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Taking from nature Free
Using the proteins of Photosystem I from chloroplasts has become another way to make solar cells for electricity production. Scientists at Vanderbilt University have published their results showing how...
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My first Biology lesson Free
At the start of the year I want my students to discover what a great subject Biology is and there is no time to waste in an IB course with such a lot of content. I usually start the year with a microscope...
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Endosymbiosis: Biology research for IB classrooms Free
In a recent article New Scientist magazine exposes a fascinating organism which is difficult to classify. What's more exciting to scientists is that it looks like a living example of endosymbiosis, the...
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Scientific process Free
Just over a year ago, I wrote a blog "Arsenic based life forms?" a study was published suggesting that a bacterium could be using arsenic instead of phosphorus in building its DNA and other molecules....
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Convergent evolution- losing the eye Free
A recent study from biologists at New York University about evolution of cave adaptations in cave fish suggests that the loss of eyes and pigmentation has occurred frequently and repeatedly as new populations...
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Ethics of conservation Free
Is there any justification for allowing some species go extinct and not try to prevent their disappearance forever? A recent article in the New Scientist provides a glimpse at the arguments being proposed...
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Apocalypse Now? Free
Several articles have been circulating about the dangers of the bird flu virus, H5N1, since it first appeared a few years ago. Influenza, or the flu, is not a new disease but with new variations the viral...
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Genetic resuscitation from extinction Free
Charles Darwin made a number of observations on his round the world voyage from 1831 to 1835. One of his most famous accounts stem from the variety between the giant Galapagos tortoises found on different...
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Meat & Global warming? Free
Recently, an article in The New Scientist "Just how much meat can eco-citizens eat?" by Sujata Gupta provides interesting reading for biology students. Sujata makes a statement about the waste of animal...
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Gene Therapy Free
Researchers have produced a hybrid virus from several varieties of non-pathogenic virus called AAV. This study from the Univiersity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill investigates the use of viruses for...