WELCOME

Issue 199

Hellcat turned coral nursery

© Getty At the bottom of the Ferguson

The middle of a mouse

© Shutterstock This was taken using fluorescence microscopy

Butterfly bonanza

© Getty At the end of summer, monarch

Launching after lightning

© NASA In 1983, NASA launched the Space

Drastic Antarctic sea ice loss could fuel extreme weather

WORDS SKYLER WARE

The gut ‘remodels’ itself during pregnancy

The inner lining of the small intestine nearly

ANCIENT ‘LAND BRIDGE’ THAT CONNEC TED SIBERIA TO THE US WAS A BOG

The Bering land bridge that spanned between Siberia

270-million-year-old predator looked like a bald dog

A gorgonopsian skull on display near Beaufort West

MARS ORBITERS SPOT A ‘WINTER WONDERLAND’

Did you know? Mars’ atmosphere is 100 times

This Earthlike planet may have a carbon dioxide atmosphere

TRAPPIST-1b is the innermost planet of a red

MEDIEVAL FIGURINES THAT HELD SAINTS’ BONES FOUND IN BERLIN

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 188 figurines

Henry the giant crocodile celebrates his 124th birthday

Henry (not pictured) is a Nile crocodile who

Baby brain activity changes dramatically before and after birth

New research has shown that neuronal activity in certain

The 44-year-old mystery of why Jupiter’s Io is so volcanic is solved

Io is the most volcanically active world in our

Dinosaur puke and poo help reveal how they dominated Earth

Fossilised dinosaur poo, also known as coprolite, can offer

ARMY GENERAL AND CHARIOT UNEARTHED AMONG CHINA’S TERRACOT TA WARRIORS

Only ten high-ranking officers have been discovered among

WISH LIST

FUNKY MUSIC GADGETS

BRAINDUMP

Amazing answers to your curious questions

THE LIBRARY

The latest book releases for curious minds

Spot the difference

See if you can find all six changes between the images below

GROW GUMMY BEARS

Will they double in size, shrink or disintegrate? Their allocated container decides their fate

INBOX

Speak your mind

WE ASKED YOU

WHY DO WE FORGET ?

As we navigate life, we collect masses of souvenirs in the form of memories. But we can’t keep all of these forever

WHA T IF YOU DIDN’ T FORGET ?

If your brain had an infinite memory, the organ would become inefficient and overstimulated

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU FORGET

1 HIGH STRESS When you’re stressed, a

MEMORY THROUGH THE YEARS

CHILDHOOD AMNESIA The average person can recall

THE RATE OF FORGETTING

In his ‘forgetting curve’, psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus showed that 80 per cent of learned content is lost within one month

MEMORY DAMAGE AND DISEASE

Dementia is an umbrella term for conditions of memory loss caused by neuron damage

HOW ANIMAL MEMORIES COMPARE

Animals can remember key survival information for a lifetime, but how long before they forget trivial events in their working memory?

INSIDE A SELF-DRIVING COMBAT VEHICLE

ATLAS is driverless, completely uncrewed and can navigate the battlefield a step ahead of troops

ROB MERRYWEATHER

BAE Systems’ technology director explains how ATLAS could transform the battlefield

HOW ESCALATORS WORK

Step into the science behind these moving staircases

WHY DO AEROPLANE TOILETS SUCK?

When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go – and thanks to toilet technology, this is possible in the air

HOW THIS SPONGE SYRINGE SEALS WOUNDS IN SECONDS

The pocket-sized device that could make a critical difference between life and death on the battlefield

WHY ARE PLANTS POISONOUS?

They look beautiful and emit alluring fragrances, but not all plants are as innocent as they appear – some produce a host of chemical compounds that are toxic to humans Oleander is a common evergreen shrub and is one of the world’s most poisonous plants

HOW ANIMALS SEE THE WORLD

Take a tour of the world through the eyes of animals that have a very different perspective

HOW EARTH EVOLVED

Our planet has never stood still over billions of years. Slowly, the continents are shifting under our feet, with oceans getting wider and mountains higher

AGE OF TERROR

How terror birds ditched flying for fast running speeds to become prolific prehistoric killing machines

THE REIGN OF TERROR ENDS

The seriema is a fraction of the size

THE LATEST TERROR BIRD DISCOVERY

Dr Siobhán Cooke, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University and a member of the research team that uncovered a potential new terror bird species, sheds some light on the discovery

HOW MOUNT RUSHMORE WAS BUILT

This colossal carving of four presidential faces into a stone cliff took over a decade to achieve

MICRO MACHINES

How the world’s smallest cars, trains, tanks and planes make a big impression

WHEELY SMALL BIKE

Honda’s Z100 was so popular that a consumer

CAR BRAKES EXPL AINED

This essential system helps drivers stop their cars, even at high speeds

ESA ASTRONAUT SAMANTHA CRISTOFORETTI

Emergencies, spacewalks and bossing it: the first female European commander of the ISS tells us what it’s like to be in charge of a space station

THE SCIENCE OF LOVE

Discover what makes humans and many other species fall ‘head over heels’

ANIMAL ATTRACTION

Other species have their own ways of showing how they feel about each other

WHAT IS RUST ?

Oxygen has a distinctive effect on exposed iron over time, corroding the metal

FIVE WAYS TO REBUILD OUR WORLD

You’re a member of a small community of survivors following a world-changing catastrophe. How can you apply hundreds of years of scientific knowledge to avert a new dark age?

HOW CHIMP CHAT WAS DECIPHERED

From leaf-nibbling to stamping, the finer points of ape gestures revealed

FAST FACT