Nobody knows better than us at Planet Science that the UK is teeming with imaginative, creative, science-loving primary teachers.

If you know an especially inspirational one, here’s how to help get them their just desserts in the Primary Science Teaching Awards 2005. The desserts being a nice cash prize for themselves and their schools, plus a certificate and free ASE membership for a year.

All primary teachers are eligible, so long as they have a keen and demonstrable interest in teaching science in an exciting and engrossing way …

More information and an online nomination form can be found at:
http://www.ase.org.uk/htm/homepage/notes_news/may_05/psta_nom.php#

The closing date is 31^st July, and the awards will be presented at the ASE Annual Meeting in early January. So hurry hurry hurry!

We’re talking washing powders here.  They may wash whiter than white but just how green are they?

You will need:

• washing powder
• a jam jar
• red cabbage
• water
• a spoon

What to do:

1. Shred some fresh red cabbage leaves and place in a bowl.
2. Pour hot water over and leave to stew for 20 minutes.
3. Strain off some of the purple liquid into a jam jar and leave it to cool.
4. Add a couple of spoonfuls of washing powder to the jam jar and stir. Hey - it turned green!
5. Leave the jam jar for 20 minutes.  What colour is it now? Hey - it’s gone yellow!
6. Leave the jam jar overnight.  What colour is it now? Eh? Where did the colour go? 

What’s going on?

Washing powders contain a number of different components, all of which have fancy names. There are ‘Surfactants’ to remove grease and dirt; ‘builders’ which soften the water and allow the detergent to work better, and ‘bleaching agents’, which are usually compounds of hydrogen peroxide. To do the all-important whitening of the wash there are ‘optical brighteners’, which are organic molecules that adsorb* on the fabrics like dyes but absorb UV light and re-emit white light.

So what’s with the yellow? Bleaches such as hydrogen peroxide are oxidizing agents and can effectively decolourize anthocyanins by changing the molecular structure. So eventually the solution becomes colourless, just like in the jam jar.

You want more?

OK, try using a washing powder that’s specifically for coloured garments – this should not contain bleaching agents.  Does it still turn the red cabbage solution colourless?

So how green are detergents?

The washing powder industry have been addressing problems such as non-biodegradable surfactants and high phosphate levels in waterways by changing the chemistry of their products. Detergents have also been reformulated to work at lower temperatures thus saving on heat energy. Concentrated detergents also use less packaging. The next development will be the use of surfactants based on renewable raw materials like sugar and vegetable oil instead of oil-based materials.

Here’s a surprising fact: onions are the world’s sixth most popular vegetable. Despite the fact that lots of people don’t like them very much! Nutritionist Simone Baroke has been investigating the strange case of the ubiquitous bulb …

The humble onions’s high rank in the culinary charts is due to its ability to draw sulphur out of the soil and convert it into a range of deliciously pungent compounds. It doesn’t go through all this hassle just to delight your taste buds though – its intentions are of a far more sinister nature: chemical warfare!

If you don’t bother an onion, it won’t bother you. It’s full of powerful sulphides but they float innocuously within its cells’ fluid. But if you damage the cell walls, by chopping or chewing: watch out – the onion strikes back!

What happens is that a group of enzymes, called ‘allinases’, are released from storage compartments (“vacuoles”). The allinases split the sulphides into volatile gaseous compounds, which react with the water in your eyes to form highly corrosive sulphuric acid. This attacks your nerve endings, making you cry – the tears are produced to try and wash out the irritant.

Here’s a tip: allinase activity slows considerably when chilled, so try immersing the onions in ice water for 30-60 minutes before slicing.

Despite the onions’ best efforts to annihilate you, once on a dinner plate, they actually do you good. They help balance blood sugar levels, which makes them an excellent food choice for diabetics as well as boosting an individual’s ability to maintain concentration and stay calm in the face of irritations.

For some people, all that good is outweighed by the fact that onions give them terrible heartburn – or “acid reflux” to use the medical term. This is because onions can relax the lower oesophageal sphincter, a circular muscle at the top of the stomach. This results in stomach acid backing up into the oesophagus and burning its lining. Yeowch …

If you can handle them though, there are loads of great ways of cooking them. For a selection of onion recipes, try this site: http://www.onions-usa.org/cooking/cooking.asp

Power up your whiteboard, ICT guru Roger Frost is back with another of his online hot-tips. This week: breed your own mice...

			ExploreLearning: Mouse Breeding Gizmo “Breed a dark mouse with a white mouse and you can be sure of a surprising result. In this simulation two pure breeds turn out black mice every time. Click as much as you like, there’s no changing a dominant trait. Breed the offspring and you’ll now see that a quarter turn out white. “If that’s puzzling here’s a no-nonsense tool to explain it. You drag the mice to what I’d call their bedroom, do experiments, peek at genotypes and unravel this puzzle on screen. It’s easy to use too - the mice breed with a click and without needing money, beer or inducement. “Sign up for a trial - it’s instant - or use this link for a 5 minute quickie http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspView&ResourceID=382

Thanks Roger!

Scottish Geology Going anywhere nice on your holidays this year? Oh, Scotland? Good choice! As most people know, Scotland rocks. And its rocks rock too. Over the millennia, Scotland’s been a desert, a tropical swamp, a volcanic landscape, and an ocean floor. Some of its present day rocks have travelled from as far away as the South Pole, and as the ice ages have come and gone, the biological life has evolved and made its mark on the landscape too. And it’s all written in the stones to this day. If you’re into geology and going on a Scottish excursion this summer, Scottish Geology is a great site to explore. It’s not flashy and the wow-factor is minimal, but the text is clear, there’s plenty of information  and it’s very interesting. http://www.scottishgeology.com/ Planet Science Grillers Teachers! Are you looking for some end-of-term treats? If you’re in Scotland your end of term treat, has already come – in the form of a holiday! But for everyone else, Planet Science can offer you a selection of Grillers. These are a selection of quizzes, word puzzles, detective games and activities, all linked to groovy parts of the www.planet-science.com - a site full of groovy content, which looks brilliant on both interactive whiteboards and desktop computers … if we do say so ourselves. Each one is print-offable, and photocopyable (b & w) – and while they’re tons of fun, they’re also linked in to the curriculum … Our ever-popular solar system explorer game Planet 10 naturally features, as does the Microwhizz Oven, Goth House, Fire Facts and our sci-spoof Hello!-style magazine, Oh Please! Check ‘em out at: http://www.planet-science.com/sciteach/ sciteach/grillers/index.html

Ask Dr Universe Do spiders breathe? Does the universe have a shape? How many stomachs does a horse have? No, you’ve not fallen asleep and woken up in a pub quiz – these are just a few questions in Dr Universe’s mailbag. Dr Universe is a cat. And like many cats, she knows more than you might guess … Well, she does have the combined intellect of Washington State University behind her, which is why she’s offering to field questions on any subject you like – not even confined to science. So while she’s happy to answer a question like, “Why is the sky blue?” or "What would happen if you farted in space - would it propel you forward?", but she’s equally at home with questions on the nature of humanity, the history of art or current thinking in psychology. Scratching your head about something? Well, here's where she lives: http://www.wsu.edu/DrUniverse/ Alien Autopsy Anyone? Just time for a quick mention of a recent offering from one of Australia’s favourite science gurus, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. Well, any time’s a good time for a spot of extra-terrestrial speculation, right? The scene is Roswell, USA, 1947. And the subject of Dr Karl’s ‘Great Moment in Science’ is the alleged autopsy of an alien being that had, unlucky for him/her, crashed to Earth … The ‘autopsy’, it is said, was carried out in conditions of supreme secrecy, but was filmed for posterity, the results being eventually broadcast in 1995. But does it provide proof of alien life? Or proof that actors can’t even hold  scissors properly? Dr Karl has his opinion … and here’s where you can read it: http://www.abc.net.au/science/ k2/moments/s1406162.htm

Yep and that's all for this week, but if you have any contributions including GOOD JOKES for future newsletters please send them in to Anne McNaught on anne.mcnaught@nesta.org.uk.

Have a great week!

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