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.
FROM THE EDITOR
ON THE BBC THIS MONTH . . .
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The brain up close
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BBC Science Focus Magazine
DISCOVERIES • Not quite a planet and not quite a star, the object remains unidentified
ARCHAEOLOGY Major Stonehenge discovery deepens mystery around ancient monument • New findings suggest a key six-tonne stone came from over 450 miles north of the circle
MEDICINE An artificial heart inspired by plumbing • Mechanical circulation could revolutionise transplant design and reduce waiting lists
COMMENT Free school meals are the bedrock of a better society • Unhealthy children tend to become unhealthy adults. But there's a simple way to reduce the chances of that happening
How light's ‘secret code’ reveals the story of the cosmos • The starlight we can see tells us a lot about the Universe, but it's the parts we can't see that contain the biggest revelations
COMMENT Bespoke birth control: tomorrow's contraceptives could be tailored to you • Many women struggle to find contraception that precisely suits their needs. That may be about to change
REVIEW Scientists want to build a giant ‘bio-vault’ on the Moon. Here's why… • Experts say the best place to preserve cells from Earth's most important species is not on this planet
ANALYSIS One of Earth's key climate systems is one the brink of collapse • Scientists are worried that the Atlantic Ocean's system of currents may be about to pass a tipping point. And if it does, it'll have severe consequences for all us
THE UNEXPECTED RETURN OF PNEUMATIC TUBES • Once a pioneering technology that revolutionised deliveries, pneumatic tubes had all but disappeared. Now they're back and enjoying a resurgence
HOW TO PERFECT YOUR SLEEP ROUTINE WITH TECHNOLOGY • A BAD NIGHT'S SLEEP CAN FOLLOW YOU FOR DAYS, MAKING YOU TIRED, GRUMPY AND GENERALLY A WORSE VERSION OF YOURSELF. HAPPILY, THERE ARE PLENTY OF GADGETS TO HELP YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF THOSE NIGHTTIME HOURS
IDEAS WE LIKE… • Our pick of the month's smartest tech
LIVING FOSSILS • FOR SOME CREATURES ALIVE TODAY TIME HAS ALMOST STOOD STILL. MEET THE ‘LIVING FOSSILS’ THAT GIVE US A GLIMPSE INTO LIFE IN THE DISTANT PAST
Call your own bluff • Ever feel like you're an impostor, who's bluffing their way through life? You're not alone. Even the world's most brilliant minds suffer from the fear of being ‘found out’. But what causes impostor syndrome? And can you overcome it?
ECLIPSES ON DEMAND • The Proba-3 mission aims to unravel the mysteries of the Sun's atmosphere by creating artificial eclipses. But achieving this feat means teaching two spacecraft to perform a complicated dance on a distant stage with an unprecedented level of precision
THE PILLS TO END AGEING • No longer the stuff of science fiction, affordable treatments that could slow, stop or even reverse your ageing are, thanks to new breakthroughs, less than a decade away… You might even be taking some of them already
THE BIG QUESTION Do we finally know how the Egyptian Pyramids were built? • A number of breakthrough studies are beginning to paint a picture of how these wonders of the world were built, but much of the story still remains a mystery…
YOUR QUESTIONS...