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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WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE IPCC’S LATEST GLOBAL CLIMATE REPORT • The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report on the state of the planet’s climate makes for sobering reading, but it’s not all bad news
What’s Ape: Chimps say hello and goodbye when they meet, just like us
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Babylonians were using Pythagoras’ Theorem over 1,000 years before he was born • An ancient clay tablet shows that the Babylonians used Pythagorean triples to measure accurate right angles for surveying land
Fasting may help protect against infection • Study in mice suggests the effect is partly due to changes in the animals’ gut microbiomes
In numbers
Bizarre ‘alien simulation’ study shows how COVID panic-buying was a natural response • New research from the University of New South Wales has demonstrated how people react differently to change
Rise in childhood short-sightedness linked to increase in screen time and time spent indoors during COVID-19
Air pollution linked to an increased risk of dementia • A small rise in the number of fine particulates in the air can lead to a 16 per cent greater risk of developing dementia
Baboons wearing fitness trackers show that taking toddlers anywhere is a nightmare, no matter your species • When it comes to moving as a group, it seems that everyone has to make a compromise
They did what? • Scientists demonstrate that beer mats make poor frisbees
Astronomy Photographer of the Year teases this year’s shortlist
The Atlantic Ocean’s currents are slowing down. What could this mean for the UK climate? • The Gulf Stream, which brings the UK’s clement weather, could be affected by this change
SPACE JUNK: IS IT A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN? • Many experts are calling for urgent action before debris floating in orbit around the Earth triggers the domino-like Kessler syndrome
BILLIONAIRE SPACE RACE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE CLIMATE? • New regulations regarding the environmental impacts from space travel must be put in place to prevent the emergence of a ‘Wild West’ attitude, experts say
MENTAL HEALTH: HOW CAN WE HELP ELITE SPORTS COMPETITORS STAY WELL? • Elite Olympic athletes recently highlighted the mental health issues they faced. A psychologist explains how we could help them
INNOVATIONS • PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TOMORROW
Smart chainmail switches from tough to flexible on command • Engineers say new fabric could pave the way for adaptive exoskeletons or casts for broken bones
What’s it like to fly to the edge of space? • Dave Mackay, Virgin Galactic’s chief pilot, reveals what it’s like to ride a rocket ship to the stars...
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FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND • CONCORDE FLEW FROM LONDON TO NEW YORK IN THREE AND A HALF HOURS. IT SOARED AT NEARLY TWICE THE SPEED OF SOUND, LEAVING AN ALMIGHTY SONIC BOOM IN ITS WAKE. THE NOISE RESTRICTED WHERE IT COULD FLY, BUT NOW NASA HOPES IT CAN RESURRECT FASTER-THAN-SOUND TRAVEL, WITH QUIET SUPERSONIC FLIGHT
MYSTERIES OF THE ARYSS • The deep sea is Earth’s last unexplored domain. For the longest time, this enigmatic ecosystem has held within it answers to...