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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WORLD’S FIRST MALARIA VACCINE • The World Health Organization’s director-general hails ‘historic moment’ as mass immunisation of African children begins
Humans used ‘modern’ fishing tools more than 12,000 years ago • The people who used these weights, hooks and lures “knew all there was to know about fish”
Stone Age humans hatched and raised cassowary chicks in New Guinea • Thousands of years before the domestication of the chicken, humans were collecting cassowary eggs before they hatched
Vitamin B12 could protect the brain against Alzheimer’s, wiggling worm study suggests • Healthy levels of vitamin B12 may help to prevent damage from the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain
Psychedelic drug found in magic mushrooms enhances our emotional response to music • The finding could be important for the therapeutical use of psychedelics
Māori land-burning practices triggered a rise in carbon emissions • The arrival of the Māori people to New Zealand in the 14th Century led to a major increase in black carbon, hundreds of years before the Industrial Revolution
Volcanoes may have given dinosaur evolution a helping hand • The rise of the dinosaurs seems to be connected to a period of violent volcanic activity more than 230 million years ago
A ‘supplement’ for bees could save colonies from a deadly virus • Scientists have found a plant-based compound that could save honeybee colonies from a virus that deforms wings, causes paralysis and wipes out hives
Image of spawning groupers nets Wildlife Photographer of the Year prize • Now in its 57th year, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition continues to give us a fascinating insight into the lives of animals around the world. You can see all the images from the competition at the Natural History Museum, London, until 5 June 2022.
Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony completed by an AI • Computer scientists teamed up with historians, musicologists and composers to teach an artificial intelligence how to compose like Beethoven
MEGA SPACESHIP: IS IT POSSIBLE FOR CHINA TO BUILD A KILOMETRE-LONG SPACECRAFT? • Buoyed on by its successful Moon missions, China has launched a five-year study to investigate the possibility of building the biggest-ever spacecraft
PRIVACY: WHAT ISSUES DO FACEBOOK’S NEW SMART GLASSES RAISE? • The specs enable users to take pictures and record video using cameras embedded in the frames
CELEBRITIES: WHY DO THEY LOVE BIZARRE FADS? • Why are famous stars so drawn to the allure of questionable health products and trends?
INNOVATIONS • PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TOMORROW
Google uses AI to create two-hour weather forecasts • ‘Nowcasting’ could help the UK anticipate catastrophic rainfall events
SKY GLASS Is this the end of the satellite dish? • We take a look Sky’s first television, Sky Glass, which looks to shake up how we buy and pay for our TVs and entertainment
Ideas we like…
OCTOPUSES ON PARADE • WITH THREE HEARTS, BLUE BLOOD, EIGHT BENDY ARMS AND INTELLIGENCE THAT OUTSMARTS OTHER SPINELESS ANIMALS, THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE AN OCTOPUS. JOIN US ON A DIVE INTO THEIR WEIRD WORLD...
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