With accessible features illustrated with the world’s best photography, BBC Focus Magazine explains the theory behind scientific phenomena and really brings science to life. In every issue you’ll find news of the latest major scientific developments, a lively Q&A section plus exclusive and astonishing photographic reports that range from the breathtaking to the downright odd.
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THE AMAZON NOW EMITS MORE CARBON THAN IT ABSORBS • Fires burned in the forest tipped the balance this year
Astronomers spot moon-forming rings around a baby exoplanet
A fungal vaccine could boost your microbiome and prevent gut disease
How we could turn COVID against itself • In the red corner, a ‘wild-type’ SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the blue corner, a defective interfering SARS-CoV-2 virus. Now, 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!
In numbers
Look after your teeth to protect against cognitive decline in old age • With each lost tooth, the risk of cognitive impairment grows – but not for those who have dentures
Dogs won’t give you food, even if you gave them some first • They may be your best buddy, but they won’t go out of their way to do you a favour
Just-hatched pterosaurs may have been able to fly
Opossum becomes world’s first genetically engineered marsupial
3D-printed liver models will help surgeons ‘rehearse’ cancer surgeries
Enigmatic DNA ‘Borgs’ that assimilate genes from host cells found lurking in wetland soil • The discovery could lead to the development of CRISPR-like gene editing tools, the researchers say
LARKS VS OWLS: ARE PEOPLE WHO WAKE UP EARLY REALLY HAPPIER? • Does early to bed, early to rise make you healthy, wealthy and wise? Here, a neuroscientist explains which people are happiest
BEAVER CULLING: HOW WILL IT AFFECT REWILDING PLANS? • A Scottish legal battle over licences to shoot beavers is setting the scene for a fresh debate on how the reintroduction of native species should be managed
COVID-19: HOW HAS LOCKDOWN AFFECTED OUR MEMORIES? • Feel like your memory has deteriorated since the beginning of lockdown? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one...
INNOVATIONS • PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TOMORROW
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TRULY EGG CELLENT • SO MUCH OF LIFE ON EARTH STARTS WITH AN EGG. IT’S AN INCREDIBLE PIECE OF BIOLOGICAL DESIGN THAT GOES BEYOND THE FAMILIAR. HERE’S A CELEBRATION OF THE INCREDIBLE WAYS EVOLUTION HAS FOUND TO KICK-START LIFE...
A REVOLUTION IN THE MAKING • Scientists will soon have the tools to rewrite the book of life, and in doing so, edit out sections that cause disease, piece by piece. But is the technology safe and will all of us get the benefits, or will it be the preserve of those who can afford it?
CRISPR 101 • An oversimplified guide to a medical revolution
HOW TO EDIT A HUMAN • The gene-editing therapies set to revolutionise healthcare
DOES CANNABIS LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? • Do the CBD-containing products on supermarket shelves really offer any health benefits?
WHY WE STILL NEED COLD, HARD CASH • The modern, cashless way of paying with a simple tap of our phones has edged out some of the most vulnerable members of society
GO FETCH WHY WE’RE BRINGING SAMPLES HOME FROM MARS • We want to bring something back from Mars. That’s the thinking behind a programme so ambitious that it will take two space agencies and several missions to pull it off. To find out what’s at stake, and how we’ll get a sample from the Red Planet, Sara Rigby spoke to ESA’s payload manager
THE MARS SAMPLE RELAY • The steps to bring Martian rock back to...
