BRAIN GYM

WELCOME

The magazine that feeds minds!

MEET THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS…

Andy Extance Andy is a freelance science writer

BUTTERFLY SKIN

© Getty The emerald swallowtail (Papilio palinurus) is

BLACK HOLE POWER

© NASA, ESA, S. Baum and C. O’Dea

FALLING FROM SPACE

On 23 April 2021, the burner from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket hurtled back towards Earth. The Falcon 9 was carrying the SpaceX Crew-2 mission astronauts – Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet – to the International Space Station (ISS), the second crew SpaceX has launched. The crew were carried in the Endeavour capsule, the same capsule that was used in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon debut in 2020. The launch took place at Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Not long after blastoff, the now-empty fuel burner used to propel the rocket into space fell back to Earth in this fiery spectacle

FLYING THROUGH WATER

© Getty These birds are typically found along

Monster eels can swallow prey on land

GLOBAL EYE Showcasing the incredible world we

Jupiter’s largest moon is revealed in detail

An image of Ganymede obtained by Juno’s 7

Earth’s core is growing ‘lopsided’

There’s a mystery brewing at the centre of

Gold miners discover three woolly mammoths

An artist’s illustration of a woolly mammoth, which

Universe’s largest spinning structures found

Tendrils of galaxies up to hundreds of millions

Chromosomes have extra mystery mass

Using one of the UK’s most powerful X-ray

Satellites may have underestimated global warming

A map of tropical water vapour from NASA.

Mysterious protein changes the shape of human DNA

The differences between human and mosquito DNA aren’t

Electrons ‘surf’ across space to create the northern lights

It’s been discovered that electrons descend from space

Astronomers map 100,000 star nurseries

NGC 4535, a barred spiral galaxy, was included

Two flu virus variants go extinct

Protective measures against COVID-19 may have also eradicated

7,000-yearold letter seal found in Israel

Archaeologists have found Israel’s oldest known seal impression,

WISHLIST

The latest BBQ and grill gadgets

Can you get cramps in your heart muscles?

BRAIN DUMP Because enquiring minds need to know…

Why did America test so many nuclear bombs?

A beautiful but deadly mushroom cloud towering above

Do birds have knees?

Humans have mostly the same bones as many

Why do badgers have black and white faces?

© Getty ■There are two theories about badgers’

When will we stop using physical money?

© Getty DID YOU KNOW? The first US

Why is the desert in Australia so red?

BRAIN DUMP The Simpson Desert in South Australia’s

Why has no one made strong alcoholic ice cream?

© Getty ■It’s because the alcohol in drinks,

Do all animals have hearts?

© Getty ■Jellyfish and corals don’t have hearts

Does starlight still hit Earth during the day?

© Alamy Yes, the stars are just as

Can batteries discharge themselves over time without being put in a device?

■ Yes, it’s called self-discharge. Lithium-ion batteries lose

Why do muscles go soft if they ’re not exercised for a while?

Bodybuilders have to train hard and frequently or

Why does Britain’s queen have two birthdays? Chloe Brandon

■ She enjoys her actual birthday on 21

Do ‘immortal’ jellyfish really live forever?

BRAIN DUMP DID YOU KNOW? Immortal jellyfish can

When were supermarkets invented?

King Kullen supermarkets are still ‘piling it high

Why doesn’t injecting deadly Botox for beauty treatment harm the patient?

© Alamy ■ Botulinum toxin kills by paralysing

Why did the Victorians make penny-farthing bikes with a ridiculously huge wheel?

© Alamy ■ Two features of modern bicycles

What space junk has been left on the Moon?

DID YOU KNOW? Avocados are extremely calorific, but

What makes high- GI foods more quickly digested and absorbed?

Food contains sugar in simple glucose form and

Fourteen Wolves

The latest releases for curious minds

The Atlas of a Changing Climate

OUR EVOLVING PLANET VISUALISED WITH MORE THAN 100 MAPS, CHARTS AND INFOGRAPHICS

The Book of Amazing Trees

FROM THE BEAUTIFUL BEECH TO THE REGAL REDWOOD

The Hunt for Mount Everest

RELIVING THE 71-YEAR QUEST

The Secret Life of Viruses

INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FACTS ABOUT GERMS, VACCINES AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO STAY HEALTHY

Make a balloon-powered car

Watch as the air from your lungs propels your vehicle across the room

Football facts

Speak your mind…

Luggage limits

Weight limits for takeoff vary based on a

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Get in touch If you have any questions

The lost walrus

Wally is believed to be a relatively young

Animal individuals

■ Hi HIW, Most people can recognise each

APPS & TOOLS

HowToBBQRight ■ Developer: HowToBBQRight ■ Price:

Inside 10 Downing Street

Take a tour of the UK prime minister’s official abode

Dian Fossey

This primatologist lived and died to protect mountain gorillas

INCREDIBLE OLYMPICS

DISCOVER THE HISTORY, ATHLETICISM AND TECHNOLOGY THAT HAS CREATED THE BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD

Tokyo 2020

AFTER A YEAR’S DELAY, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE LATEST SUMMER OLYMPICS?

Tokyo 2020 Robot Project

MEET THE MACHINES THAT ARE GIVING THIS YEARS’ OLYMPICS AN UPGRADE

Q&A

Giarnni Regini-Moran

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in numbers

ANIMAL OLYMPIANS

Animals aren’t eligible to compete in the Tokyo Olympics, but could easily earn the top spot on the podium without a day of training

Burly bodybuilders

HARPY EAGLE EIGHT KILOGRAMS Considered the world’s most

AQUATIC EVENTS

The animals of the ocean outstrip humans for every record imaginable

Why crabs are vital

These crustaceans are really fascinating, and have an important job in the ocean

Earth’s underground water stores

How water becomes trapped below ground, forming aquifers

THE HIDDEN UNIVERSE

DARK MATTER AND DARK ENERGY MAKE UP 95 PER CENT OF THE UNIVERSE, YET WE CAN’T SEE THEM. WHAT IS THIS STRANGE STUFF?

Giant Magellan Telescope

This new ground-based observatory will be ten times as powerful as Hubble

THE RAIL REVOLUTION

DISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE TRAIN TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY, AND SEE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

A DIESEL-ELECTRIC VEHICLE

UNCOVER THE MACHINERY PROPELLING YOUR TRAIN JOURNEY FORWARD

TRACK FOR THE FUTURE

WHAT MIGHT RAILWAY STATIONS LOOK LIKE BASED ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES?

What’s inside a car seat?

More than just a place to park your bum, car seat technology improves a driver’s comfort and safety

ANATOMY OF A ROCK CONCERT

Explore the advanced sound technology and special effects that keep live music audiences wanting more

WELCOME TO THE STAGE

Take a tour of some of the technology enhancing live gigs

How a fan oven works

How do these electronic devices cook food evenly?

FLOATING RESEARCH LABORATORIES

THESE GROUNDBREAKING OCEAN-GOING VESSELS WERE DESIGNED TO UNCOVER THE MYSTERIES OF THE DEEP

HOW WE LEARN

Forget artificial intelligence ,the human brainis theoriginal neural network

Human, machine and evolutionary learning

Dr Richard Watson is an associate professor at the University of Southampton. He works at the interface between computer science and theoretical evolutionary biology