Time to get moving!

Avatars like this one can help some children and young people be more active and sit less. Videos can show how to do exercises or different movements that might help you to feel like you have more energy and are less tired. Why not try it out? Find some space in your house or garden and try to follow what the avatar is doing as best as you can.

Move it All About Wordsearch

Can you find the words on the right in this word search? Why not make it a game with your friends, family or pets and once you found a word, try to act it out if you can. Do your best and you will shake, dance, hop and crawl!

Dr Jack Sunter is a molecular cell biologist at Oxford Brookes University and is interested in parasites. A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host. Fleas, which dogs and cats sometimes get, is an example of a parasite, as too are itchy head lice. The type of parasite which Jack is researching are called Trypanosomes, these are single celled organisms with a motile tail called a flagella, which helps them to move. These worm-like creatures live in the blood, intestines or between cells of their host and cause African Sleeping Sickness.

Parasites are specially adapted to their host - why not have a go at creating your very own human parasite by having a go at the Draw Your Own Parasite website, where you will be encouraged to think about different characteristics which make your parasite specialised.

So grab a piece of paper and some pencils and get drawing! Don’t forget to give your parasite a name!

Of the many animals we are lucky to share a planet with, one group is particularly special – the Mammals! Mammals are vertebrates (animals with a backbone/spine) that are grouped together as they share common traits such as giving birth to live young and having hair. One of the best aspects about studying mammals is the diversity they have - they are found in a huge variety of different shapes, sizes and colours!

By comparing different mammals and seeing what traits they share (such as if they have the same teeth or live in similar places), researchers can begin to piece together how different types of mammals are related to each other.

To get an even better understanding, PhD student Leah Fitzpatrick compares the genetic code of mammals (the very tiny, very important parts of you that determine what you look like and how your body works). When doing this you can get very different results than by just looking at the visual traits of mammals. This can lead to some very interesting looking groups! For example, did you know that the whale’s closest relative is the hippopotamus!!