Examine the science behind nutrition, covering aspects of biology, chemistry and physics as well as giving some insight into healthier eating. Reading food labels, choosing healthier foods, hydrating appropriately and understanding how we taste food will allow you to be more informed about the choices you make about the food you eat.

This free badged course, COVID-19: Immunology, vaccines and epidemiology, explains how antibodies protect against viral infections and how the incidence of antibodies can be used to track an epidemic. The course incorporates an interactive on-line assay (ELISA) of the type that is used to detect antibodies against COVID-19 infection. The samples in the assay correspond to serum-samples from the UK population in August 2021, when a minority of population had been infected with COVID-19 and 70% vaccinated. Antibody detection (serology) can distinguish people who have been vaccinated from those previously infected. The course also outlines the different biological strategies that were deployed in developing vaccines against COVID-19.

This free course, Citizen science and global biodiversity, deals with the importance of biodiversity and explores how anyone can contribute to and be involved in identifying and recording wildlife, as a citizen scientist. It looks at what citizen
science is, and how citizen science facilitates public involvement in scientific research activities as individuals learn and build skills.
Traditional biological keys are introduced and online recording is demonstrated using citizen science techniques and practical activities using the www.iSpotnature.org platform. The course goes on to demonstrate how, once a species is identified, web
resources can be used to research its ecology. The role of citizen science is illustrated through a number of case studies from across the world. Finally, the course concludes by exploring the impact citizen scientists are having on recording biodiversity
around the globe.

We ask the question ‘Can renewable energy sources power the world?’ as a response to the growing awareness that increased use of renewable energy technologies is making a major contribution to global efforts to limit anthropogenic climate change.
The course begins by examining the environmental concerns that have caused a rise in interest in renewable energy, introducing the main sources and technologies, and describing global efforts to increase the share of renewables.
The course then looks at each of the principal renewable energy technologies and the contributions they might make to global energy demand.
Finally, several future energy scenarios are analysed to show how combinations of renewable energy sources and technologies could provide a major share of global energy needs.

In this free course, Moons of our Solar System, explore the many moons of our Solar System. Find out what makes them special. Should we send humans to our Moon again?

Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat, compromising our ability to treat infections and increasing the risk of routine surgery. Resistant infections are increasing due to overuse of antibiotics and this has resulted in the emergence of 'superbugs' (bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics). This free course, Understanding antibiotic resistance, provides the science background underlying antibiotic resistance. It will cover the following questions. What are antibiotics? Why do we need them? How do they work? What is antibiotic resistance? Why is it a problem? What can we do about it?

Chemistry lies at the centre of our modern life, playing a part in areas as diverse as the development of new drugs and materials, analysing our environment through to more mundane activities such as washing your clothes and making your tea. But to truly understand the role chemistry plays you need to have a sound grasp of a number of fundamental principles.
This free course, Discovering chemistry, introduces you to some of these concepts, beginning with the idea that everything that you can see is made of building blocks called atoms. This leads on to a look at the chemical elements and how they are arranged in the Periodic Table, enabling chemists to rationalise patterns in their chemical and physical behaviour.
Next you will consider chemical reactions, specifically how atoms combine with other atoms to form molecules, and how molecules combine with other atoms or molecules to form bigger molecules. You will meet simple (tried and tested) theories to explain the bonding in molecules and at how their shapes may be explained, and indeed predicted. And in a wider sense you’ll be looking at why reactions happen at all and how fast they go.
This is also a beginner’s level course in the language of the chemist; you’ll learn about symbols, formulas and how chemical equations which represent reactions are constructed. Finally you will see how chemists count atoms and molecules, essential for making up solutions of a known concentration in order to carry out a reaction, or performing a chemical analysis.

This free course shows you how to navigate the night sky, and introduces the wide variety of objects it contains. You will develop a hands-on understanding of telescopic observations using the Open University’s own robotic telescope facility COAST sited on the island of Tenerife. Supported by your own measurements we illustrate how stars evolve, and study variable stars.
For those new to astronomy and/or the use of robotic telescopes this course provides a practical introduction and will prepare you for further OU study where remotely operable telescopes feature.