Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i BBC Science Focus Magazine

With their jutting armoured backplates, intimidating spiked tail, long neck and almost comically small head, the stegosaurs are some of the most instantly recognisable dinosaurs. The hulking, plant-eating dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous, more than 150 million years ago. Fossils of the animals have been found on every continent except for Antarctica and Australasia. So far 14 distinct species of stegosaur have been identified, including Huayangosaurus, a more primitive species that had large spikes protruding from its shoulders, and Miragaia, a species known for its extremely long neck. But thanks to the incomplete nature of many of the fossils, palaeontologists have struggled to piece together a complete stegosaur family tree. Now, though, researchers from the Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development…

A baby born with severe heart defects is recovering well after becoming the first recipient of a pioneering new transplant technique carried out at Duke University in North Carolina, USA. Easton Sinnamon was born with several heart defects as well as a deficiency in his thymus. The thymus is a gland found behind the breastbone that plays a key role in the immune system by creating white blood cells known as T-cells. His condition left him in need of a heart transplant and a thymus tissue transplant. Under currently available procedures, transplanted hearts have an average lifespan of between 10 and 15 years, due to the damaging effects caused by the immunosuppressant drugs used to prevent them from being rejected. However, researchers at Duke have been pioneering a technique of…

Endurance22 team members WHY IS THE DISCOVERY OF ENDURANCE SCIENTIFICALLY IMPORTANT? Lasse Rabenstein: If I’m honest, when I first heard about this expedition, I asked that exact question. We knew a lot about the ship already from the history books. But getting scientific instruments to the Weddell Sea is a rare opportunity, as there aren’t many icebreaker ships in the southern hemisphere that can make it into the ice. It is no coincidence that Shackleton’s expedition got stopped in the Weddell Sea, as it has really heavy ice conditions. Therefore, every chance to get in-situ data samples from the Weddell Sea should be taken. Finding the wreck itself was motivating, and people were really creative in their way of thinking. We combined all the different fields of science – research,…

PROS: - Replaceable parts and modular design - Built with sustainable components - Affordable price - Solid and durable body CONS: - Camera quality can be dull and inconsistent - Occasionally sluggish performance Fairphone has a long history of producing some of the most eco-friendly smartphones around. In fact, it is currently ranked in the top 1 per cent of sustainable companies in the world according to EcoVadis, a sustainability ratings company. But ethics don’t come cheap. This has meant that, in the past, the Fairphone has fallen short of its competitors in terms of sheer performance, like battery life, camera quality, responsiveness and that sort of thing. And yet with their latest model, the Fairphone 4, the right balance has finally been struck. This is a sustainable smartphone that…

THE YETI CRAB If a furry snow boot and a crab fell in love and had babies, this is what they would look like. Yeti crabs, which have ghostly carapaces and hair-like bristles on their legs and claws, hang out in the deep ocean next to hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. In 2005, when scientists discovered the yeti crab living on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, they realised they had stumbled not only on a new species, but also a whole new family, later dubbed Kiwaidae. A year later, a second species was discovered wafting its arms over a methane-belching cold seep. It’s thought the bizarre dance helps to nourish colonies of bacteria, which it grows on its arms. The movement stirs up the water, bathing the bacteria in fresh supplies of…

PENCILS AT THE READY! ACROSS 7 Row between similar guests (5) 9 Pen has ran out in mass destruction (7) 10 Somewhere to put weapon? That woman has lost out (7) 11 Get volatile liquid from there, strangely (5) 12 Be dishonest, depressed, and keep out of sight (3,3) 13 Be at a race to conclusion (6) 16 Judge beginning to unwind with the Spanish to get more nourishment (6) 17 Friendly spin, say, with broken nail (6) 19 Beg for parking by the front (5) 21 Chap joining father, getting twitch of the liver (7) 22 Conscript sees object recur erratically at first (7) 23 Mackerel-catcher played parts (5) DOWN 1 Composer has new role as single man (8) 2 Theorems about frail institution (4,4) 3 Twenty points (5)…

H2O: The Molecule That Made Us How does our most precious resource tie the planet together? This brilliant series is now available on iPlayer for the next six months. Available on iPlayer Freeze The Fear Wim ‘The Iceman’ Hof seemingly has the ability to control his body temperature, allowing him to do things like run a barefoot marathon in the Arctic. In this show, he’ll put celebs to the test and hopefully we’ll learn a little of the science behind his feats. BBC One Check Radio Times for details Space Tourism – What’s The Cost To The Climate? As Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson invite tourists to join them on a rocket into space, this programme addresses the elephant in the room. How much harm does space tourism do to…

The Amazon rainforest’s ability to recover from damaging events such as droughts and fires has consistently declined across more than three-quarters of its landmass over the last 20 years. The figure was calculated by researchers based at the University of Exeter, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Technical University of Munich, who analysed satellite data. They were investigating the claim that the Amazon is reaching a tipping point that could see the loss of many of its trees. It is as yet uncertain when this critical point may be reached, but as the Amazon covers an area of 6.7 million square kilometres and is home to 1 in 10 species on Earth, the loss would have a major knock-on effect on biodiversity, climate change and global…

The health benefits of eating a Mediterranean-style diet have long been touted, but it seems that eating more like our northern neighbours could also produce similar results. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found that the Nordic diet can provide significant health benefits such as lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of blood clots, even for those people who are overweight. The Mediterranean diet can be challenging for people in colder regions to follow, where produce like peppers, tomatoes and olives are not locally grown. The Nordic diet is based on ingredients that grow in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, and includes foods like apples, potatoes, carrots, berries, cabbage, rye, oats, nuts and fish, along with oils made from rapeseed, sunflower…

MAY 2022 NASA will launch the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE). It’s a technology demonstration mission to test and verify the stability of the intended orbit of Gateway. JULY 2022 Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is set to send its Luna 25 lander to the Moon. It will touch down near the lunar south pole at the Boguslawsky crater. AUGUST 2022 South Korea will use its Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter to survey and map lunar resources, including ice and helium-3. After a failed attempt with Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, India will attempt a soft landing on the Moon with Chandrayaan-3. OCTOBER 2022 Private Japanese space company ispace will send a lunar lander called Hakuto-R Mission 1 to the Moon. It will also carry a lunar rover for…

HOW TO SEE THE NORTHERN CROWN WHEN: MID-APRIL TO MID-MAY Corona Borealis is a small, attractive semi-circular constellation visible in the spring night sky. It represents the Northern Crown and as its name infers, has a southern counterpart called Corona Australis, the Southern Crown, which never rises above the UK’s horizon. To locate Corona Borealis start from the Plough, extending its handle away from the blade and following the natural arc to reach the bright orange star Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman. The core of Boötes is kite-shaped, Arcturus marking the kite’s pointed-end. If it helps to visualise it, the kite appears as high as the Plough is long. Corona Borealis sits off the left shoulder of the kite, its distinctive semi-circle having a diameter a fraction larger than the…

Photosynthesis is the process used by plants, algae and certain bacteria, to turn sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy, in the form of sugar. It’s probably the most important biochemical process on the planet. It is essential for almost all life, as it’s the primary source of oxygen in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen 1. Plants absorb sunlight through the two top layers of their leaves, the cuticle and epidermis. These layers are thin, so light can travel through them easily. 2. Just beneath these layers are the palisade mesophyll cells, vertically elongated cells arranged closely together and packed with chloroplasts. Below these is the spongy mesophyll tissue, loosely packed for efficient gas exchange. As gases move in and out of these…

WHAT IS CERN AND WHAT DOES IT DO? The European Organization for Nuclear Research – known by its French acronym, CERN – is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Located just outside of Geneva, Switzerland, it was established in 1954, as one of post-war Europe’s first joint ventures, with the express aim of halting the ‘brain drain’ of talented scientists leaving the continent for America. Today, more than 10,000 scientists hailing from more than 100 countries find themselves at CERN each year to use its facilities, which include some of the biggest and most complex scientific instruments ever created. Their goal: figure out what the Universe is made of and the laws of physics that dictate its behaviour. WHAT DISCOVERIES HAVE BEEN MADE THERE? Highlights include the 1983…

In a parallel universe, you are writing this article. You’re probably doing a better job of it too. That’s what the multiverse theory suggests anyway. You will no doubt have heard of it, if not from science then certainly from science fiction. Star Trek, Stranger Things, Spider-Man: No Way Home – TV and film is full of stories set around the idea that our world is but one of many alternative realities. However, with the release of the new Marvel film, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, the theory is set to achieve new heights of popularity. But what exactly is the multiverse? And is there any truth to the idea that in a different reality I’m actually a rich, handsome Premier League footballer? The multiverse derives from the…

Your article about intimacy (February, p66) really hit home with me on a deeply emotional level. My husband has often said to me that my social media use, internet surfing and messaging on my phone is deeply intrusive and has created a barrier between us. So the phrase ‘technoference’ really stuck a chord with me. We’ve worked hard as a couple to put aside technology-free moments, and this has worked for us. While technology has helped us reach out to more people, over time, I believe it’s made us more isolated. We should all seek out face-to-face relationships and physical contact with others, as a way of boosting our mental health and making us happier people. Natasha Russell-Carr WRITE IN AND WIN! The writer of next issue’s Letter Of The…

Back in 2020, researchers based at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) made an exciting announcement – they had found the closest-ever black hole to Earth. It was, according to the team led by Thomas Rivinius, lurking just 1,000 light-years away in a triple system dubbed HR 6819. According to the ESO team, it comprised one star that was orbiting a black hole in a tight, 40-day orbit and another one much further out. However, not everyone was convinced. Particularly Julia Bodensteiner, a PhD student based at KU Leuven, Belgium. She thought it was more likely that HR 6819 was a two-star system in which one star was ‘feeding’ on material from the other – a so-called vampire system. To get to the bottom of the mystery, the two teams joined…

The cause of the confusion that people with dementia experience when something unexpected happens could be down to a specific network in the brain, according to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The finding could help patients and their loved ones better manage potentially upsetting situations, the researchers say. The team scanned the brains of healthy participants and those with dementia using a technique called magnetoencephalography, which can take 1,000 snapshots of the brain per second. They then played them a sound that changed in pitch or rhythm, to mimic a real-life surprise event such as a shift in conversation topic or a switch in the position of furniture in a room, and then monitored the response in the participants’…

When it comes to engineering, nature knows best. Researchers at Virginia Tech have found that the exoskeleton of a starfish (Protoreaster nodosus) found in the Indo-Pacific region has a never-before-seen structure that makes it incredibly strong and lightweight. It is thought that the starfish evolved its unique skeleton to fend off predators. If successfully recreated, the structure could help engineers to create a new class of synthetic materials that could be used in everything from aviation to construction. Though it is made from calcite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate that is usually brittle like chalk, the skeleton’s complex pattern makes it extremely durable, but flexible and lightweight at the same time. “This nearly perfect microlattice has not been reported in nature or fabricated synthetically before,” said mechanical engineer Ling…

“What’s that? Sorry, I can’t hear you, let me just turn up my shirt…” That’s the idea behind a new kind of acoustic material that’s been created to hear sounds, and even play them back. This new kind of fabric is so sensitive that, if made into a T-shirt or a wristband, could be used to track your pulse or the rate of your breathing. The material can detect and orient louder sounds too, perhaps one day providing support for some of the 11 million people in the UK who have hearing difficulties. This design – the product of a collaboration of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Rhode Island School of Design – was inspired by the way the human ear turns sound into an electrical…

Listen to Dr Aleks Krotoski every week on The Digital Human. Available on BBC Sounds. WELCOME TO THE METAVERSE In the beginning the metaverse was created. And to borrow from Douglas Adams “this has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move”. In truth the metaverse was neither good nor bad and ever since its creation it’s been imagined as place of extremes – either a utopian horn of plenty, brimming with creative expression and untold wealth, or a dystopian cyber surveillance state, leaning in to systemic abuses of power and inequality. When you start to dig in, it becomes clear that most of the people making these claims have never actually been in a metaverse. If you do go there yourself,…

DWARF PLANET Dwarf planets are massive enough to be affected by gravitation and can pull themselves into a round, or nearly round shape. However, unlike planets, they are unable to clear their orbital path. Each of the known dwarf planets in the Solar System is smaller than our Moon. COMET Comets are the snowballs of the cosmos. These icy bodies of frozen gases, rocks and dust orbit the Sun on highly elliptical paths, often tumbling as they go. When their orbit brings them close to the Sun, they heat up. This causes the solid ice to turn into gas, which is swept into the distinctive comet tail. ASTEROID Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Most asteroids are irregularly shaped, although there are a few that are nearly…

I LOVE WATCHING DR. PIMPLE POPPER AND TEETH DESCALING VIDEOS. IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME? Graphic online videos of popped pimples and hardcore teeth cleaning are wildly popular, so you’re far from alone. That should offer some comfort, but at the same time, it does seem odd that you and so many others should choose to watch, and even enjoy, videos that most of us would agree are disgusting. Humans evolved to avoid disgusting material; it’s a natural defence mechanism to protect us from infection and contamination. So what’s going on? Psychologists suggest you may be displaying a form of morbid curiosity and taking an interest in disgusting material as a way to learn how to avoid it. More specifically, they posit that the appeal of pimple and teeth videos…