Genetics: Cell division – Meiosis

We are currently working through the specification for an IGCSE in Biology.  The following is copied straight from that specification and is all the information we need to know about meiosis: Understand that division of a cell by meiosis produces four cells, each with half the number of chromosomes, and that this results in the formation…

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Genetics: Cell division – Mitosis

We are currently working through the specification for an IGCSE in Biology.  The following is copied straight from that specification and is all the information we need to know about mitosis: Understand that division of a diploid cell by mitosis produces two cells which contain identical sets of chromosomes. Understand that mitosis occurs during growth, repair,…

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Microbes: Fungus and Bacteria – Intrinsically Linked

I probably don't need to say this, but did you know that fungi can kill bacteria?   Most antibiotics used today were found originally in fungi, although many of these chemicals are now synthesized in factories.  Strictly speaking, antibiotics are substances made by microorganisms that stop growth of other microbes or kill them outright. The first ever antibiotic…

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Incr-Edible Science: Bacteria and Yogurt Making

So far we have looked at the different types of bacteria, building our own model: We've experimented with growing bacteria cultures on agar in petri dishes testing which area of the kitchen was the dirtiest: And finding out which was dirtiest the loo or the sink? We are currently testing the efficacy of various cleaners…

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Spar-Klean Science: What is the dirtiest place in the kitchen?

We did this experiment along side our dish cloth verses the loo germ growing fest. First we made the agar from gelatin, bouillon and water: The children decided to take samples from the door handle, the coffee machine, the fridge door, the floor and the sink: My heart sank as I watched C11 poke the…

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Project Based Learning: Microbes – Bacteria

This week we have been learning all about Bacteria.  Bacteria, a type of prokaryotic cell, can come in an assortment of shapes: Source As we are currently studying the plague we decided to concentrate primarily on the rod-shaped bacilli, of which Yersinia Pestis (the bacteria that causes the plague) is one: Yersinia Pestis magnified x200 Source…

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Incr-Edible Science: Yeast (Micro Fungi – part 2)

After covering mold type fungi in Part 1, we moved onto the unicellular yeast: This is Leeuwenhoek, the man responsible for the discovery of micro-organisms through his very simple 'microscope' A labelled diagram of a yeast cell Yeast as we know it To find out a bit more about yeast we mainly used the same resources as before: We…

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Project Based Learning: Microbes – Fungus

We've just spent a couple of weeks learning about Fungi.  We're not talking macro Fungi (mushrooms and the like) but Micro-fungi.  Micro fungi are eukaryotic organisms which have an absence of the large fruiting body of the mushrooms and the like.  Fungi such as mould, mildew, yeast and even rust.  Both macro and micro fungus are vital…

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