Double Helix

Looking for seriously fun science, technology, engineering, and maths news for your curious kids or tech-talented teens? We've got you covered! Inside every issue you'll find articles, activities, puzzles, comics, and prizes galore. Perfect reading for enquiring minds, CSIRO's Double Helix magazine is packed with news, features, fun experiments, giveaways and more. Each issue focuses on a different theme, from smells to spaceships and beyond! With clear language and eye-catching design, the content promotes critical thinking, strengthens literacy skills and is the perfect fuel to spark or sustain an interest in STEM. Double Helix is published eight times a year. It is ideal for 8 to 13-year-olds and enjoyed by older readers as well.

Double Helix

HELIX HQ

ON THE DOUBLE

YOUNG MOON ROCKS

ITSY-BITSY BITERS

SUCK IT UP

NOT SO SLUGGISH

EGGY ALBUMEN

FROG EYES

BY THE NUMBERS: SMELLY, STICKY, GOOPY

HOME SWEET… CRATONS!

SHEEP SOCIAL NETWORKS

THE FIRST CHEMISTS

THE DARK SIDE OF BLUE LIGHT

CHEESES! • When it comes to smells in your fridge, one dairy product reigns supreme as both tasty and stinky – cheese! This wonderful substance goes through a special process to become the cheese we know and love. A lot of the smell comes from bacteria and moulds (AKA fungi). But don’t worry, these ones are safe to eat.

A STICKY SITUATION • HOW DOES A BANDAID STICK TO YOUR SKIN? WHAT ABOUT THE SOLES OF YOUR SCHOOL SHOES – HOW DO THEY STAY STUCK ON? OR THE PAGES ALONG A BOOK’S SPINE? IT’S BECAUSE OF A STICKY, ICKY AND SOMETIMES TACKY MATERIAL, COMMONLY CALLED GLUE. IT’S A FEAT OF CHEMISTRY!

GOOPY, STICKY EUCALYPTY • HAVE YOU EVER CRUSHED A GUM LEAF BETWEEN YOUR FINGERS AND BREATHED IN THE FRESH FRAGRANCE? AROUND 900 EUCALYPT SPECIES ARE KNOWN, AND MOST ARE NATIVE TO AUSTRALIA. AND TRUE TO THE NAME ‘GUM TREE’, THEY ARE GOOPY, STICKY AND EUCALYPTY!

SLIME MOULDS THEY’RE EVERYWHERE! • These bizarre life-forms are not plants, animals or fungi. Slime moulds are now considered Amoebozoans (ah-ME-boh-ZOH-anz). They come in two different types – cellular, which remain microscopic, and acellular, which become easier to see as they grow. Let’s visit the mindboggling world of acellular slime moulds.

POSTER

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS 2022

ALIENS AND OTHER WORLDS: TRUE TALES FROM OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND

TIME-TRAVELLING SHED

ROVER’S ROCKS • HELLO HUMANS! GAIL LEXY HERE, REPORTING FOR PLANETARY POST.

PERFUME • There’s a lot of chemistry in smelling good. Top perfume companies are doing some amazing science in pursuit of the perfect scent.

FARTOLOGY • SOMETIMES THE BEST WAY TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT IS TO GRAB A SCRAP OF PAPER AND DO A QUICK CALCULATION. SCIENTISTS CALL THESE ’BACK OF THE ENVELOPE’ CALCULATIONS. GET YOUR ENVELOPE READY!

WHAT’S YOUR QUESTION? • Got a weird and wonderful question about science, technology, engineering or maths? If you don’t know who to ask, let us help you out! We’ll find answers to the best questions and publish them here. EMAIL helix.editor@csiro.au TWEET @CSIROhelix #DHMicroscope

STICKING IT TO THE END

CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN SLIME ADVENTURE! • SLIME IS AMAZING STUFF, AND THERE ARE TONS OF WAYS TO MAKE IT. TRY THIS ACTIVITY, AND CREATE YOUR VERY OWN SLIME RECIPE!

MAKE AND DO: SOME GOOPY GLUE • MAKING YOUR OWN GLUE IS EASY AND FUN TO DO. YOU CAN MAKE 2 GLUES – A CORNFLOWER GLUE FOR PAPER CRAFT, AND AN EDIBLE GLUE FOR ENVELOPES.

BUILD YOUR OWN AUTOMATIC FISHING MACHINE

MAKE IT COMIC

PUZZLES

PUZZLES

PRIZES

ANSWERS • TURN THE PAGE UPSIDE DOWN TO READ THE…