“Science in the Classroom” in London delves in the applications of Marine Biology

Does the sea hide the future of “green fuel”? Why are microalgae so important to counteract the climatic change? These and other questions were addressed during the fifth session of “Science in the Classroom” on 14^th April 2016. María Huete Ortega, postdoctoral researcher in the University of Sheffield, visited 14-18 years-old students from the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch in London, to tell them about her career and her research projects in Marine Biology and Bioenergy.

Revealing the secrets of oceans through maritime expeditions

The marine biologist also told her experiences during her PhD on board of the Spanish ship of oceanographic research Hespérides in up to four expeditions, including the Malaspina Expedition in 2010. María even showed a short video about the aims of the latter expedition, which helped to tell the day-to-day activity of a scientist on open sea.

Through her presentations, María stressed the importance of patience, effort, and persistence in the researcher career. She also depicted with her experience that creativity, curiosity and a critical thinking all were traits that any good researcher needs to develop throughout her career. 

Students could hear from María the key role that the phytoplankton plays on Earth. For instance, María told them that microalgae, even though they only represented the 1% of photosynthetic biomass, were responsible of up to 50% of all the photosynthesis on Earth. María asked students to “breathe, and thank the oceans for it”. Students were surprised when María told them about the wide variety of applications that the research and use of microalgae have on the food industry (from cereals enriched for Omega-3 to colourants for chocolate bars, and vegan muffins or juices with protein supplements), the health industry (vaccines), and the cosmetic industry among others. In addition María wanted to pay special attention to the scientific and technological challenges for both the establishment of sustainable biorefineries and the appropriate development of biofuels of third generation using microalgae. According to María, “my intention with these talks was to emphasise the key role that microalgae, these unicellular microorganisms that live in water, play not only in the ecology of marine ecosystems but also in industry. In regards to the latter one, microalgae have a wide range of advantages over plants as sources of biofuels, because the production not only is cleaner and more sustainable, but also generates other products of commercial interests. In my opinion, microalgae could well be one of the solutions for a future energy crisis, and become one of the pillars of future bioeconomy. I am very happy because the students seem to understand their importance, and even because they got involved with my explanation asking difficult questions that were in the very frontiers of current knowledge”. 

Debates about climate change and transgenic organisms

María wanted to open debates that triggered a great discussion, confirming that most students had a preconceived opinion about certain topics and, thanks to her asking, they began to question themselves. In first place, there was a debate about climate change. Even though all students agreed climate change was real, there was controversy regarding whether climate change was a phenomenon taking place nowadays or just in the future, or whether one can start taking potential actions to counteract it or leave it up for future generations. In second place, María talked about the use of transgenic organisms in industry and found some students opposing this idea, although some agreed that this was a very complex topic where one should consider the product itself, why it is modified, and what the potential benefits of this genetic modifications are. 

Lorenzo Melchor, international scientific coordinator for FECYT in the Embassy of Spain in London and coordinator of “Science in the Classroom”, also contributed through the different sessions. According to Lorenzo, “María did a wonderful review of the important role of microalgae, dealing with scientific concepts and applications that drew the students’ attention. The debates were so interesting that even teachers engaged with them. María has been an excellent example of how scientists must do as much as possible to participate in debates of social interests, which usually have so much noise and misinformation”. 

The Spanish Counsellor for Education for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Dr Gonzalo Capellan, attended one of the sessions with an active participation in the debate. He valued his experience as follows: “The opportunity to approach the world of science through the personal experience of a young researcher working in the United Kingdom has been an extraordinary way to draw the attention and interests of Sixth Form students. It was also a great incentive for consideration and debate around its practical applications in our lives”. When asked about the reach of the programme, he replied “I believe that ‘Science in the Classroom’ can be key to bring students closer to a crucial area for the development of society, and, even more, to inspire them to follow STEM careers, which are all so mentioned nowadays”. 

At the end of the day, María spoke about her experience in the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch as follows: “Participating in this programme has been a great pleasure and very educational. It was the first time that I spoke to such a young audience and I was gladly surprised with the students and their interventions, so spontaneous and curious, as well as with their strong opinions about certain topics, most of which were black or white. With these debates, I aimed to make them question their previous thoughts and think about there are sometimes shades of grey influencing, for example, the measures to counteract climate change or the use of transgenic organisms. Personally, it has been such a rewarding experience to share my scientific experience with the students of the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch, to tell them that the researcher career is never a straight path but one that you keep changing as you explore different topics and interests so that you keep the thrill and curiosity to do research. I think that ‘Science in the Classroom’ is an essential programme to bring the real truth of science to the classroom, demystifying the researcher career and inspiring new generations to pursue them. According to what I saw, it is a great success, as the very students were approaching Dr Melchor at the end of the session to eagerly ask him for the profiles of next speakers. This programme necessarily needs to keep ongoing”. 

About “Science in the Classroom”

“Science in the Classroom” is a programme organised by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Embassy of Spain in London, by which a scientist or an engineer per month visits 14-18 years-old students in the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch in London until the end of the term. This programme is also supported by the Spanish Education Office in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, the Spanish School Vicente Cañada Blanch, and the Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU). “Science in the Classroom” is embedded in the FECYT line of action related to the promotion of scientific culture and dissemination, and support for internationalization of Spanish science.

About María Huete

María Huete studied the first years of a Degree in Biology in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and finally obtained her Degree with a specialty in Marine Biology in the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in 2005. She did her PhD in Marine Ecology in Emilio Marañón’s lab at the Universidad de Vigo, doing a research on the relationship between the size of microalgae and their photosynthesis rate. In 2012, she moved to the University of Essex for her first postdoctoral stay with a research project focused on the impact of climate change on the proteome of calcifying microalgae. Since 2013, María works in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department of the University of Sheffield as a postdoctoral researcher, where she analyses using a System Biology approach the optimization of metabolic processes for the use of microalgae as sources of energy and biofuels.