We saw it first!

Tomorrow, CERN are set to make an announcement. A big announcement. Speculation began when the researchers set the topic for their press conference: the status of their search for the Higgs Boson. Supposedly, they have now looked at a much wider range of data than they had by the summer conference, leaving the physics world a-buzz with rumour. If the Higgs has been identified it will be a great triumph for the standard theory of physics, as it is the only missing puzzle piece left in our current understanding of particle physics.

Cogitating over what the announcement might be, my practical group for Imperial's MSc Science Communication decided to produce a short animation, demonstrating exactly what CERN do. If the so-called 'god particle' has been found, this is proof we saw it first!

(Credit: Georgia Bladon, Sam Cavenagh, Heather Cruickshank, Harriet Jarlett, Peter Larkin, Kelly Oakes, Antonio Torrisi and Dharshani Weersekera)

Geologists, the Coolest and Sexiest People Alive.

To many people a 'Geologist' is a bearded figure, dressed in an anorak and talking to a rock. Geologists themselves would love to dispel this myth but since we lick rocks, know Lagerstatten is more than a beer, and think anything under a few million years is 'recent' its not too far from the truth! Below I give you my top five references to Geologists in popular culture. Number 5 is my favourite, although I wish number 1 was true. Vote on your favourite below. (Come on Geologists- don't let the Bad ones win!)

The Good:

1) American Dad- Geologists, the smartest sexiest men alive. (Women too!)

2) Brad Pitt- GEOLOGIST. Not funny but it's Brad Pitt. As a geologist.

The Bad:

3) The Big Bang Theory- Erm...actually it is.

4) Friends- Geologists are the lowest of the dating barrel, shame some other Geologists don't realise this...

The Sadly Truthful:

5) Fresh Meat- actual geology bar games

Earth was frosted with gold

Like the glaze on a pastry, the Earth, after its inner structure was established, received a final icing of gold to it's crust. The abundance of gold ore make it an easily accessible economic resource. However, this incredibly heavy element, and other iron-loving elements like it, should have sunk 3 000 km deeper, into the Earth's core.

New research, published this month in Nature, lends support to the theory that without a late bombardment of meteorites being stirred in, there would be hardly any siderophile (iron-loving) elements in Earth’s mantle.

Willbold et al, from the Bristol Isotope Group, measured the variations of tungsten in rocks from the Isua Greenstone belt against an average found in modern day mantle. The Isua rocks are unique as they were unaffected by the late bombardment 500 million years ago, but were still formed after the Earth possessed it’s core. In theory, they should have slightly more tungsten compared to rocks that formed whilst the Earth was still accumulating material.

Other theories suggest that, when the Earth collided with large objects, such as the Mars-sized planet now widely accepted to have resulted in our Moon, it caused huge areas of melting. During this melting, iron and other metals seperated out and sank to the core. At the pressure and temperatures found beneath the huge magma ocean, it was thought that siderophiles might lose their affinity to iron and rise up through the mantle. Although, this would not have worked for all of the elements.

Experiments predicted that, to have the current proportion of gold in the crust, we would need 0.5-1% of primitive meteoritic material to have mixed into the mantle. Willbold et al measured tungsten more precisely than ever before, to show that the samples from the Isua Greenstone belt are slightly enriched, compared to average mantle. The magnitude of this small enrichment, 13 parts per million, is exactly that predicted if there had been 0.5-1% of primitive meteoritic material.

Dr Willbold commented that his "work shows that most of the precious metals on which our economies and many key industrial processes are based have been added to our planet by lucky coincidence when the Earth was hit by about 20 billion billion tonnes of asteroidal material.”

It is possible that the late mixing of material by convection occurred only in large patches of crust. Some areas of the Earth's mantle may not have mixed with late accreted material and so would have remained, and in fact still remain, isolated. The late bombardment might have given us more than just ore deposits, it may have given us the mantle dynamics we still see today.

George Stephenson (inventor of the steam locomotive) talks robots

Me and George Stephenson (credit: Elfy Chiang)

In starting my MSc Science Communication at Imperial College I didn't know quite what to expect. And when confronted by essays and critical analysis of articles, I was completely out of my depth. Thankfully, amongst the philosophy of science essays and semiotics there is a large amount of fun!
Our core practical involves making a TV interview and radio clip about a certain aspect of science. Our group got the surprisingly difficult task of explaining Artificial Intelligence.

 This week my core practical group and I (thanks guys!) went out with portable radio equipment to interview the public in the Science Museum. We asked them what they would like robots to be able to do for them ('housework' was the most popular answer) and in the process encountered a strange figure.

Dressed in a top-hat, tails and with mutton-chops to rival Wolverine, he looked like he'd stepped straight out of the 1800's. Turn's out, he had! It was George Stephenson speaking to us from 1840, desperate to share his knowledge of  the first steam locomotive, The Rocket. Listen to what he had to say here:

Much love to the rest of my core practical group who I did this with.

New dinosaur liked a fight

Talos Sampsoni - the new species discovered in Utah

Any kid who watched Jurassic Park through their fingers is aware of how terrifying the raptors were, and their claw-like 'toes' didn't help their menacing demeanour. Yet, up until now their function was a mystery. After the discovery of a new species in Utah, Scientists may have found their purpose, it seems they weren't all for show, or scaring children.

 

The claw is distinctive of dromeosaurs, the group which includes Velociraptor. The new species was discovered 3 years ago in the 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, one of the last undamaged dinosaur graveyards in the US. The dinosaur was named Talos sampsoni after the winged god from Greek mythology which succumed to a wounded ankle. Weighing under 40kg (about the size of a 4yr old child), it hardly inflicts the terrorising image of the 7ft tall moviestar Raptors. But Lindsay Zanno, lead author of the study, believes they were still fearsome creatures and described little Talos as "a scrapper".

There have been many things learnt from imperfect fossils over the years, about the lifestyle and habits of the animal, (there is a pretty cool Pleiseosaur at the Natural History Museum which is either pregnant, or ate lots of miniature versions of itself), and this new fossil is no different. It's second toe, with the big claw, is deformed where Talos either took a fall and fractured it, or got in in a fight and had it bitten. Originally, the team put this deformation down to the differences in species, but the excitement grew as they realised it had a different story to tell.

Detailed CT scanning, like that used in hospitals, was used to see the full extent of the injury. It was deemed to have been made during a fight with another dinosaur for food, a theory which holds up against the fossils found in the 1980's of two raptors caught in combat. The team discovered that the dinosaur had lived for months with the injury, meaning it must have been capable of catching prey/defending itself/ shaking hands with just the right foot and both talons weren't necessary to survival.

Trackways found at other sites suggest the toe was raised when Talos walked and so the damage, which didn't reach the rest of the foot, wouldn't have affected it's movement. "Our data support the idea that the talon of raptor dinosaurs was not used for purposes as mundane as walking," Zanno commented. "It was an instrument meant for inflicting damage."

A Gem of a Discovery

Image of Pulsar and Planet in orbit (Image credit – Swinburne Astronomy Productions)

Like an oyster in the ocean, opening to reveal a pearl, new research has discovered stars can be stripped apart to reveal diamonds.

Nicknamed "The Dish", the Australian CSIRO Parkes telescope stumbled on the discovery whilst searching for pulsars, as part of the "High Time Resolution Universe" survey. Pulsar J1719-1438 had a peculiar signal and upon closer inspection they discovered it was being orbited by a dense planet, five times the size of Earth and made entirely of diamond.

Pulsars are stars with a diameter of around 12 miles, about half the size of the Isle of Wight. Astronomers at CSIRO use these pulsars to study some of the fundamental laws of the universe. About 2-3 of them are discovered every month, so it's hardly breaking news when they find one. However, only certain pulsars such as, J1719-1438, are classed as rarer milisecond pulsars. This means they spin much faster than others and are likely to have unique properties. In this case of this star, it's uniqueness was found in it’s companion, dubbed The Diamond Planet.

Even more unusual, CSIRO's Dr Michael Keith explained, is that "Although the composition of this "diamond planet" is not really similar to any planets in our solar system, it orbits the pulsar more like a planet than a star. Typically pulsars and their companions both move in similar sized orbits, however in this case the large difference in weights means the pulsar does a rather small wobble whilst the companion swings around in a wide, circular, orbit."

All stars, when they become white dwarves, find the carbon they are made from is put under such great pressures that it crystallises into diamond. Even our Sun, when it finally burns out, will find a diamond at its centre. This is how the universe's largest, trillion carat diamond 'Lucy' formed. However, the Diamond Planet, appears to have befallen a sadder fate and was stripped down by the pulsar to reveal the diamond core within. Now only the diamond core remains, orbiting the pulsar and providing it with the energy to spin faster.

When asked if it can really be called a planet, since it used to be a star Keith answered, "certainly the object began its life as something that is unquestionably a star, however it now is clearly "of planetary mass". It's not too hard to imagine a situation where a gassy planet similar to Jupiter accreted enough mass to start nuclear burning and become a star, so why not go the other way round and have a star lose enough mass to become a planet."

It seems that this discovery really is a diamond in the rough for astronomy.

Hear a quote from Dr Michael Keith here:

How it feels to discover a planet

The World's Smallest Etch-a-Sketch

Science-A-Sketch

Etch-a-sketch is a classic childhood toy. In fact, it's so well- known it even makes a cameo in Toy Story. Now, 50 years on, it's hard to see how you could re-invent this art pad, but some researchers at the London Centre for Nanotechnology may  have done just that, on an nano-scale at least.

The team have discovered they can use an X-ray beam to draw  shapes, by giving a material high superconductivity, (when a  material causes no energy to be lost as electricity flows through  it).

They use a 'pad' made of oxygen, copper and lanthanium, an element also used for hybrid car batteries. They then shine an X-ray 'pen' onto the pad to create areas where the electricity can flow un-opposed. This occurs as the oxygen atoms beneath the X-ray beam rearrange, to allow electricity to flow more easily through them. This leaves behind a trail, or drawing, which can then be wiped off using a heat treatment, in the same way you could erase a drawing on an Etch-a-Sketch by shaking it.

The scientists so far have used the method of changing a material's structure to draw very precise circuits, which can be altered in one simple step. This is a huge discovery for technology and will have an impact on everything which uses superconductors, from MRI scans to MAGLEV trains.

Prof Bianconi, the leader of the research team said, “It is amazing that in a few simple steps, we can now add superconducting ‘intelligence’ directly to a material consisting mainly of the common elements copper and oxygen.”

Dolphin Wisdom Revealed

According to a friend, people think we’ll be able to talk with dolphins within 5 years. After questioning his drinking habits (and a quick Google), it turns out he was right. Research has shown that once we get the basics of the ‘click click’ language of dolphin’s down, we’ll be able to hold full conversations with them in as little as five years time.

Will we be able to speak directly to this dolphin, and it its own language, soon?

Ten years ago, at the Dolphin Institute in Hawaii, Louis Herman found Dolphins could understand the difference between statements, questions, concepts like “zero” and that by changing the word order of a sentence you change its meaning. Then last year researchers at the Wild Dolphin Project in California, developed a method of communicating with dolphins via whistles and signals. The dolphins quickly learnt which signal stood for which object during half-hour sessions spent with the creatures. This meant humans could play fetch with the dolphins for specific toys.

Now, those same scientists have taken it a step further by creating a way for the dolphins to request the humans fetch them things back. They originally set up a huge keyboard with images on, which the dolphins could use to point out ‘requests’ such as seaweed to play with. This has progressed into advanced equipment divers wear around their necks which repeats a word coined to mean things like ‘seaweed’, until the dolphins repeat it back. The diver’s can’t do this themselves as dolphins clicks range to wavelengths far above those we are able to hear, and since they don’t turn their heads to look at who they’re speaking to, it’s hard to know which member of a school is speaking. Slowly, the team are building a new language which both dolphins and humans can understand.

The next step is to start listening out for specific pieces of language from the dolphins themselves so that they can start piecing together a dictionary of sorts, with which to translate the dolphins most intimate conversations. After that who knows what we could learn, the Dolphin Communication Research team, SpeakDolphin has come up with 20 suggestions they would like to ask dolphins first. ‘What name do you call yourselves?’ seems a bit mundane, but ‘are you in contact with life forms beyond this planet?’, seems much more like it.

Natural mathematicians nonplussed by negative numbers from an early age

Ai is 35 years old and lives with her son, Ayumu. They both work together in a computer lab in Kyoto, Japan. Ai and Ayumu caused a riot in 2008 when they proved they could win at any standard (albeit math based) computer game. Using their faster-than-average ability to remember numbers in sequence they would beat the computer to win a sip of apple juice. Oh yeah, they are also chimpanzees.

Ayumu enjoying a spot of number sequencing from memory

Their research proved that all animals are born with a natural instinct for numbers. Specifically, how to compare ratios, such as whether or not the tree on the left or right has more fruit. Or where on a London Tube you're more likely to get a seat.


Last week scientists at John Hopkins university pushed this one step further by proving that all humans are born with the ability to already be good or bad at math. An important theory since it may be possible to train a child's innate number sense to be better, but it is much harder to change a natural aptitude for the subject.


In order to test those who have been least influenced by education, the research is carried out on very young children who have yet to go to school. The team flashed images of yellow and blue dots up onto a screen and asked the kids which there were more of, (you can take your own test here: http://www.panamath.org/testyourself.php ). The children were also required to take tests of aptitude, similar to those Ai and Ayumu took. Addition, multiplication and percentage questions were all asked of children who have barely mastered counting on their fingers. The children's parents were also tested for verbal skills to see if the results were specifically due to natural intelligence as opposed to a child being suited to test conditions.


The research showed that the children who performed well at the dot tests, also got the best results for natural numerical ability. Ultimately the tests proved that inbuilt math skills at birth can affect whether or not you will do better at your math GCSE. So next time your addition is put to the test, you might not be able to blame any mistakes on your rubbish math teacher after all!

"It's Molecular, my dear Watson"

As the third most abundant element in the Universe, you would think finding two of these atoms joined together wouldn’t exactly be Astronomy’s version of a detective mystery. However, up until now definitive evidence of molecular oxygen, a necessary molecule for life, has eluded scientists. This month the solar system’s best private investigators will publish their results into exactly where it’s been hiding.

Earth’s own atmosphere has been pulling the wool over scientist’s eyes for years. Elements in space are detected using wavelength spectra, and specific bright spots seen on these spectra are clues to the identity of each element. The Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 21% oxygen. Unfortunately this was found to be absorbing any evidence of those wavelengths specific to oxygen. Only recent advances in technology have allowed us to measure spectra from space, without interference.  

In theory oxygen should only be 100 000 times less abundant than hydrogen. However, the Herschel Space Observatory scientists have been repeatedly baffled to find, experimentally, it is 10 000 000 times less abundant. However, as Sherlock Holmes once said “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has all the data.” So where is all the oxygen?

The new evidence suggests the culprit is water ice. Oxygen atoms are disguising themselves as water ice by clinging to dust grains in freezing cold parts of the universe. However, the Orion Nebula, has caused their mask to fall. The Orion Nebula, is the nearest massive star forming region to Earth. Here newborn stars radiate heat, which is able to evaporate the ice, allowing molecular oxygen to form and leaving it exposed to discovery.

"Theory suggests we should find lots of oxygen atoms locked in molecular oxygen (O₂), but previous searches kept falling short of such a large amount," comments Paul Goldsmith from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US. Goldsmith is the NASA Herschel Project Scientist "With these new data, we finally have a strong hint at where cosmic oxygen might be hiding," he adds.

The mystery of the missing molecule may have been solved for now, but the Herschel observations of extraordinary sources project has many more riddles to help unravel yet.

Ref: P. Goldsmith, R. Liseau, et al., "Herschel measurements of molecular oxygen in Orion", Astrophysical Journal, in press.

Bad news travels fast. Well, two feet a day at least.

The Adirondacks Mountains in NY are somewhere most people would go to relax. Even the tourist website invites you to "slow down this summer and camp out under a canopy of stars." Although you may wake up with your tent far from where you pitched it. The Adirondacks, for the past month and a half have been experiencing a landslide. It's moving up to 2 ft each day, fairly fast for an area where most move only a few inches. Although it's excuricatingly slow for the owners of the (now condemned) house, teetering at the edge.

A house teetering at the edge of the slope

The whole side of the hill, about 82 acres of forest, boulders, house foundations and earth, is being dragged down the sides of Porter mountain after this year's heavy snow and rain caused a build up of groundwater. The groundwater seeped into the 12,000 year old glacial till and sands, and the increased water pressure reduced the overall strength of the hillside, and started the movement. The USGS states that 80% of NY is not susceptible to landslides, but if there's a steep slope, like the high peak of Porter Mountain, then it's very easy for the top loose sediment layer to slip, like treacle, down the slope. 

Porter Mountain seen from a distance, the steep slopes causing the landslide are visible

With one house already destroyed and several others moving perilously close to the steep drop at the edge of the scarp, some residents have enlisted house movers to pick up their entire houses and park them at safer locations on the mountain flanks. Although, they have yet to drill a borehole in any property which can find stable ground. With each rainstorm the slide moves faster and the residents are now praying for summer, when the trees will take up more water and hopefully slow the pace. 

Andrew Kozlowski , a geologist for New York, states that there is no way of knowing how long the slide will last for, "It could stop in a few weeks. Or it could keep moving for three months. Or three years. We just can't tell. It has to reach a new equilibrium." There was no warning of the Adirondacks slide and it's possible there are many other areas which could landslide in the mountain range. The last big slide in New York occured in 1993 about 150 miles south west of the current slide.  Slow moving landslides are common in America, and the USGS is also monitoring one in North Salt Lake City, Utah which has been sliding for twelve years. Despite causing up to $2 billion worth of damage in the US alone, they are still one of the least studied natural disasters. 

Landslides turn catastrophic when they turn suddenly into mud of debris flows which travel extremely fast and can cause billions of dollars worth of destruction and high death tolls. If there's another heavy rainstorm it's possible the landslide could take the house right over the edge or worse. State Geologists, however, remain confidant they are well versed in monitoring the speeds of landslides and most catastrophic movement is preceeded by gradual acceleration which can be measured. There is also now a proposal to map the area using LIDAR (a way of mapping the topography beneath the forest) to determine if they can find any areas which are also susceptible. 

"You can argue with the Geologist, but not with the rocks!"

On 28^th June 2011  Portcullis House welcomed an odd looking bunch, as hundreds of scientists descended for the annual Parliamentary Links Day. Run by The Royal Society for Chemistry it’s success, I suspect, is due to the insistent nature of Stephen Benn (son of Tony), who chairs the event. Delegates included fellows from several scientific societies, various MP’s and other politically minded people eager to hear presentations on this year’s theme of Global Challenges.

Rt Hon John Bercow, Speaker of the House, introduced the event with an impression of Tony Benn (www.rsc.org)

The science presenters focused on a specific Global Challenge related to their subject. Dr Jim Wild echoed Andrew Miller MP that “ Astronomy is the most inspirational subject”. Then joked he’d incite mass panic, as he explained solar flares could hit during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. “At the centre of climate change is Biology,” we were told by Dr Mark Downs, as he covered the various biological topics, from international trade to waste management, which can be considered Global Challenges. We were then entertained by Dr Brian Lovell OBE, President of the Geological Society, with his photo albums of past field trips. These acted as evidence that carbon capture and storage is effectively reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Interestingly, on a day devoted to establishing links, there was little mention about collaborations between the disciplines.

Brian Lovell explains how analysis of rocks led to his deep concern about the buildup of carbon dioxide and its consequences for humans and their planet. (youtube)

In between the scientists, the politicians explained ways science and policy could work together to tackle these Global Challenges. Dr Julian Huppert MP, explained why “basing decisions on evidence”, is a scientific reflex which should be run out across parliament. Whilst Chi Onwurah MP insisted only partnerships between the public and private sectors will make the most of innovative research, and a difference to the global challenges we face. It was continually noted that in order to fix global issues, we need to collaborate around the globe. Rt Hon David Willetts MP made a very sensible point, “we now we have a scientific advisor in every political department”. Since politicians are given the best access to foreign departments, the Haldene Principle makes it hard for these advisors to forge international links into joint scientific research. Although, he couldn’t answer my question on whether or not this might be reformed, as he had to run off, probably to prepare for that evening’s Newsnight.

Whilst all of the speakers agreed on the need to enthuse the “new generation of scientists”, only Prof. Lorna Casselton mentioned better science communication. The sudden rise to fame of the Rock Star Physicist, Dr Brian Cox OBE is an example of how packaging a scientific message in the right way can, and will, enthuse a classroom filled with potential Pasteur’s and Darwin’s. Examples from today, like Bryan Lovell and Imran Khan proved that being educated in the methods and tricks of science communication can make science far easier to understand and much more accessible to both new generations and decision makers.

Prof Brian Cox OBE- Former D:Ream keyboardist turned avid Science Communicator

Despite the scientists ignoring interdisciplinary links and placing their own subjects at the heart of the challenges faced, Parliamentary Links Day 2011 could be considered a great success. It brought less well-known actions of groups such as CASE, and research of less well discussed topics, such as weather models, to the forefront of discussion. However, perhaps next year the topic of communicating science could be the theme of the Day.

Congratulations NASA, it's a ... Rover?

This week the Mars Science Laboratory completed the first part of it's mission, flying from its birthplace in California to it's launch-pad in Florida. Here it will take it's first steps on a year long flight to Mars. NASA's latest prodigy arrived late on Wednesday night, weighing 7500 pounds and with all 3 of it's cameras, 4 spectrometers and 5 other sensors perfectly intact. 

Mars Rover Curiosity, Left Side View (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The last expedition to Mars proved a huge success, mostly down to the Spirit Rover. Spirit's heroic contribution to the exploration of Mars is to be commemorated in a service later this year, after Nasa chose to pull the plug on the ailing old timer on 24th May 2011. Spirit beautifully surpassed all expectations by running 5 3/4 years longer than her originally intended 90 sol (1 sol = 24hr 37 minutes) expedition. She even transmitted data and collected samples despite having to traverse backwards, dragging an injured front wheel in her wake! 

 A video from NASA reflecting on Spirit's Triumphs on Mars 

MSL's rover Curiosity is bigger, heavier and can travel further than Spirit and her brother Opportunity. Although Curiosity will still retain many of their more successful features she will also have equipment to gather samples of rock and soil and be able to distribute them to onboard analaytical instruments. And, unlike previous rovers, Curiosity is powered by the radioactive decay of plutonium. This means she can collect data for a full year, where previous, solar powered rovers, went into hibernation during winter months.

It's intended launch later this year, is a shimmering star on the horizon for Mars scientists, representing the first leap into a new decade of space exploration. The mission goal is to determine whether the landing site and surrounding areas have ever (or still can) support life. It also aims to prepare for human exploration by demonstrating the ability to land a very large and heavy rover, very precisely.

Curiosity's Science Instruments showing the 4 spectrometers and 3 cameras on board.

The Spacecraft has been designed to steer itself into landing in a similar series of moves that the astronauts landing a rocket would use, then slowly lower the rover into place by tether. This has made several, previously inaccessible, landing sites available by increasing the accuracy of landing by 5 times. However, the landing could still be anywhere within an area of 20 kilometers (see ellipse in image below). 

Image of Gale Crater showing 20km wide possible landing ellipse and layered mound in centre (NASA/JPL image)

The landing site will be chosen later this week by a crack team of scientists, choosing a spot which fulfills these criteria:

 i) Evidence that the area may once have, or still can, support life

 ii)Meeting the safety requirements and engineering problems faced by landing a rover

iii) Allow the rover to operate and perform its duties immeadiately

Out of four options the Gale Crater was today tipped by Nature to be favourite. The 3.5 billion year old crater is named after Walter Frederick Gale, an australian banker who became a renowned astronomer after discovering several comets and describing the canals on Mars. The crater has long been topic of discussion due to the layered mound in the centre. Suspected to be layered clay minerals with alternating layers of sulfur and oxygen-bearing minerals above, this peak could have formed due to periodic flooding and be protecting complex organic minerals indicative of microbial life. There are also several channels carved into the sides of the mound by water erosion which would provide ideal cross-sections for the rover to analyse. The Gale Crater is competing against Eberswalde Crater and Holden Crater who's river delta sediments may hide organic lakebed deposits. Whilst Mawrth Vallis, the mineralogists favourite as it contains some of the oldest and most complex rock sequences on Mars, appears to have come in last in a site selection workshop last month.

Layers visible in Gale Crater- Image taken by HiRise (NASA/JPL image library)

NASA is expected to make the decision next Friday and announce which landing site has won the week after, the rover will then remain incubated until it's launch from the Kennedy Space Centre at the end of the year. Congratulations NASA!

Cold shoulder for Global Warming

Tim Oates, the government advisor in charge of overhauling the national curriculum, has come under fire for his recent proposals to drop climate change from the syllabus for 5-16yr olds.

In a Guardian interview Oates called for schools 'to get back to the science in science'. Oates has a point, core subjects like evolution, magnetism and chemical formulae are vital information for children to learn and should always be part of the curriculum. However, surely the point of teaching is to enthuse children in a subject so that they can better learn and understand it. In my opinion, and one shared 100 years ago by Thomas Huxley in his Science in Education journals, the biggest change Oates could make is to make science lessons more practical. Repetition and constant memorization will never instill a fervor to learn, whereas the excitement and fun from performing experiments can make any concept easier to understand. Informal science education, such as trips to museums, should also have more emphasis.

How better to do that than show how science is constantly advancing and new, exciting discoveries are being made all the time? Oates says "we're not taking it back 100 years" by removing climate change, but instead getting back to grass roots science. By removing  science issues and their  relevance you are moving children away from learning about all current news. Climate change covers politics, geography and science. It's a hotly contested topic which has all major newspapers, websites and television channels introducing separate environmental sections. Without it being taught in school a child will be far less equipped to make their own decisions about relevant issues and debates. Other debates in the news, including women's equality, abortion and the war on terror are all taught about in schools, through both history and current events. In 2007 'Cultural Understanding of Science' was added to the curriculum for 11-14 year olds. Science should follow the same policy as other major topics in todays society, with both core theories being covered and then teachers making the decision on which current topics are the most relevant to the children and their immediate culture. 

In America, children can choose 3 science subject and Earth Science (including Climate Change) is quickly becoming the most popular. This shows that children can take an active interest in our planet and the environment. Reforming science education is necessary. especially when science is taught as a single subject until GCSE and without, for some pupils, practical lessons until you reach secondary school. However, removing the current most interesting topics in science, and not educating future generations about how to look after our planet is not the way forward.