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This is what our learners are going to cover in chemistry grade 10. As a parent, do you think your child is ready for STEM? Though STEM has humongous opportunities, do not set up your child for failure if you think they won't cope with the technical content. Choose wisely.

While you sleep, your brain switches on a powerful cleaning system that works like a biological dishwasher. Scientists call it the glymphatic system, a network that flushes out waste products that build up during waking hours. This process becomes most active during deep sleep, when brain cells slightly shrink and create more space for fluid to flow. That fluid washes through brain tissue, carrying away toxins and metabolic waste.

Among the waste removed are proteins linked to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. This discovery helps explain why poor or fragmented sleep is strongly associated with memory problems, brain fog, and long term cognitive decline. Sleep is not just rest. It is essential maintenance.

Brain scans and laboratory studies show that the glymphatic system works far less efficiently when we are awake. During sleep, especially slow wave sleep, the system ramps up dramatically. Think of daytime as heavy brain use and night time as a full clean cycle that resets the system for the next day.

This finding has reshaped how scientists view sleep health. Quality sleep supports memory, focus, emotional balance, and long term brain protection. Skipping sleep means skipping the brain’s only deep clean.

So go ahead and get some sleep 💤

Your mitochondria control your skin health.

Poor mitochondrial function = acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and premature aging.

Optimal mitochondrial function = anti-aging, tanned, minimal wrinkles, and that glow people chase with topicals.

Each cell found within the layers of the skin relies on mitochondrial function:

Melanocytes → melanin:
-Melanin production is energy and oxygen-dependent. Mitochondria supply the ATP and redox signals that drive melanogenesis.
-When mitochondrial function is compromised, melanocytes don't build melanin, and depigmentation risk increases.

Keratinocytes → skin barrier:
-Keratinocyte growth/differentiation, calcium signalling, and barrier formation all rely on healthy mitochondria.
-Dysfunction = poor healing, barrier breakdown, and inflammation.

Fibroblasts → collagen and structure:
-Collagen, elastin, and ECM synthesis are ATP-dependent processes.
-Mitochondria fuel fibroblast proliferation, wound repair, and connective tissue integrity.
-Dysfunction = inflammation, wrinkles/fine-lines, poor cell-to-cell communication

Sebocytes → sebum balance:
-Sebum production and fatty acid metabolism is bioenergetically regulated.
-Mitochondrial dysfunction alters lipid synthesis, redox balance, and inflammatory signalling in sebocytes = → excess/altered sebum, clogged pores, acne, and skin inflammation.

Langerhans cells → immune function:
-Langerhans cells are the main immune cells of the epidermis.
-Mitochondria help regulate antigen processing, migration, and pro/anti-inflammatory cytokine signalling/balance.
-Dysfunction = impaired immune function, exaggerated immune/inflammatory responses, eczema, psoriasis, and autoimmune-driven skin diseases.

You fix your mitochondria by:
-Minimizing your stressors (eg., nnEMFs, blue light, toxins, psychological)
-Micronutrient saturation (Mitochondrial = B vitamins, electrolytes, iron, sulfur, copper, CoQ10, amino acids, etc.)
-Supporting redox (grounding, sunlight, vitamin C/E, glutathione, melatonin, B2/B3, glucose)
-Optimize gut health (elimination diet, gut support herbs/supps, etc.)
-Enhance oxygenation (CO2 retention breathwork, infrared light, micronutrients, lowering stress)
-And anything else in between that's catered to you specifically.

When you struggle to remember what you studied earlier in the day, it is often because the information was never deeply encoded in the first place. When you study through passive review, such as reading, highlighting or re-reading notes, the brain is not pushed to retrieve or engage deeply with the material. This creates an illusion of competence because the content feels familiar when you see it, yet you have not developed strong retrieval pathways. For example, reading a definition five times may make it seem familiar, but without practicing how to produce that definition from memory, the trace remains shallow.

Another factor is the difference between storage strength and retrieval strength. Storage strength refers to how well information is embedded in long-term memory, while retrieval strength refers to how easily accessible it is in the present moment. It is entirely possible to have good storage but poor retrieval at bedtime if you have not recently practiced recalling the material or done so in similar conditions.

Interference also plays a major role. Throughout the day, you encounter new information such as tasks, conversations or other subjects, and this introduces retroactive interference. In such cases, newer memories compete with earlier ones during recall. Additionally, the brain tends to reorganize information during downtime, which may temporarily make specific details harder to consciously access.

Context and physical or emotional state influence recall as well. You may have studied while sitting at a desk with certain lighting or background noise. Later, you might be lying in bed, tired, in the dark, or even anxious. Since memory is context-dependent, retrieval becomes tougher when those initial cues are absent. Fatigue also reduces executive function and working memory capacity, making recall more mentally demanding.

Another important distinction is between recognition and recall. Recognition is when you see information and think, “I know this”; this is why multiple-choice questions feel easier. Recall, on the other hand, involves generating the answer without cues, such as in short-answer questions or self-quizzing. During study, many students rely on recognition. Later, when they attempt pure recall, for example at bedtime, it feels as if the knowledge has vanished even though it is still stored.

So where does the information actually go? In most cases, it does not disappear. It simply becomes less accessible due to weak retrieval cues or mental fatigue. It is like having a book inside a massive, unorganized library. The book is there, but without the right catalog number or with a tired librarian, accessing it becomes difficult. Sleep usually helps the brain consolidate and reorganize memories. This is why the same information may return more clearly during an exam after rest. Deep learning is something I should take about next.

In summary, the feeling that knowledge has 'gone away' is primarily a retrieval failure rather than a loss of stored information. This is why active recall strategies during study, such as self-testing, teaching the material or writing from memory, are essential for strengthening retrieval pathways so the information remains available across different contexts and times.

Ever wondered why you suddenly feel sleepy the moment you start reading or studying? It’s more than just 'being tired'. Your brain is reacting based on physiology and psychology.

If you often study in bed or when tired, your brain forms a Pavlovian association (a learned link formed through repeated experience) between book + quiet + stillness and sleep, so the hippocampus (memory center of the brain) and prefrontal cortex (responsible for focus and decision-making) trigger a familiar routine and signal the Reticular Activating System-RAS (the brainstem structure that controls wakefulness) to lower alertness.

Studying also places a high cognitive demand on the prefrontal cortex, quickly exhausting glucose and oxygen, leading the brain to conserve energy by inducing drowsiness.

Stress from difficult material may cause a short cortisol spike followed by a parasympathetic crash (when the body shifts into a calm, relaxed 'rest and digest' state), slowing the body into relaxation.

Reading is low-stimulation and repetitive, reducing sensory input to the brain, which tells it it's safe to relax. Circadian dips (natural daily energy drop, especially 2–4 pm or late at night) increase melatonin (sleep-inducing hormone), making you even sleepier.

Low dopamine (motivation and reward chemical) from boring or overwhelming content reduces alertness, making sleep more attractive.

All of these create a cycle: pick book → association with sleep → cognitive fatigue → monotony → drowsiness → giving up, reinforcing the habit.

To break this, change your study environment, use a desk instead of bed, increase lighting, try Pomodoro sessions (study for 25 minutes, rest 5 minutes), take active notes instead of passive reading, chew gum or stretch during breaks and avoid studying during peak sleep times. Change the cues and you change the reaction.

In Spain, a teacher named Verónica Duque walked into her classroom one morning wearing a full-body anatomy suit — printed with muscles, organs, veins, and bones from head to toe.

At first, her students didn’t laugh.
They stared.
They leaned forward.
And suddenly, the room was silent — not from boredom, but curiosity.

For years, she had struggled with a question many teachers face:

“How do I make students truly understand instead of just memorizing?”

Textbooks weren’t enough. Diagrams weren’t enough. Attention was fading faster than the lesson.

So she tried something bold — and unforgettable.

That day, every hand went up. Students asked questions. Concepts finally made sense. And days later, they remembered everything.

No expensive technology.
No high-budget tools.
Just creativity, passion — and a teacher unafraid to step outside the ordinary.

Since then, thousands of educators around the world have called her “inspiring,” “brilliant,” and “the teacher every child deserves.”

Sometimes, learning doesn’t require the latest invention — it simply needs someone who believes teaching can be magical.

Because education isn’t just about information.
It’s about connection, curiosity, and courage.

There’s an element on the periodic table so rare, we’ve never actually seen it.

Astatine, atomic number 85, is the rarest element found in Earth’s crust. At any moment, less than 25 grams – possibly far less – exists anywhere on the planet. True to its Greek-derived name, astatos (“unstable”), astatine is fleeting: its longest-lived isotope, astatine-210, has a half-life of only 8.1 hours. Within a single day, more than 85 % of any sample will have vanished through radioactive decay.

Even if someone managed to gather a visible amount, the intense heat from its own radiation would cause it to evaporate instantly.

Because it can’t be isolated in meaningful quantities, astatine is never seen or weighed. Researchers produce microscopic traces in particle accelerators by firing alpha particles at bismuth-209, then study it indirectly or rely on calculations and extrapolation. Chemists predict it would appear as a dark, almost black solid and expect it to sit on the fuzzy border between halogens and metals, switching character depending on its chemical environment – but no one has ever laid eyes on it to confirm.

Yet this elusive element holds remarkable medical promise. Astatine emits powerful, short-range alpha particles that travel only a few cell widths before stopping. That makes it a near-perfect candidate for targeted cancer therapy: it could obliterate tumour cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue, and its radiation disappears quickly once the isotope decays. The dream of astatine-based “magic bullets” against cancer persists – if only we could produce and handle enough of the world’s rarest element to turn the idea into reality.

Your body contains 72km of nerves and enough blood vessels to circle Earth twice.

The human body’s nervous system is a marvel of biological engineering.

If all your nerve fibers were stretched end to end, they’d span roughly 45 miles (72 kilometers) — enough to connect distant parts of your body with lightning-fast communication.

The longest single nerve, the sciatic nerve, can stretch over 1 meter (3 feet) in some individuals, running from the lower spine down to the foot.

The central nervous system, made up of the brain and spinal cord, controls every thought, sensation, and movement — with the spinal cord alone measuring about 18 inches (45 cm) in length.

And that’s just one system.

The body’s blood vessels — arteries, veins, and capillaries — stretch more than 95,000 kilometers (59,000 miles) if laid end to end, enough to circle the Earth more than twice.

Supporting it all is your skeleton, built from 206 bones, which protect organs, produce blood cells, and form the framework for muscles. Together, these systems highlight the body’s astonishing complexity and its ability to function as one synchronized unit.

Class dismissed!

A student asked, “When am I ever going to use this?”

I gave my real answer, rooted in cognitive science and cultural literacy, not the fake “real-world examples” they see through.

They won’t use it directly. That’s not the point. Here’s why you need to tell them👇🏾

Developed by two Nobel Prize laureates, mRNA technology was used to create COVID-19 vaccines in a remarkably short timeframe. This innovative technology has opened up new possibilities of developing vaccines against influenza, zika and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó shared the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

Their groundbreaking findings fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system and are being used to develop other mRNA vaccines against influenza, zika and rabies. One goal is to develop an mRNA vaccine that creates an antibody response to prevent the HIV virus from infecting healthy calls.

If scientists succeed, such vaccines could save millions of lives.

On 9 December, at the Nobel Week Dialogue, we bring together Nobel Prize laureates, academics, innovators and policymakers to explore one of the most urgent challenges of our time: how to deliver equitable, effective, and sustainable healthcare in the 21st century. Discussions will include the future of drug discovery, the rise of antimicrobial resistance, the economics of sustainable and affordable health provision and healthy diets.

Join us as we consider the possibilities.

James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist best known for being one of the co-discoverers of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953, alongside Francis Crick, with key data from Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.

✅ Major contributions

•Co-discovery of DNA’s structure — one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century.
•Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1962) — shared with Crick and Wilkins.
•Played a key role in shaping early genetics and molecular biology.
•Later directed the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and was involved in early phases of the Human Genome Project.

✅ Controversies

In later decades, Watson became widely criticized and removed from leadership positions for making unsupported and discriminatory statements about race and genetics. Leading scientific institutions strongly disavowed his claims.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Student : "Sir, can I ask a question?"

Teacher: "Yes!"

Student: "How do you put an elephant inside
a fridge?"🤷🏼‍♂️

Teacher: "I don't know."🤨

Student: "It's easy😊, you just open the fridge
and put it in😌. I have another question!"🙋🏼‍♂️

Teacher: "Ok, ask."

Student: "How to put a donkey inside the
fridge?"🤷‍♂️

Teacher: "It's easy😊, you just open the fridge
and put it in."😌

Student: "No sir😐, You just open the fridge
take out the elephant and put it in."😌

Teacher: "Ooh...ok!!"

Student: "Let me ask another one🙂. If all the
animals went to lion's birthday party,
and one animal went missing which one
would it be?"🤔

Teacher: "The lion of course! Because it would
eat all the animals."☺️

Student: "No sir🤨, it is the donkey because it's
still inside the fridge."😩

Teacher: "Are you kidding me?"😕

Student: "No sir😌, 1 last question."🙋🏼‍♂️

Teacher: "Ok!"

Student: "If there's a river full of crocodiles
and you wanted to cross, how would you?"🤔

Teacher: "There's no way, I would need a
boat to cross."😌

Student: "No sir😕, you just swim🏊and cross it
because all the animals went to the lion's
birthday party including the crocodile ..."💃💃

Teacher:☹️ "I have my own question😩, if all the
students come to school except one person,
who is the person..."😏

Student: "No idea sir..."🤷

Teacher: "It's you😒 because you are on two
weeks suspension🙄 for giving me headache.