FROM THE EDITOR

COVER: BEN GILES THIS PAGE: PAUL CARTER, MARK

EYE OPENER

An eye for detail

EYE OPENER

Usain Bot

EYE OPENER

Bowel in bloom

DON’T JUST READ THIS MAGAZINE… LISTEN TO IT TOO

Discover the podcast from the team behind BBC Science Focus, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music

People are using AI chatbots as psychotherapists. We asked an actual therapist if that’s a good idea

REVIEW

You’re probably not getting enough iron. Here’s what it could be doing to your body

ANALYSIS

The 0% drink that still gets you tipsy

TRIED AND TASTED

Buying a used electric vehicle is less risky than you think

With secondhand EV prices starting to fall, here’s what you need to know about their batteries if you’re considering buying one

EDITOR’S PICKS…

This month’s smartest tech

How can I reduce my cholesterol without statins?

You don’t need medication to improve cholesterol levels. A few simple dietary tweaks can make a serious difference

WHY DO WE FEEL EMOTIONS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF OUR BODIES?

ELISE VAUGHN, SHEFFIELD

ARE RECEIPTS REALLY COVERED IN CHEMICALS?

Some so-called ‘thermal’ till receipts contain bisphenols (including

WHAT DO MUMMIES SMELL LIKE?

Woody, spicy and sweet. That’s how the smells

THE BLUE DRAGON

Far from the shore, out in the vast

HOW DOES BACKGROUND RADIATION AFFECT PARTICLE DETECTORS?

On 16 July 1945, the world changed forever

WHAT IS THE EKPYROTIC UNIVERSE THEORY?

Ekpyrotic cosmology is an alternative theory to the

HOW MUCH DOES THE AVERAGE HUMAN BODY COST?

If we consider the individual elements, a typical

HOW TO SEE NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS

ALAMY ILLUSTRATIONS: DANIEL BRIGHT, PETE LAWRENCE IF PRESENT,

DO DOGS REALLY UNDERSTAND THE WORDS USED ON SOUNDBOARD BUTTONS?

Scour the internet and you’ll find many adorable

ARE NEGATIVE-CALORIE FOODS REAL?

ALAMY X2, JUAN CARLOS MUNOZ/ NATUREPL.COM ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL

HOW CAN I LOOK AFTER MY KNEES AS I GET OLDER?

Atrophy comes for pretty much every part of

DO THE TIDES OF DIFFERENT SEAS AFFECT EACH OTHER?

The Moon’s gravity causes all the seas and

CROSSWORD

PENCILS AT THE READY!

PLANET KILLERS

GETTY IMAGES The race is on to find

BRAIN FREEZE

How to use one of the body’s stress responses for better decision making

Scientists find vast ocean of liquid water on Mars

NEWS FROM THE FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE

The eight-hour sleep rule is outdated, says major study

It’s likely that there’s no ‘ideal’ number of sleeping hours for optimum health, experts now say – instead, it probably varies by country

Skeleton confirms that gladiators fought lions

Bite marks reveal the gruesome death of a gladiator

The surprising way your body fat sabotages intermittent fasting

A study in mice reveals that obesity could change how our bodies respond to periods of fasting

Massive star-forming cloud found strangely close to Earth

New methods detected a previously concealed megastructure in space

‘Zombie’ volcano might not be so dead after all

This sleeping giant has plenty going on beneath the surface. Should we be worried?

Deadly peanut allergies could be prevented with a simple new method

Adults with severe peanut allergies were trained to tolerate handfuls of peanuts in a new study

New ‘Bone Collector’ caterpillar wears the remains of its prey

The species has a grotesque fashion sense, to say the least

The dinosaur graveyard that’s rewriting prehistory

A fossil treasure trove in Alberta, Canada is changing how scientists understand the behaviour, biology and extinction of one of the Cretaceous period’s strangest herbivores

The main characters of Walking With Dinosaurs

BBC STUDIOS/LOLA POST PRODUCTION X5 1. Triceratops

NEW LEASH OF LIFE

Cutting-edge anti-ageing advances could extend your dog’s lifespan and help sniff out the secrets to human longevity too

LIFE AT THE WORLD’S END

Harsh conditions and extreme isolation aren’t the only threats facing scientists working in the Antarctic. They also have to worry about the potential danger they may pose to each other

THE CONFIDENCE TRICK

Neuroscience may have finally uncovered the secrets of self-belief. And they’re far more learnable than we thought

HOW TO GET MORE CONFIDENCE

What if you don’t have an Oscar at

ARE WE ALIENS?

Panspermia, the idea that life on Earth began elsewhere, among the stars, has long been controversial. But new results have brought it back into the limelight

INTO THE COSMIC VOID

There's a big, gaping hole in our understanding of the Universe. Some of the scientists diving into that void now think they might be able to explain why