Molecular & Cell01
Molecular Biology
“How does a cell decide which of its genes to switch on?”
Study DNA, RNA and proteins — the molecular machinery that keeps every living cell running.
Open Lab · Life-sciences exploration for Grades 9–11
Your curiosity could change the future of life sciences.
Explore the science of life. Investigate real-world problems. Discover the ideas, technologies, and people shaping the future.
Problems written and reviewed by researchers from
- University of Pennsylvania
- Cleveland Clinic
- Harrington Discovery Institute
- Imperial College London
- Stanford University
- University of Cambridge
Discover what interests you
One world. Countless scientific questions.
Life sciences is one connected world — molecules shape cells, cells shape brains, and brains shape how whole populations live and stay healthy. Start with whatever makes you curious.
Neuroscience02
Neuroscience
“How does the brain physically change when you learn something new?”
Explore how neurons, circuits and brain chemistry give rise to movement, memory and thought.
Psychology03
Psychology
“Why do we remember some moments vividly and forget others?”
Investigate why people think, feel and behave the way they do — using careful experiments.
Cognition04
Cognitive Science
“How do we make good decisions when we don't have all the information?”
Combine psychology, neuroscience, computer science and linguistics to understand the mind.
Genetics05
Genetics
“Why do some diseases run in families while others don't?”
Learn how DNA is passed down and how variation in genes shapes traits and health.
Public Health06
Epidemiology
“How many people need to be vaccinated to protect a whole community?”
Track how diseases spread through populations and work out what slows them down.
Computation07
Bioinformatics
“How can comparing thousands of genomes reveal how a virus evolves?”
Use code and statistics to find meaningful patterns in very large biological datasets.
Cancer & Biomedical08
Cancer Biology & Biomedical Research
“Why can the same treatment work for one patient's cancer but not another's?”
Understand what goes wrong when cells grow out of control, and how new treatments are developed.
Ecology09
Ecology & Environmental Biology
“How does losing one species ripple through an entire ecosystem?”
Study how living things interact with each other and with the environment they share.
Not sure what you should do?
These are the fields we're starting with — not every corner of life sciences. Talk it through with us.
Learn by investigating
Science becomes exciting when you try it.
Each challenge is an open problem drawn from real research. You test your understanding, reason through the problem, interpret the evidence, and reach your own conclusions.
- Test your understanding
- Reason through problems
- Interpret evidence
- Tackle open challenges
Your exploration journey
Four steps from curious to confident.
01
Discover
Browse life-sciences fields and the big questions researchers are asking today.
02
Experiment
Try short challenges that ask you to reason through evidence and real scenarios.
03
Reflect
Notice what sparks your curiosity and see which related fields connect to it.
04
Go DeeperIn development
Guided programs — CORE Curriculum and the Life Science Lecture Series — are being shaped with students and parents.
Share your input (opens in a new tab)
Science in the real world
Behind every big problem is a scientific question.
The fields you explore here are the same ones people rely on to keep us healthy, feed the world and protect the planet.
Understanding and treating disease
Researchers study how diseases begin and progress — from infections to dementia — so treatments can target the underlying cause, not just the symptoms.
Developing new diagnostics and therapies
Blood tests, imaging, vaccines and targeted drugs all start as research questions, then go through years of careful testing before they reach patients.
Engineering biological systems
Bioengineers redesign cells and molecules to make medicines, develop more sustainable materials, or build sensors that detect contamination.
Protecting ecosystems
Ecologists measure how climate, land use and invasive species change biodiversity, and use that evidence to guide conservation decisions.
Applying computation to biological data
Modern biology generates enormous datasets. Computational biologists write code and build models to find the patterns inside genomes, cells and populations.
Which problem pulls you in?
Start with the field behind it.
See the fields
For parents
Curiosity first. Responsible science, always.
Open Lab gives teenagers room to explore life sciences on their own terms — and the structure to do it well. Challenges are free to try and don't require an account.
- Curiosity-driven exploration
- Students choose what to investigate. Following a genuine interest builds the motivation and independent thinking that grades alone rarely capture.
- Responsible science education
- Challenges are grounded in established science and point to reputable public sources. Students learn to weigh evidence, acknowledge uncertainty and handle data ethically.
- Age-appropriate learning
- Written for students in Grades 9–11 and UK equivalents, with clear difficulty levels. No wet-lab work or specialist equipment is needed.
Every great discovery begins with a question.
Discover your place in life sciences. Build the skills to shape its future.