Falling Walls Science Summit 2025

The Falling Walls Science Summit - held in Berlin from the 6th to the 9th of November - brought together leading researchers, entrepreneurs and policymakers to share knowledge and discuss innovative ideas in science. 

Here are three headline-making breakthroughs recently celebrated at the summit that you can share with your class. Each one signals a fresh leap forward for science and society.

1. Life Sciences: Invisible Ovulation in Real-Time

The Life Sciences award went to Melina Schuh, from the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Germany - for her team’s live-imaging platform that visualises ovulation at the cellular level.

How to discuss this with your class:  Historically, ovulation has been studied indirectly; this platform opens direct real-time insight into a fundamental human biological process, with implications for fertility, developmental biology and reproductive health. For you as a teacher, it underlines biology’s frontier where imaging and cell-biology meet real-world human health. It’s a great new example to use when showing how imaging technology is pushing boundaries. 

2. Physical Sciences: Quantum Pathways & Super-Alloys

In the Physical Sciences category the laureate was Jian‑Wei Pan - from the University of Science and Technology of China. He was recognised for work that breaks conceptual “walls” in quantum physics. Another significant mention in 2025 was Martin Harmer from Lehigh University, who was named among the Top 10 Breakthroughs for his copper-based superalloys, described as “Breaking the Wall of 100 Years of Superalloys.” 

How to discuss this with your class: These advances mark leaps in how we manipulate matter at extreme scales, whether quantum states or ultra-high-performance materials. For science teaching, they offer rich cross-curriculum links: physics, materials science, engineering and even chemistry.

3. Art & Science: Sound-based Ecological Healing

Taking the Art & Science category in 2025 was Marco Barotti for his project “Ecological Healing Through Sound.”

How to discuss this with your class: At the interface of art and science, Barotti’s work uses sonic feedback and environmental data to build ecological restoration, showing pupils that “science” isn’t just lab coats and equations, but involves creative and interdisciplinary exploration.

These recent awards emphasise why science matters, demonstrating its continual impact in the world outside the classroom. Share them with your KS3 or KS4 class to demonstrate how the content they’re learning results in real, purpose-driven projects outside of the classroom. 

To explore units and lessons related to the stories above, visit www.developingexperts.com today.