Tag: Chemistry

Imperial in the news: the future of climate change in schools

On Monday, The Guardian reported moves by the Government to remove the topic of climate change from school geography lessons.

The situation raised concerns among policy makers and researchers. Under the new proposals the curriculum for geography up to the age of 14 would not specifically teach anything about climate change or its social and political implications.  The science of climate change would instead be taught in chemistry classes..

Policy makers argue that there has been a positive impact by the current generation in tackling climate change, thanks in part to debate and discussion in geography classes. This could be lost if pupils are taught the ‘building blocks’ of climate science, but not the social or political implications of the topic in the future.

Imperial in the news: Nobel Prizes

This time each year, the College is rooting for its top scientists as the Nobel Prizes are awarded. Although no one from Imperial won an award in 2012, many leading scientists were keen to give their praise to the recipients. Dr Bernadette Byrne [Life Sciences] explained to the BBC on Wednesday how Professors Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka, who won the prize for Chemistry revolutionised the understanding of cellular functions. Their research is paving the way for new treatments to be developed on a vast array of diseases thanks to their pioneering work in the field.

With so much taking place at Imperial, next year’s awards might feature prominent names from within the College’s community, and you can keep abreast of the exciting advances led by staff here via the news pages.