species by 446% a this data set that there has m and in their diversity by 21% I been such interest in the species, (Lester et al., 2009). allowing the UK government to

Marine reserves not only benefit the I support the protection of the bask- ecosystem within the reserve but also ing shark in international waters. So affect what happens outside their public participation can lead to boundaries. “In a phenomenon called Fire urchin, greater protection for vulnerable ‘fishing the line’, catches are higher Astropyga radiata species.” around the edge of the reserve than Jean-Luc is also involved in a wide further away: 73% of the haddock variety of projects involving the pub- fished in the north-eastern Atlantic is the scale of the Georges Bank marine lic, such as the Seasearch projectw6, in caught within 5 km of the Georges reserves.” which volunteer scuba divers record Bank reserve boundaries. This helps For species that migrate between what is living on the sea bed around fishermen to be more certain of catch- oceans, however, marine protected Britain and Ireland, finding out which ing fish, whilst reducing their over- areas and reserves are of limited use. are the richest sites for marine life, heads, because they do not have to For the past six years, therefore, Jean- and which sites need protection. He waste time and fuel searching for Luc has participated in a project to also helps to run the ‘Your seas your fish,” Jean-Luc says. So even the fish- protect the basking shark, which voice’ projectw7, in which members of ermen benefit from the reserve. This migrates over huge distances and the public can vote for marine areas effect has also been recorded for lob- between oceans. “Basking sharks are (including those outside UK waters) ster and fish catches around small the second largest fish in the world. that they think should be protected. Mediterranean marine reserves (Goñi They are planktonic filter feeders, up The people who report sightings of et al., 2008). to 12 m long, and are highly endan- basking sharks, vote for a marine pro- “Small-scale marine reserves have gered because of their low fecundity tected area or take part in dive sur- been shown to be beneficial to rela- (about six pups every two years) and veys are concerned and knowledge- tively sedentary species and fish that late age of maturity (about 18 years).” able about the condition of our seas. do not move large distances during In 2007, the project succeeded in Unfortunately, most people simply their life history. However, to benefit making it illegal to fish or trade bask- care less about the health of the seas larger, more migratory species such as ing sharks or their body parts in EU than the health of the land. This is haddock, we need marine reserves on waters. On behalf of the Marine one reason why Jean-Luc believes that

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010

sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 78

o

t

o

h

p

k

c

o

t

S

i

/

o

k

m

r

t

s in November 2009,

science education is vital f o

y

s

e ensuring that a net- t

– to demonstrate that with r

u

o

c work of marine protect-

the help of conservation sci- e g

a m

ence, we can have both a more I ed areas will be estab- productive fishing industry and lished around the English healthier seas. Furthermore, he stress- coast by 2012. To learn more, see es, individuals can make a difference. the website of the UK Department “To help safeguard our oceans, you for Environment, Food and Rural School of masked w8 Affairs (www.defra.gov.uk) or use can eat sustainably sourced fish , butterfly fish vote for a marine reservew7 or support the direct link: organisations like the Marine http://tinyurl.com/3yugxxx Conservation Societyw1.” w8 – To find out which fish are w3 – Coral Cay Conservation is an sustainably fished, see: award-winning specialist in coral References www.fishonline.org reef and tropical forest conserva- Goñi R et al. (2008) Spillover from six tion. See: www.coralcay.org western Mediterranean marine pro- Resources w4 – To learn more about the tected areas: evidence from arti- If you enjoyed this article, you might Danjugan Islands Marine Reserve, sanal fisheries. Marine Ecology like to browse the other biodiversi- see: www.prrcf.org Progress Series 366: 159-174. doi: ty-related articles published in 10.3354/meps07532 w5 – Basking Shark Watch, the Marine Science in School. See: Conservation Society’s report, can This article is freely available from www.scienceinschool.org/ be downloaded from the society’s the Marine Ecology Progress Series biodiversity website (www.mcsuk.org) or via the website: www.int- To see the other scientist profiles direct link: res.com/abstracts/meps published in Science in School, see: http://tinyurl.com/3yaxbaf Lester SE et al. (2009) Biological www.scienceinschool.org/scientists w6 – If you would like more informa- effects within no-take marine tion about Seasearch, see: reserves: a global synthesis. Marine www.seasearch.org.uk Ecology Progress Series 384: 33-46. Karin Ranero Celius obtained a w7 – For more information about the doi: 10.3354/meps08029 bachelor’s degree in physics and psy- Marine Conservation Society’s This article can be downloaded free chology, and then an MSc in museum ‘Your seas your voice’ project, see: of charge from website of the studies. Her passion for educating www.yourseasyourvoice.com Partnership of Interdisciplinary others about the wonders of science Studies of Coastal Oceans Some scientists recommend that 20- has led her to become a science com- (www.piscoweb.org) or via the 30% of ocean habitats should be set municator. She has been dedicated direct link: aside as marine reserves. Currently mainly to outreach and education, http://tinyurl.com/336rvm6 less than 0.0005% of UK waters are first at the IAC (Instituto de in marine reserves. As a result of a Thurstan RH et al. (2010) The effects Astrofisica de Canarias) in the Canary campaign by the Marine of 118 years of industrial fishing on Islands, Spain, and then at ESO (the Conservation Society and other UK bottom trawl fisheries. Nature European Southern Observatory) in organisations, however, the Marine Communications 1: 15. doi: Munich, Germany. and Coastal Access Act was passed 10.1038/ncomms1013

obson / iS Web references of JodiJc tockpho tesy to our e c ag w1 – The Marine Conservation Im Society is a UK charity dedicated to

the protection of the marine envi- in a pinkClownfish sea

ronment and its wildlife. See: anemone www.mcsuk.org w2 – Learn more about Frontier, the UK’s leading conserva- tion expedition organisation, here: www.frontier.ac.uk

Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 www.scienceinschool.org sis_16_RZ.qxq:Layout 1 31.08.2010 18:42 Uhr Seite 79

Review

Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution

By Nick Lane Reviewed by Michalis Hadjimarcou, Cyprus

Life Ascending: The Ten Great reading all the way to the end. Also, Details Inventions of Evolution gives a detailed the richness of the language requires Publisher: Profile Books account of the ten events that author a good mastery of English. Publication year: 2010 (paperback) Nick Lane considers to be the most One of the book’s best attributes is ISBN: 9781861978189 important in establishing the direction the collection of small pieces of infor- that evolution has taken ever since mation and examples that are present- the beginning of life on Earth. The list ed either to support the candidacy of of events does not follow a strict any given invention for membership chronological order; instead, it is a in the list or just to explain the inven- sum of events, developments and tion itself more thoroughly. This col- phenomena that have shaped life on lection is not a plain presentation of the planet. The first of the ‘great scientific facts and hypothesis. inventions’ is, as expected, the Instead, it is a lively and often humor- origin of life. Of course, strictly speak- ous discussion that not only makes ing, this is not an evolutionary event, the book more interesting but also but an ‘invention’ necessary for evo- provides important information on lution to take place. Nevertheless, evolution and many other aspects of the list would be incomplete without science and life in general. it. In the biology classroom, the The other nine events are not imme- teacher could make a selection of diately obvious: DNA, photosynthe- items from the collection and use it to sis, sex, consciousness and death, for enrich the teaching of many topics. example. Also, upper secondary-school biology Each event is thoroughly examined. students could use some of the infor- The author takes the time not only to mation in the book for small projects present the well-known hypotheses to to further investigate evolutionary explain a certain event in evolution, topics. For example, they could com- but also to elaborate on less well- pare contrasting theories concerning known ideas, some of which might the evolution of specific phenomena. come as a surprise even to those who Alternatively, they could debate these have studied evolution in detail. theories in the classroom. The materi- Readers interested in the study of al in the book provides a plethora of evolution will enjoy this book, but the opportunities for such activities; the casual reader will be overwhelmed by only drawback is that the students the wealth of information and detail must have a very good knowledge of presented and will have a hard time the English language.

www.scienceinschool.org Science in School Issue 16 : Autumn 2010 How many schools Autumn 2010 Issue 16 and teachers do you reach – In this issue: worldwide? Car racing in the physics classroom Also: Life savers in the sky: flying doctors

Advertising in Science in School · Choose between advertising in the quarterly print journal or on our website. · Website: reach 30 000 science educators worldwide – every month. · In print: target up to 15 000 European science educators every quarter, including 3000 namedsubscribers. · Distribute your flyers, brochures, CD-ROMs or other materials either to 3000 named subscribers or to all recipients of the print copies. For more details, see www.scienceinschool.org/advertising

Publishedby EIROforum EIROforum:

Initially supportedby ISSN: 1818-0353 the European Union: Subscribe (free in Europe): www.scienceinschool.org Highlighting the best in science teaching and research