FROM THE EDITOR

COVER: OLIVER HIRST THIS PAGE: BBC X2, GETTY

Big boys’ toys

TOKYO, JAPAN

Flight paths

EMPORDA, SPAIN

Ancient dust

JOHNSON SPACE CENTRE, HOUSTON

DISCOVERIES

The first images captured by the European Space

INTERACTIVE IMAGES COULD REVOLUTIONISE POLICE LINE-UPS AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS

TECHNOLOGY

ALIEN PLANET DEBRIS DISCOVERED DEEP UNDER EARTH’S CRUST

SPACE

SCIENTISTS FINALLY FIND WHERE A STARFISH KEEPS ITS HEAD

NATURE

STUDY REVEALS WHAT REALLY KILLED THE DINOSAURS

PALAEONTOLOGY

AUTONOMOUS DRONE COULD REVEAL ANTARCTICA’S SECRETS

GEOLOGY

2023 IN SCIENCE

Whether it’s unexpected discoveries or answers to questions we didn’t know were being asked, science news is always breaking. Here’s a selection of some our favourite stories from the fields of health, space, medicine and technology that made headlines over the last 12 months

KIDS ARE THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING OBESITY. BUT WE NEED MORE OF THEIR GENES

COMMENT

A DASH OF ‘QUANTUM WEIRDNESS’ ADDS AN INTRIGUING NEW ASPECT TO THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

COMMENT

THE UK’S COUNTRYSIDE IS IN TROUBLE… AND WE NEED TO DO MORE TO HELP IT

COMMENT

EMBRYO RESEARCH: WHY SCIENTISTS WANT MORE THAN 14 DAYS TO STUDY EARLY DEVELOPMENT

REVIEW

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION: HOW COOKING CAN DAMAGE YOUR DNA

ANALYSIS

SAD CLOWN PARADOX: WHY TEARS OFTEN LIE BEHIND THE LAUGHS

COMMENT

HOW TO CHRISTMAS SHOP LIKE A BILLIONAIRE

If we were all billionaires, Christmas would look very different. While we would love to buy our loved ones diamond chess sets and trips to the Moon, our sights are set on more modest gifts. But who says we can’t dream? So this year we’ve picked our favourite ‘money is no object’ gifts… and some more realistic alternatives

IS THERE ANY SCIENCE TO LOW-DOPAMINE MORNINGS?

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

WHY DOES MELTED CHEESE TASTE SO GOOD?

Humans are hardwired to enjoy eating fat. The

WHY ARE THERE 12 NOTES IN AN OCTAVE?

GETTY IMAGES X2 ILLUSTRATION: SEBASTIEN THIBAULT It’s a

CHRISTMAS TREE WORM

A game I like to play while scuba

SHOULD I BE DOING FACIAL YOGA?

Facial yoga has gained immense popularity in recent

WHAT IS DECISION PARALYSIS AND HOW DO I DEAL WITH IT?

If you’ve ever gone online to order something

IS IT TRUE THAT YOU’RE ALWAYS WITHIN 6 FEET OF A RAT?

This claim has been around for at least

IF AI IS MEANT TO BE SO INTELLIGENT, WHY CAN’T IT IDENTIFY A SET OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS?

It can. Artificial intelligence (AI) is so powerful

GEMINIDS

WHEN: MID – LATE DECEMBER

OUR LUNAR LEGACY

The Moon has always offered the promise of

Going back to the Moon

ARTEMIS AND A NEW DAWN OF LUNAR EXPLORATION

THE ARTEMIS MISSIONS

This NASA-led lunar exploration program includes six other space agencies as well as a number of private space-flight companies and will, over the next decade and beyond, seek to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon.

DEAR DOCTOR

WHY DO I LOVE SPICY FOOD, WHEN IT DOESN’T ALWAYS LOVE ME? WHAT CAN I DO?

HOW MANY BLACK HOLES ARE THERE IN THE MILKY WAY?

‘Stellar’ black holes form when massive stars collapse

WHAT IS A WANDERING STAR?

Wandering stars, also called ‘intergalactic stars’, ‘intracluster stars’

IF CONDITIONS ON EARTH CHANGED, IS IT POSSIBLE DINOSAURS COULD EVOLVE AGAIN? WOULD LIFE… FIND A WAY?

Dinosaurs are still with us, in the form

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

CAN YOU SMELL ANTS?

CROSSWORD

PENCILS AT THE READY!

SCIENCE IN 2024

The biggest stories expected to make headlines in the year ahead

SCROLL REVERSAL

BETTER LIVING THROUGH SCIENCE

FARM OF THE FUTURE

Join the BBC’s Planet Earth III film crew and go behind the scenes in the city farm that’s transforming fields into towers and running almost everything with robots

A BLUEPRINT FOR ANTI-AGEING

SCIENCE SAYS IT’S TIME TO RETHINK – AND TAKE CONTROL OF – OUR BODY'S AGE. HERE’S HOW TO SLOW, HALT AND POTENTIALLY TURN BACK YOUR BIOLOGICAL CLOCK

UNDER THE HOOD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

As the busiest year in the history of artificial intelligence (AI) comes to a close, Prof Mike Wooldridge prepares to deliver the Royal Institution’s first Christmas Lecture on the subject. Noa Leach sat down with him to get a preview of the demonstrations his talks will include and an insight into how he thinks AI is going to change the world for children

STRANGE RUMBLINGS

Earth-shattering seismic events can occur away from the fault lines between tectonic plates. And there’s no easy way to predict when or where they’ll hit