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Investigating toxins – introduction

Poisonous creatures are fascinating – from a distance. New Zealand is often touted as a good place for people to live because it’s free from seriously poisonous plants and animals – or so we ...

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ARTICLE

Poisons and toxins

Poisons are substances that cause harm to organisms when sufficient quantities are absorbed, inhaled or ingested. A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms ...

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ARTICLE

Toxins and food webs

All living things depend on one another to live. Animals eat plants and/or animals to survive. Food webs describe the feeding connections between organisms in an ecosystem. The three main groups ...

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ACTIVITY

Finding out about chemicals

This activity is designed to help students become aware that all substances are made of chemicals and that chemicals are made up of a combination of elements. By the end of this activity ...

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ACTIVITY

Detecting toxins

In this activity, students explore the processes scientists used to analyse and identify the toxic substance responsible for dog deaths on Auckland beaches. By the end of this activity, students ...

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ACTIVITY

Tracking toxins

In this activity, students model bioaccumulation of toxins in marine animals. They participate in a food web game where feeding decisions determine their survival. By the end of this activity ...

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TEACHER PLD

Chemistry made simple – atoms

In this recorded professional learning session, Greta Dromgool will build your knowledge and confidence to teach the particle nature of matter – a key concept in the New Zealand science ...

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TEACHER PLD

The environmental fate of chemicals – a context for ...

There are over 150,000 substances approved for use in Aotearoa New Zealand that contain an estimated 30,000 chemicals. We use chemicals on a daily basis – they’re all around us. Chemicals are not ...

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Explore related videos

VIDEO

Monitoring shellfish safety

Paul McNabb of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson describes the system they use to monitor shellfish safety. He explains how toxins are detected in shellfish using liquid chromatography-mass ...

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VIDEO

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer

Paul McNabb provides a short explanation on how an LC-MS functions.

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VIDEO

Toxicity levels in sea slugs

Dr Susie Wood of the Cawthron Institute in Nelson talks about how toxic grey side-gilled sea slugs are. She explains that not all these sea slugs are toxic. It seems that North Island slugs are ...

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Explore related interactives

INTERACTIVE

Bioaccumulation in the sea

This interactive demonstrates bioaccumulation of marine toxins. It shows how toxins move through a marine food web.

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SLIDESHOW

Chemistry made simple – atoms – slideshow

This slideshow supports the Chemistry made simple – atoms PLD webinar. Use the Slideshow menu for further options, including view full screen, and go here for the download option.

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INTERACTIVE

1080 and pest control – a timeline

This timeline explores the history and science of mammalian pest control in New Zealand. A full transcript is underneath the timeline.

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