Life in the savanna is all connected! Step into the African savanna with Chester Zoo and discover what happens when plants, herbivores, and predators all depend on one another to survive. Meet some of the animals that make this ecosystem their home and uncover the important role each plays in keeping the food web in balance.
Start by following energy as it moves through a food chain — from plants to the animals that eat them and on to predators. Then investigate what happens when one part of the chain changes. What might happen to the rest of the ecosystem if an animal disappears? And why are predators so important to a healthy savanna?
Use real African wildlife to explore these connections, build your own food chains, and think like a zoologist as you investigate the interdependence of life on the savanna. By the end, you'll see that in a healthy ecosystem, every living thing has a role to play.
Don't miss the food chain cards that go with this lesson!
Vultures are the unsung heroes of Africa's ecosystems, playing a vital role in keeping the environment clean and healthy. With their incredible eyesight, enormous wingspans, and remarkably powerful digestive systems, these expert scavengers help prevent the spread of disease by safely consuming animal carcasses that other animals avoid.
In this fact file video from Chester Zoo, discover the amazing adaptations that make vultures so important to the natural world, learn about the critically endangered hooded vulture and how it raises its young, and explore the challenges these remarkable birds face in the wild. You'll also see why protecting vultures is essential for healthy ecosystems and how conservation efforts are helping safeguard their future.
Cholesterol is tricky — your body needs the waxy substance to build cells and make hormones, but there’s a bad type of cholesterol called “LDL” (low-density lipoprotein). Too much LDL can put people at risk for heart attacks or stroke, so controlling cholesterol levels can be life-saving.
Luckily, a new gene editing therapy called VERVE-102 may be able to help with high cholesterol. There’s a trial running now that’s small but mighty, involving only 35 patients, all of whom have either inherited high cholesterol or have had a heart attack at a young age. They continued their regular medication but added this new gene editing therapy to their treatment.
Not only did results show levels of bad cholesterol reduced by up to 62%, but the level continued to remain low after a year, suggesting that patients may only need one treatment to feel the effects of this treatment for the rest of their lives. Is it magic? Close! It’s science!
The idea behind the gene editing plays off of the liver’s role. It’s supposed to clear bad cholesterol from the blood and stop it from clogging up vessels, unless a protein called PCSK9 gets in the way. PCSK9! It even kind of sounds like “pesky”! The new medicine edits PCSK9’s gene, so that it stays out of the way and the liver can do its job.
The article "Can Eating Chili Peppers Help You Live Longer?" from BBC's Science Focus reveals research that links regular chili pepper consumption with lower chances of dying from heart disease, cancer, or any cause. Drawing from large-scale studies across several countries, the findings suggest spicy food could play a role in improving overall health.
In The Baka People Confront Deforestation and Disease, host Simon Reeve spends time with the Baka people in the Congo, who live peacefully in the rainforest. He learns their biggest challenges aren't from nature, but from medical issues like malaria and conflicts with neighboring people. The dense rainforest canopy helps protect them from mosquitoes, but deforestation is making the situation worse. They share their struggles, including the long trek to get medical help and the violence they face from the Bantu. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.
Life in the savanna is all connected! Step into the African savanna with Chester Zoo and discover what happens when plants, herbivores, and predators all depend on one another to survive. Meet some of the animals that make this ecosystem their home and uncover the important role each plays in keeping the food web in balance.
Start by following energy as it moves through a food chain — from plants to the animals that eat them and on to predators. Then investigate what happens when one part of the chain changes. What might happen to the rest of the ecosystem if an animal disappears? And why are predators so important to a healthy savanna?
Use real African wildlife to explore these connections, build your own food chains, and think like a zoologist as you investigate the interdependence of life on the savanna. By the end, you'll see that in a healthy ecosystem, every living thing has a role to play.
Don't miss the food chain cards that go with this lesson!
Vultures are the unsung heroes of Africa's ecosystems, playing a vital role in keeping the environment clean and healthy. With their incredible eyesight, enormous wingspans, and remarkably powerful digestive systems, these expert scavengers help prevent the spread of disease by safely consuming animal carcasses that other animals avoid.
In this fact file video from Chester Zoo, discover the amazing adaptations that make vultures so important to the natural world, learn about the critically endangered hooded vulture and how it raises its young, and explore the challenges these remarkable birds face in the wild. You'll also see why protecting vultures is essential for healthy ecosystems and how conservation efforts are helping safeguard their future.
Cholesterol is tricky — your body needs the waxy substance to build cells and make hormones, but there’s a bad type of cholesterol called “LDL” (low-density lipoprotein). Too much LDL can put people at risk for heart attacks or stroke, so controlling cholesterol levels can be life-saving.
Luckily, a new gene editing therapy called VERVE-102 may be able to help with high cholesterol. There’s a trial running now that’s small but mighty, involving only 35 patients, all of whom have either inherited high cholesterol or have had a heart attack at a young age. They continued their regular medication but added this new gene editing therapy to their treatment.
Not only did results show levels of bad cholesterol reduced by up to 62%, but the level continued to remain low after a year, suggesting that patients may only need one treatment to feel the effects of this treatment for the rest of their lives. Is it magic? Close! It’s science!
The idea behind the gene editing plays off of the liver’s role. It’s supposed to clear bad cholesterol from the blood and stop it from clogging up vessels, unless a protein called PCSK9 gets in the way. PCSK9! It even kind of sounds like “pesky”! The new medicine edits PCSK9’s gene, so that it stays out of the way and the liver can do its job.
The article "Can Eating Chili Peppers Help You Live Longer?" from BBC's Science Focus reveals research that links regular chili pepper consumption with lower chances of dying from heart disease, cancer, or any cause. Drawing from large-scale studies across several countries, the findings suggest spicy food could play a role in improving overall health.
In The Baka People Confront Deforestation and Disease, host Simon Reeve spends time with the Baka people in the Congo, who live peacefully in the rainforest. He learns their biggest challenges aren't from nature, but from medical issues like malaria and conflicts with neighboring people. The dense rainforest canopy helps protect them from mosquitoes, but deforestation is making the situation worse. They share their struggles, including the long trek to get medical help and the violence they face from the Bantu. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Wilderness With Simon Reeve, an epic adventure into the heart of Earth’s last great wild areas, where nature is at its most beautiful and fragile.