Video

Here you will find a selection of resources that have been carefully selected with your students in mind. The resources contain a mixture of videos, animations, practicals and some which are intended for learning outside where possible. Grouped by the anticipated age of the students, we have tried to be mindful of availability of equipment in order to undertake these activities. Over the coming weeks we will be adding to this bank of resources so watch this space.

Interviews with scientists - Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are vital for human health. But how can we source them sustainably? Professor Johnathan Napier of Rothamstead Research talks about the role that Omega-3 fatty acids play in our diets, how we currently source them from algae via fish, and how he hopes to use genetic engineering to breed plants that produce these molecules in their oils.

Interviews with scientists - the mystery of the evolution of stomata

In this 5 minute talk, Professor Alistair Hetherington of Bristol University discusses the mysterious evolution of stomata. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

Interviews with scientists - How big data is transforming biology

in this 6 minute video, Professor David Salt of the University of Aberdeen introduces the topic of ‘big data’ – huge data sets that are at the heart of much of today’s cutting edge biological research. He talks about what big data is, how researchers work with it to test their hypotheses, and what the potential implications may be for scientific research in the future.

Interviews with scientists - Photosynthesis to Feed the World?

In this 8 minute video, Professor Jane Langdale of the University of Oxford discusses her work leading a team of scientists seeking to increase food production through research into the fundamentals of photosynthesis.

Interviews with scientists - saving the world's forests

In this 5-minute video Dr Ed Mitchard, of the University of Edinburgh, introduces the use of new technologies in conservation, specifically the role of REDD+ in preventing deforestation across the world. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

Interviews with scientists - feeding sub-Saharan Africa

This 5-minute video interview with Professor Giles Oldroyd offers a thought-provoking take on the topic of fertilisers and nitrogen fixation. In the west, we’ve spent 50 years relying on increasing food yields by adding nitrogen-based fertilisers to the soils. But it’s not an approach that seems to be working for the millions of smallholder farmers across western and central Africa.

Interviews with scientists - Plant-derived medicines to cure cancer

This 5-minute video interview with Professor Sarah O’Connor from the John Innes Centre, introduces her work to find new molecules that can successfully treat cancer. This is an interesting way to introduce students to biochemistry, and to encourage them to take a synoptic approach to their biology curriculum, by bringing together plant science and medicine.

Interviews with scientists - Plant survival strategies: hormones and responses

In this 5-minute video interview,Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, Director of the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, discusses the different survival strategies of plants and animals. This video gets students to develop their understanding of the role of plant hormones in an intriguing context.

Interviews with scientists - Drew Purves on computer modelling, ecology and climate change

In this 5-minute video interview, ecologist and computer scientist Dr Drew Purves introduces computer modelling and its role in biology.

Interviews with scientists - GFP and reporter proteins

This 5-minute video interview with Prof John Christie of the University of Glasgow introduces students to fluorescent reporter proteins and their importance to our understanding of cell biology. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

Interviews with scientists - Dr Cristobal Uauy on wheat genomics and yield

This 5-minute video interview with Dr Cristobal Uauy of the John Innes Centre introduces post-16 students to contemporary genomics and food security. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

Can you beat the Giant Redwood? Investigating xylem

In this lively starter activity to introduce the topic of xylem, students are posed the question ‘Can you beat a Giant Redwood?’. Giant Redwoods can reach 100m tall and have to transport the water they absorb through their roots up through the trunk to the very top of the tree. How do they do this?

Video clip - Chloroplasts and starch

This BBC video clip introduces chloroplasts and the accumulation of starch grains. This can be used as an introduction to the importance and then the structure of the chloroplast. Older students can then discuss the internal structure of the chloroplast and relate it to the different stages in photosynthesis.

Video clip - Classification techniques and the search for useful plants

This BBC video clip looks at the way in which classification techniques are used by research scientists at Kew Gardens in their search for new medicines and other useful plants. A real world use for this is demonstrated using a variety of sage plant with the ability to produce a chemical which may be effective in the treatment of malaria.

Video clip - Generation of clean fuels

This BBC video clip scientists at the University of Glasgow, whose research focuses on trying to replicate the process of photosynthesis in the laboratory. This can be used to introduce the idea of using natural processes as the basis for scientific innovation (biomimetics). It is also a good way to look at the need for ways to reduce the impact of global warming, and to produce clean fuels.

Video clip - Genetic engineering to increase productivity in rice

This video clip from the BBC (from the TV series Botany: A Blooming History) discusses the importance of genetic engineering for feeding a growing population, introducing a group of research scientists working on rice. It can be used in the context of global warming and the ecology of LEDCs. It can also be used to discuss limiting factors and photosynthesis.

Video clip - How commercial growers increase crop yield

This video clip from the BBC (from the TV series Botany: A Blooming History) looks at how commercial growers manipulate the limiting factors of photosynthesis to increase crop yield. A lesson 'starter' when discussing limiting factors.

Video clip - Leaf structure, stomata and the absorption of carbon dioxide

This BBC video clip introduces the role of stomata, with the surface structure of a leaf observed using increasingly larger magnifications.This can be used as an introduction to leaf structure and then developed into a discussion of the other features of a leaf and how it is adapted for efficient photosynthesis.

Video clip - Light and starch production

This BBC video clip demonstrates the classic experiment to show that light is needed for the production of starch. The process can be discussed in terms of what is being done to the leaf at each stage and why the demonstration is so elegant. Pupils can then do their own leaf shading and iodine tests. This can then be extended into tests on leaves which have also been deprived of carbon dioxide.

Articles tagged as "Video"