HOW FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS SELECT THEIR SPECIALIZATION AND HOW WE CAN BETTER SUPPORT THEM

Lipids in cell biology: how can we understand them better?

Lipids are a major class of biological molecules and play many key roles in different processes. The diversity of lipids is on the same order of magnitude as that of proteins: cells express tens of thousands of different lipids and hundreds of proteins to regulate their metabolism and transport. Despite their clear importance and essential functions, lipids have not been as well studied as prot...

We can train them, but how can we retain them?

To the Editor: The Department of Surgery at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine is proud of its 100% pass rate in the October 2008 Colleges of Medicine of South Africa examinations held in Durban. Most candidates attended the graduation and joined the 3 who passed in May as registered specialists in general surgery. This represents a stalwart effort on the part of the candidates and their t...

Burst Remnants : How can we find them ?

By now there is substantial evidence that Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) originate at cosmological distances from very powerful explosions. The interaction between a GRB and its surrounding environment has dramatic consequences on the environment itself. At early times, the strong X-ray UV afterglow flux photoionizes the medium on distance scales on the order of 100 pc [7], destroys dust [10], creates...

How can we make them work ?

Threshold Concepts : how can we recognise them ?

A threshold concept is defined by Meyer and Land (2003) as possessing the following qualities: transformative, integrative, bounded, and probably irreversible. This concept provides a promising way of interpreting the learning demand presented by subjects and Meyer and Land have begun to apply the idea in analysing learning economics. It redefines the familiar idea of a ‘powerful concept’ in a ...