BBC Science Focus Magazine

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…

CONTRIBUTORS

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BBC Science Focus Magazine

DISCOVERIES

A single-dose cure for high cholesterol? Scientists show it may be possible • In a landmark trial, one shot of an experimental gene therapy slashed ‘bad’ cholesterol by up to 62 per cent

Key Stonehenge mystery may finally be solved • A glacier may have carried the site’s massive Altar Stone part of the way from Scotland

Earth’s early life was terrible at sex, say scientists • Animals only began to improve their sexual reproduction when they faced stress and competition

It’s time to rethink your five-a-day • We should be aiming to get enough of a specific micronutrient, say scientists

We’ve found a ‘Rosetta Stone’ that could decode deep-space signals • An unusual star system could be a ‘natural laboratory’ to study extreme physics

Part of Earth’s core has switched directions. And nobody really knows why • The event could be part of a natural cycle in iron flows that give Earth its protective magnetic field

Study reveals the reason T. rex grew such embarrassingly small arms • The dinosaur’s famously small limbs were a direct trade-off for another (very important) body part

We might finally know how the pyramids were built • New research challenging long-held assumptions about the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza suggests the answer may have been hiding inside the structure all along

A strange Antarctic creature could spark a skin cancer breakthrough • Sea squirts produce a bacterial toxin that kills melanoma cells

Weight-loss drugs might suppress more than just your appetite • GLP-1 medications insulate your brain from food noise to curb your urge to eat. Experts are finding they could also affect other more harmful impulses

Earth’s vast fungal networks are unravelling. Should we be worried? • This crucial, carbon-burying web is one of the biggest, oldest living things on this planet - and it’s under threat

How strength training can help you age better • You don’t need to be a gym bro to enjoy the benefits of strength training. But there are some things you need to know

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EDITOR’S PICKS… • This month’s smartest tech

OLDER WISER WEAKER? • New research is revealing how our immune system ages, as well as what we

CHOSTS OF THE DEEP • No human has ever seen a living adult colossal squid in its natural habitat. A group of intrepid scientists is looking to change that

COLOSSAL PROPORTIONS • The colossal squid is the heaviest invertebrate on the planet, weighing up to 500kg (1,100lbs) and measuring up to 7m (23ft) in length (including its tentacles). Its eyes alone are the size of watermelons. Here’s how it compares to other deep-sea denizens…

THE NEXT GENERATION OF WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS • We’re only just getting our heads round the power of weight-loss drugs, yet pharma companies are racing forward with their even more revolutionary successors

THE MOON BASE RACE • Humanity is rushing back to the Moon. This time, however, we’re planning on staying a while longer…

THE NOCEBO EFFECT • The ‘nocebo’ is the placebo...