Innehållsförteckning för Christmas 2019 från BBC Science Focus Magazine

The first science book I ever read blew my mind. I can’t remember the name of the book, but I know who it was written by: Marcus Chown. In it he explained, in his effortless way, how the Universe began and how it might all end. To this day, the sense of wonder that Marcus’s writing inspired epitomises what makes science, and writing and reading about it, so special. So as the year comes to an end and we all start traversing the country to visit friends and relatives during the holidays, I wanted to share a little scientific wonder with you all. This special issue celebrates some of the most mind-expanding ideas in science right now. From the search for dark matter to the quest to end ageing, there’s…

Flaming forest CALIFORNIA, USA Firefighters battle to control forest fire Maria, which raged in California’s Ventura County for six days in October and early November. Strong winds meant Maria grew quickly to consume over 7,500 hectares (16km2 ) of land before being extinguished with water dropped by three DC-10 aeroplanes. Sadly, local firefighters have had a lot of problems with fires this year: at the time of writing the 2019 season has seen 6,402 fires destroy over 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of land and over 500 buildings. While wildfires are not uncommon in California, the intensity of Maria’s blaze is cause for concern. In 2018, a team of scientists from the University of California discovered that increasing droughts in the area, thought to be caused by global climate change, had…

INSECTS Artificial light at night-time is causing a serious decline in the numbers of moths, beetles, wasps and other insects that have evolved to use light levels as cues for courtship, foraging and navigation, a study at Washington University has found. HELICOPTER PARENTS Mums and dads who take an excessive, overbearing interest in their children’s development may be raising youngsters with low levels of “mastery, self-regulation and social competence”, a study at West Virginia University suggests.…

1. Philips Somneo Long nights and grey skies play havoc with my circadian rhythm. I’m tired in the morning and wired by night. The Somneo has two functions to try to remedy this. In the morning it’ll simulate sunrise and at night it’ll do a good impression of dusk. The faux-dawn glow works unnervingly well. I’m a reluctant riser, but I felt strangely awake when the alarm started. The bigger surprise was the efficacy of the dusk setting. The slowly dimming light, paired with a book, never failed to weigh down my eyelids within half an hour. A great device, albeit with a big price tag. £125, philips.co.uk 2. Simba Hybrid Duvet Being too hot or too cold can be a barrier to sleep, especially if, like me,…

The other week, I learned a new expression: be where your feet are. It means to calm down, find yourself in the present moment, and to focus only on being in the here and now. I fear this is impossible for me; if my mental lists were ever committed onto paper, they’d require a cross-referenced almanac and possibly a bend in space and time. The problem is, I get very excited about possibilities – particularly at this most wonderful time of year, when there are relatives to entertain, exceptional holiday feasts to whip up and complex Pinterest-perfect centrepieces to throw together. My feet are likely to be on the high street while my head’s up a Christmas tree trying to figure out how to get the thing in a stand…

Cheer up, it’s Christmas! How many times has someone said that to you? If the answer is ‘a lot’, you’re not alone. It’s the time of year when we’re supposed to drop our slightly cynical view of life and embrace the warm, fuzzy glow of the festive period. For the most famous curmudgeon of all, Ebenezer Scrooge, it took a few visits from ghostly spirits for him to adopt a more positive outlook towards Christmas, and life itself. Scrooge did, after all, live in a time before the self-help book. But today you can hardly step in a book shop without spotting brightly coloured covers that promise our lives will be transformed if only we can embrace the positive us. Internet memes, TV ads, pop music – they all carry…

“THE PROBLEM WITH MATHS IS THAT YOU CAN’T SEE IT. YOU CAN’T HOLD IT. YOU CAN’T POINT TO IT AND SAY THAT’S WHAT IT IS. IT’S INVISIBLE.”DR HANNAH FRY, p66 It’s all in the scent Although I enjoyed reading ‘Hygiene: is there such a thing as too clean?’ (October, p33) and its coverage of the ‘speck of dirt’ theory to explain the allergic march, I’d like to correct an assertion made: ‘sweat doesn’t smell’. In fact, sweating is an efficient aspect of excretory function, and volatile compounds dissolved in sweat certainly do have distinct odours that can be used to provide diagnostic clues during clinical examination. David Propert, London, via email It’s true that smell is useful for diagnosis when you’re unwell, as there can be extra compounds in your…

Researchers in the US have successfully placed a live human patient in ‘suspended animation’ for the first time, a spokesperson from the University of Maryland has confirmed. It is hoped that the technique could help surgeons to save the lives of patients with severe injuries such as stab wounds or gunshots whose hearts have stopped beating, they say. The technique, dubbed ‘Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation’ (EPR), is being tested by a team at the Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center. It involves pumping ice-cold saline directly into the body via a cannula inserted directly into the aorta to replace the blood being lost. This induces a deep state of ‘hypothermic preservation’ – as low as 10-15°C – not unlike the state known in science fiction as…

In 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick found that a DNA molecule is arranged like a long, twisted ladder, which is a structure that we call a double-helix. Each ‘rung’ of the ladder is made up of a base pair – two joined chemical building blocks called nucleotides. There are four different types of these nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine, which we call A, C, G and T. An A always links to a T, and a C always links to a G. The exact order that the different letters are arranged on the ladder varies, forming an enormously long code. Human DNA, for example, has about three billion ‘rungs on the ladder’. This complex code will be different for every person and every organism (apart from identical twins),…

Antidepressants are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in today’s world, and according to NHS figures, their use is on the rise. However, counterintuitive as it may seem, you regularly see reports and stories insisting that antidepressants are of little to no effectiveness. How can this be? How can one of the most common (and tightly regulated) types of medication be regarded as being of no use? It’s because the reality of antidepressants is far more complex than most seem to think. First, there are many types of antidepressants. The most commonly prescribed are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Citalopram and Prozac, but there are many kinds available, like tricyclic amines, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and so on. While the goal of each is the same (treating depression),…

Learning Mandarin? Going vegan? Giving up alcohol? Many of us will start 2020 by making a resolution. Sometimes those resolutions stick. Often they don’t. What can you do to keep yours going? Well, the first thing you can do is junk the widespread belief that New Year’s resolutions inevitably fail. A 2002 study published in the Journal Of Clinical Psychology looked into how successfully people keep their New Year’s resolutions. The researchers took 159 people who made a New Year’s resolution (to lose weight, quit smoking, or exercise more) and 123 people who had similar goals but hadn’t yet made a resolution. Six months later, 46 per cent of the ‘resolvers’ said they had been successful in achieving at least part of their goal, compared with just 4 per cent…

TAMSIN NICHOLSON, WARWICKSHIRE WHY ARE LITTLE DOGS SO MUCH MORE ANNOYING THAN BIG DOGS? Anecdotally, it seems that small dogs are yappier, more excitable and more aggressive, and genetic differences between breeds may be at play here. However, a 2010 survey of 1,276 dog owners in Austria found that the owners of smaller dogs may be at least partly to blame, as they tend to give their dogs less attention and be less consistent with obedience training. Dogs are pack animals, and when their owners are not assertive enough, the dogs often assume the leadership role, resulting in louder, more aggressive behaviour. LV TRISTIN QUINN, TULLAMORE, IRELAND IF GLOBAL WARMING INCREASES RAINFALL, COULD THE EXTRA CLOUDS BLOCK SUNLIGHT AND HELP COOL THE EARTH? The link between clouds and global temperature…

ALLA KATSNELSON Alla is a science writer, with a PhD in mammalian development. This issue, she investigates artificial wombs, and babies without pregnancy. p52 DEAN BURNETT Do antidepressants actually work? Neuroscientist and author Dean explains why these drugs get such a bad press, and why we shouldn’t dismiss them. p33 AMY FLEMING A significant number of people in vegetative states may have hidden consciousness. Freelance science writer Amy finds out about the scientists who are treating these patients. p72 HANNAH FRY This year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures will delve into the maths behind everyday life. Mathematician Hannah, who is this year’s host, tells us how maths is hiding in plain sight. p66…

RENEWABLE ENERGY This really blew our socks off: global wind speeds have increased by almost 20 per cent over the past decade, a study at Princeton University has found. The change may enable more widespread use of wind energy, say the researchers. 65-YEAR-OLDS You may not be as old as you think! The unofficial onset of old age should be bumped up from 65 to 70, the Office for National Statistics says. The change is due to increases in life expectancy meaning that more and more of us are living into our 80s, they say.…

‘CLIMATE EMERGENCY’ NAMED WORD OF THE YEAR Oxford Dictionaries has declared the phrase ‘climate emergency’ its Word Of The Year 2019. The expression was used over 100 times more in September 2019 than in September 2018, and became by far the most written-about form of emergency, with over three times as many mentions as ‘health emergency,’ the second most-mentioned. Oxford Dictionaries defines ‘climate emergency’ as “a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.” VENICE FLOODS Venice’s regional council flooded just minutes after it rejected measures to combat climate change. “Ironically, the hall flooded two minutes after the majority League, Brothers of Italy and Forza Italia parties rejected our amendments to fight climate change,” said local…

Thanks largely to Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, astronomers regularly contend with talk of the ‘dark side of the Moon’. There isn’t one. At least there’s no permanently dark side of the Moon. But we do only ever see the front of the Moon and not the back due to an effect called ‘tidal locking’. Over time the Earth’s gravity slowed the Moon’s rotation on its axis until it matched the time it takes to orbit us (both 27.3 days). So, the Moon is rotating, we just never see the other side. The Moon is always half lit up and half not (day and night, just like on Earth). Where this sunlight falls depends on the Moon’s position around the Earth. When between us and the Sun the back is completely…

ALLA KATSNELSON (@lalakat) Alla is a science writer, focusing on biology and health. BRIAN CLEGG (@brianclegg) Brian has written more than 30 science books. DR PETER BENTLEY Peter is a computer scientist and freelance writer. SIMON CROMPTON (@simoncrompton2) Simon is a freelance health and science journalist. DR HELEN PILCHER (@HelenPilcher1) Helen is a freelance science writer and editor. DR STUART CLARK (@DrStuClark) Stuart is an astronomy and cosmology writer. TOM IRELAND (@tom_j_ireland) Tom is a science writer and editor of The Biologist. 1 DARK MATTER MIGHT BE UNDER OUR FEET Most of the Universe is made up of dark matter. The problem is, we haven’t found it. But one team thinks we could discover its imprints lurking in rocks Most of the Universe is missing. By observing the way that…

WHY ARE THE CHRISTMAS LECTURES IMPORTANT? The Lectures have been televised since about the 1950s but have been going since 1825. Back then, as I understand it, Faraday – the guy who discovered electricity – and a few of his mates decided that they wanted to impart their wisdom onto local children. In my mind, they grabbed loads of Victorian children off the street, made them sit there, and then talked science at them for an hour for several nights in a row. The Lectures are a place where real experts, real scientists, real mathematicians, can have a chance to explain why their subject is so exciting and why they’re so passionate about it – in a way that appeals to all generations, and in a way that includes big…

DR ALASTAIR GUNN Astronomer, astrophysicist DR HELEN SCALES Oceans expert, science writer ALEX FRANKLINCHEUNG Environment/ climate expert DR CHRISTIAN JARRETT Neuroscientist, science writer ALOM SHAHA Science teacher, author DR EMMA DAVIES Chemistry expert, science writer PROF ALICE GREGORY Psychologist, sleep scientist LUIS VILLAZON Science/tech writer DR HILARY GUITE Former GP, science writer JULES HOWARD Zoologist, science writer CHARLOTTE CORNEY Zoo director, conservationist PROF ROBERT MATTHEWS Physicist, science writer…

According to this saying, the order that you consume your alcoholic drinks matters (the complete phrase is: ‘beer before wine and you’ll feel fine; wine before beer and you’ll feel queer’). But every hangover has the same culprit: alcohol. Alcohol is thought to cause hangovers in two main ways. First, it diverts water from your bloodstream to your bladder. Over the course of a night out, you’ll lose more fluid than you drink, often resulting in a dehydration headache the next day. Second, a chemical called acetaldehyde is one of the intermediate products of alcohol digestion in the liver. This is even more toxic than alcohol itself, so you feel rough until it has been metabolised into safer compounds. The total amount of alcohol you drink will have a much…

1. Christmas trees were introduced to Britain by King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, in 1800, but they didn’t become fashionable until Queen Victoria’s reign. Today, 60 million are grown in Europe each year. 2. Electric fairy lights became a popular way to decorate Christmas trees from around the 1930s onwards. Before then, small candles were often used – a health and safety nightmare! 3. The Chemical History Of A Candle was the title of Michael Faraday’s 1848 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. Faraday initiated these lectures in 1825, and delivered 19 of them in total – more than anyone else. 4. Faraday’s immense contributions to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry led to his commemoration by the Bank of England, who pictured him on their £20 note issued between 1991…

THE WEIL CONJECTURES KAREN OLSSON £14.99, BLOOMSBURY André and Simone Weil were brother and sister. One a renowned mathematician known for contributions to algebraic geometry and number theory, the other a famous philosopher and political activist. Maths and philosophy become entangled in this fascinating memoir of the two 20th-Century figures. SOMETHING DEEPLY HIDDEN SEAN CARROLL £20, ONEWORLD From physicist Sean Carroll comes a history of quantum discoveries, and a guide to a subject that has baffled and blinded with its potential. Tackling huge questions, myths and conundrums about our Universe is no easy task, but Carroll does so elegantly. STILLICIDE CYNAN JONES £12, GRANTA Set in the near future, this fiction book tells the story of a Britain caught between floods and droughts, where water is a commodity to be…

For answers, visit bit.ly/SciFoCrackers ONLY CONNECT: THE DIFFICULT SECOND QUIZ BOOK JACK WALEY-COHEN AND DAVID MCGAUGHEY £14.99, BBC BOOKS The toughest quiz on television is now in your hands. Can you find the link between seemingly unconnected dates? Will you be stumped by a sequence of letters? It’s time to find out. These moons have had their vowels removed. Can you work out what their names are? PHBS KTHMN RP SNMYNGMN CONUNDRUM BRIAN CLEGG £8.99, ICON BOOKS For master codebreakers and less experienced puzzlers alike, Brian Clegg’s book has something for everyone. Themed chapters including chemistry, maths and literature will help you dish out a puzzle along with some figgy pudding. Decipher this message to find a one-letter answer: Einstein’s Finest nd2 wm2 cs2 zp2 br2 pf2 tj2 mc2 br2 br2 mc2 zp2 wm2 nd2 iy2 tj2 xn2 pf2 iy2 jz2 mc2 br2 SO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT PROBLEMS? ALEX BELLOS…

BEST BOOKS BY ALICE O’KEEFFE ALICE IS THE BOOKS EDITOR FOR THE BOOKSELLER. IN PRINT SINCE 1858, THE BOOKSELLER IS THE BOOK INDUSTRY’S TRUSTED SOURCE OF ALL THINGS BUSINESS AND PUBLISHING This has been a wonderful decade for readers, as scientists, academics and medics published enthralling non-fiction for lay readers, and topped the bestseller charts in the process. SAPIENS: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMANKIND YUVAL NOAH HARARI £10.99, HARVILL SECKER, 2014 Covering 100,000 years in fewer than 500 pages, this fuses history, biology, anthropology, philosophy, psychology and more in a fascinating account of the rise of Homo sapiens. THIS IS GOING TO HURT: SECRET DIARIES OF A JUNIOR DOCTOR ADAM KAY £8.99, PICADOR, 2017 The first in a slew of ‘medical memoirs’ about what it’s really like working on the…