Thanks for coming to our stand, workshop and lecture at ASE last week. We really enjoyed meeting you all, hearing your experiences about teaching and supporting biology in the classroom, and getting so many ideas.

And thank you, too, for joining our free SAPS Associates scheme, for teachers, technicians and those in science education. Whether you’re at the beginning of your career, or you’ve got years of experience behind you, we’re here to support teaching plant biology in the classroom. As a member you will be the first to access new resources, hear about biology events and grant opportunities, share tips and ideas with other teachers, and have privileged access to the SAPS expert Q&A panel. If you’ve got questions about teaching plant science, or you’re having problems with your practicals, then send us an email, and we’ll do our best to answer.

We'll contact you regularly (but not too often!) to let you know about grants, new resources and practicals, news and research, and other items we think you'll be interested in.

‘Plant Lab’ & ‘Biology in the Real World’ Lectures

The two new practicals that we showed off at Plant Lab – ‘Investigating Leaf Surface Temperature’ and the biofuels practical – will be on our new website as soon as it launches in a couple of months. We’ll send you a mail to let you know as soon as they’re available.

For all those who were able to attend the ‘Biology in the Real World’ series of lectures, and for all those who couldn’t make it, we’re arranging with the Society of Biology to make the Powerpoints available to download online. From the future of biofuels to the role of taxonomy in modern biology, there was plenty of food for thought. The Society of Biology tells us they should be available from the end of January, so we’ll let you know the details in our next mail.

The Latest Popular Science Books

Many of you asked for more details about the books that we had on our stand  - a great selection of the best in recent popular science writing, with of course a little bias towards plant science. If you have post-16 students considering studying biology at University, we particularly recommend ‘The Botany of Desire’.

The books were:
Michael Pollan, ‘The Botany of Desire’ – a fascinating look on evolution, plant breeding, and the complex relationships between humans and the plants around them, from 17th century tulip mania, to marijuana growers today.
David Beerling, ‘The Emerald Planet’ – a wonderful book about plants as powerful agents of change themselves, and the way they can be used to deduce past climatic events.
Richard Mabey, ‘Weeds’ – a cultural history of weeds and their relationship to humanity over the years.
Amy Stewart, ‘Wicked Plants’ – as the subtitle puts it, this is the A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate and otherwise offend
Peter Thompson, ‘Seeds, Sex and Civilization’ – bringing the story of seeds to life. They may be tiny, but seeds shape our world.
Carlton Wood & Nicolette Habgood, ‘Why People Need Plants’ – written by scientists from the Open University and Kew Gardens for the Open University course ‘Plants and People’, this book introduces the science behind the plants around us. 

Stevia – a little plant declaring war on obesity and diabetes?

Some of you visiting our stand at ASE had the chance to taste a leaf of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant we may all be hearing a lot more about in 2011. Stevia contains extracts up to 300 times sweeter than glucose, and offers a potential low-calorie alternative to sugar. It may even has positive health effects, in addition to providing low-calorie sweetness, as a small-scale study suggests it may lower glucose levels in people with diabetes. Stevia has been widely used as a sweetener in Japan since the 1970s, as well as its traditional use in its native South America. But in 1991 an anonymous and controversial industry complaint caused Stevia to be banned in the USA. It was not until 2008 that Stevia extracts were authorised for use in the USA, two years after a WHO report reviewed all the studies and concluded it safe. It’s widely expected that the EU will authorise Stevia for use in processed foods and beverages in 2011. Meanwhile, why not try growing your own Stevia plant this year?
 
‘Catalyst’ - Free GCSE Science Magazine

Packed full of science-related articles, Catalyst magazine is a great resource for any secondary school science classroom. And this month, there’s a great article on phytoplasmas – the bacteria that shape the poinsettias for our houses, but which also cause devastation around the world. How are plant scientists in the UK and Africa tackling the problem?  

If you don’t already subscribe, you can get a free copy of the February 2011 issue from the Science Enhancement Programme (SEP – www.sep.org.uk), who like us at Science and Plants for Schools, are funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. You’ll need to sign up to their free SEP Associate scheme, which gives you access to all their excellent science resources for the classroom. 

Welcome to the SAPS Associate scheme! We’ll hope to see you at ASE again next year.

Best wishes

The Administratort, Dan Jenkins, and Ginny Page

Science & Plants for Schools