Discusses the increasing interest of the public in nature and art of the 18th and 19th centuries, and making watercolor painting a part of the curriculum. Focuses on the works and publishing of Gwillim, Wilson, Audubon, and Peterson. (Contains 12 references.) (YDS)

Describes the Purple Loosestrife Project, an innovative outreach and educational program to provide a biological control of purple loosestrife. Involves cooperation of community, teachers, and students. (YDS)

Describes the construction of an effective plant incubator for classroom use using a five-gallon plastic bucket. (JRH)

Presents investigations of leaf surface wetness that provide ideal opportunities for students to explore the relationships between leaf form and function, to study surface conditions of leaves and plant physiology, and to make predictions about plant adaptation in different environments. Describes simple procedures for exploring questions related…

Discusses methods for plotting rates of photosynthesis as a function of light quantity. Presents evidence that suggests that empirically derived conversion factors, which are used to convert foot candles to photon fluence rates, should be used with extreme caution. Suggests how rate data are best plotted when any kind of light meter is not…

The fish poisons derived from plants used throughout the world, not only as piscicides but also for a range of other uses, including insecticident and in folk medicines, is presented. The aim of this review is to provide a useful background for students interested in natural products.

A member of a related genus of the valerianaceae, Centranthus ruber, is used, that yields a higher percentage valtrate than other related species such as "Valeriana officinalis," there by making easier isolation in pure form.

A study was conducted to prove that a large blood or xylem vessel could conduct 256 times more fluid than a vessel or a pipe that is four times smaller. The result of this study proved that if arteriosclerosis causes an artery to loose half its effective diameter, the blood flow would be reduced by fifteen-sixteenths.

The water absorption in chickpeas (dried legumes) is analyzed. The chickpea experiment serves as an introduction to the concepts of osmosis, mass transfer and diffusion.

In this article, the author describes how she introduced the mola designs of the Kuna people of the San Blas Islands to her fifth grade class. The students became excited by the tropical imagery; the wildlife, intertwined with the flowering plant life and the ocean, in colorful and black and-white patterns, because it brought forth such…

Curcumin, the pungent yellow spice found in both turmeric and curry powders, blocks a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers, according to a study that appears in the journal Cancer. Researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center demonstrate how curcumin stops laboratory strains of…

The good, bad and ugly gifts from the mother earth are highlighted. Olive oil, rice seedling blight, and Borrelia burgdorferi, respectively are the good, bad and ugly gifts from the mother earth.

The problem of environmental pollution has assumed an unprecedented proportion in many parts of the world especially in Nigeria and its Niger-Delta region in particular. This region is bedeviled with this problem perhaps owing to interplay of demographic and socio-economic forces coupled with the various activities that revolve round the…

The case presented in this article is an exploration of the process of natural selection using white clover ("Trifolium repens") as an example. In general, two forms of white clover can be found around the world in various habitats. One type has plain green leaves and the other type produces cyanide as a defense against herbivores and…

Cyclic voltammetry experiments on [60]fullerene, (C[subscript 60]), and (dihapto-[60]fullerene) pentacarbonyl tungsten(0), ([eta][superscript 2]-C[subscript 60])W(CO)[subscript 5], constitute an educational experiment for the inorganic chemistry laboratory with a primary objective to teach the chemical interpretation of a voltammogram, in…