The theme of this issue is science. Now as you are aware Science is a big subject. When we were thinking about this issue it was easier for us to say what not to include rather than the other way round. After all what is not science? Ever since early humans first rubbed sticks together to make a fire, science has pervaded our life. After all as well as the physical sciences that we all study at school, there are the social sciences, the study of language is a science, to many people sport is a science, art is studied with as much detail as a science. Even cooking. Did you know there is now a restaurant in Britain where you can eat snail porridge. The whole menu is based on the chef’s study of how the chemicals in various foods react with one another and affect how we perceive their taste.

With this in mind we have decided to take an eclectic look at science, trying to cover a few areas that will be interesting and informative to you and your students. If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact the British Studies Web team.

Background Information

An interesting section here with all sorts of facts and figures about the work being done on science in Britain these days. For example did you know that Britain’s national academy of sciences was established in 1660 and is still running today?

Articles

Where do the names of some everyday articles come from? Some of them are based on a description of the process involved, such as the vacuum cleaner; others are named after the people who first came up with the idea such as the sandwich, named after the Earl of Sandwich a notorious gambler who couldn’t be persuaded to leave the card table. We have come up with a list of some well known inventions that are named after their inventors. Some of them you may know but there are others that may cause you a bit of a surprise. Have a look at Inventors and their Inventions to find out more.

We also have an article about Aspirin which just may be the bets known and most useful drug man has ever discovered. Find out about all the ailments it treats here and there are some exercises for you to use in the classroom if you wish. Another article with exercises for you to exploit is The World According to Scientists. Read about some of the bizarre research projects scientists undertake and how their results may affect the way we lead (should lead) our lives.

We then have a series of articles which look at the negative aspects of science and what should or is being done to keep them in check. Are we being poisoned by our food as the title suggests looks at what we eat and what effect it is having on us.

Language Corner

Mrs A is in bed sick with flu and in her weakened state reminisces on her science ‘lessons’ from her big brother. It’s amazing what you can do with a few household objects. As always there is a quiz based on some vocabulary used by Mrs A.

We have a web quest where students can search through the web to find the answer to some of our inventive questions and find out if they have what it takes to be an inventor themselves. We have a science test for lower level learners and a chance for you and your students to debate who is the most deserving scientist of all time.

Quiz Corner

In this section you will find a quiz about British Scientists where you have to match the scientist to his achievement and a DNA quiz which links in well with our academic angle article. We also have a fun quiz called Food and Science which asks you to guess which foods are bad for you and which are good for you. There is a little explanation for each one based on research that has been carried out in the last few years and finally in Quiz Corner there is a chance for you to test your knowledge of medical breakthroughs.

Academic Angle

This issue we take an in depth look at DNA. 2003 was the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of DNA for which Crick and Watson received the Nobel Prize and which is in the process of revolutionising science, the way we see ourselves and the way we look after ourselves. Academic Angle gives you all you need to know about this important subject.

Moving further afield, in fact as far as one can possibly get, we have a wonderful site about space. It looks at the history of space exploration and also looks at Britain’s involvement in the European Space agency. Find out what future missions are in store for mankind in this section.

Book Reviews

We have two book reviews for you this month, one on fiction, one non fiction but both science books. The first is a fictionalised account of Einstein’s life and dreams that also reflects on his amazing theories.

The second book is a course book aimed at student’s who are studying IT but as our reviewer tells us, could also be used in a general setting.

We hope you find the material interesting and useful and if you have any ideas and contributions to make, please contact us.