In a recent issue of Benenden School’s magazine The Term, exceptional Six Two (Year 13) Biologist Clara shared her thoughts on how her personal interest in Biology has shaped her real-word perspective. She wrote:
Biology is such an exciting subject to study, with numerous links to current affairs which makes what we learn in School relevant to the modern day. I experience a shift from a liking of the subject to a real passion for it after having made a New Year’s resolution to keep up with the news. I started reading articles, specifically focused on health, and fell into a rabbit hole reading about the benefits of beetroot.
Beetroot is a nitrate-rich vegetable and in certain doses will aid the widening of blood vessels to aid blood flow, hence lowering blood pressure. This was particularly fascinating to me at the time as we had just discussed heart health in the A Level Biology course, and I was able to apply my knowledge of the benefits of beetroot to cardiovascular health as a potential aid. It then occurred to me that the purple juice I watch my marathon-running father drink is beetroot, and so my interest in the vegetable extended to its potential in sports performance and endurance.
I questioned whether this juice was simply a pseudo-scientific trendy fad or if it could really help people to run further or faster. To my delight, I found a study into cardiorespiratory endurance in athletes using beetroot supplementation and was surprised to read its findings, that the supplementation reduced time to fatigue at less than or equal to VO2max intensity. I could no longer wind my father up about what I thought was a ‘silly purple juice’ and have now become an avid beetroot consumer myself!
Biology opens a real potential for investigation and critical thinking which I believe are fundamental skills for success in later academic studies and potential future careers.
