The response to the first edition of Science Matters was very encouraging. Many readers have written to suggest topics we can cover as well as express their appreciation, or criticism.

UWA and the Department of Education and Training have joined forces to add SPICE to science teaching in WA schools. SPICE is a secondary teachers' enrichment program that will give teachers a chance to update their skills and access the latest scientific equipment and techniques.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Alan Robson said investing in the development of quality teachers would help students achieve their full potentials. Over the next three years, 24 teachers will each spend a term as a Teacher-in-Residence at UWA's Centre for Learning Technology. Four teachers are already at the university.

As the Dean mentioned in his opening comments in the first edition of Science Matters, the Faculty is now offering some of its programs offshore in Singapore via its academic provider, PSB Academy.

Japan's first astronaut and distinguished scientist, Dr Mamoru Mohri, met up with Professor Barry Marshall while he was in Perth for an International Science Centres conference.

Although they have not yet achieved their goal, scientists are moving closer to offering tangible hope to victims of spinal cord injury. At Red's Spinal Cord Research Laboratory, part of the School of Anatomy and Human Biology, Giles Plant and his team of researchers are achieving encouraging results using a new cell type drawn from human bone marrow.

It's not every day researchers can say their latest study has caught the eye of international experts in their field.