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New Zealand’s National Science Challenges

As New Zealanders looking to the future, we are faced with many opportunities – and challenges. These include improving the health of all our people, advancing our economic growth, protecting our ...

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ARTICLE

Ceramics – introduction

The term ‘ceramic’ comes from the Greek word meaning ‘pottery’ – these clay-based domestic wares, art objects and building products are familiar to us all – but pottery is just one part of the ...

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ARTICLE

Hydroxyapatite as a bioceramic

In some types of bone reconstruction operations, pieces of bone harvested from some other location in the body, such as the pelvis, are used to replace the damaged or diseased bone. This is a ...

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ACTIVITY

Testing the degradability of potato plates

In this activity, students compare the rate of degradation of disposable plates using three different disposal methods. Purpose To experiment with a range of disposable plates made from different ...

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ACTIVITY

Bone strength

In this activity, students create artificial bones made of paper to compare the relative strength of solid bones with hollow bones. Rights: The University of Waikato Processing cow bone for human ...

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ACTIVITY

Sialons – Ian Brown video clips

In this activity, students watch video clips of IRL research scientist Dr Ian Brown talking about sialons and then answer a series of graded questions related to the content. Rights: The ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Stall Catchers

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In this online ...

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT

Infection Inspection

Help this global project to develop a faster test for antibiotic resistance by looking inside bacteria that have been treated with antibiotics. This will improve healthcare for patients with ...

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TEACHER PLD

Designing a new product from potato starch – unit plan

Students develop their knowledge to design a disposable product as a sustainable alternative to an existing product. Purpose To consider the issues of increasing plastics use and understand why ...

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TEACHER PLD

Marketing a reusable product: potato plates – unit plan

Students develop their knowledge to design a disposable product as a sustainable alternative to an existing product. Purpose To understand why increasing use of non-degradable materials is not ...

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TEACHER PLD

Visit to a lavender farm – case study

A Year 9 class visited a local lavender farm as part of a biotechnology unit investigating the production, packaging and marketing of lavender oil for aromatherapy. The purpose of the field trip ...

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VIDEO

Defining ceramics

Dr Ian Brown, a senior research scientist with Industrial Research Limited, explains how the term ‘ceramics’ now has a more expansive meaning. Traditional ceramics are clay-based, but ...

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VIDEO

What are bioceramics and biomaterials?

Dr Michael Mucalo is a senior lecturer in chemistry at the University of Waikato. One of his research interests is in the bioceramics field, and in this video, Michael explains the meaning of ...

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VIDEO

Cow bone research

When diseased bone is surgically removed from a person’s body, it is normally replaced with a substitute, which is most often harvested from the hip bone of that person. University of Waikato’s ...

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INTERACTIVE

Temperature – the hot and the cold

This interactive highlights the critical role temperature plays in the world of ceramics. Select a white circle or bar in the thermometer for more information. Go here to view the full transcript ...

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INTERACTIVE

O-Sialon production

This interactive shows the process of creating an advanced ceramic, O-Sialon, in the laboratory. Click on the labels for more information. Select here to view the full transcript and copyright ...

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INTERACTIVE

The immune system

This interactive explains the different cells, microorganisms and molecules involved in the human immune system. Click on the labels for more information. Select here to view the full transcript ...

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