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Our immune system weakens naturally with age, leaving older people more vulnerable to infections and cancer

JO ELPHICK

ANDY EXTANCE

ANDREW MAY

© Alamy

AMY GRISDALE

SCIENCE

Can you boost your immune system?

■ Con Bruce n There are lots of ways to strengthen your immune response that are supported by science. Eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables and maintaining a healthy weight are vitally important to the immune system. Get enough sleep and exercise regularly.

Don’t smoke and keep your alcohol intake at a minimum. There are countless products available

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that claim to be immune boosters. We’re still in the dark about which specific microbes are most helpful and how many of each we should have. The body already makes more immune cells than it can use.

Medication designed to increase cell production may not be helpful in the long run, as excess cells simply self-destruct after a short time. AG

DID YOU KNOW?

Europa may contain more liquid water than all of Earth’s oceans

How It Works magazine

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An AS350 Squirrel, similar to the one Delsalle flew to make his record-breaking flight

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TRANSPORT

Why can’t helicopters fly up Everest?

■ Xie Wen n The forward flight of a helicopter is generally limited by the engine’s ability to breathe the thinner air at high altitude. A helicopter with a powerful turbine engine might be able to reach around 7,500 metres altitude, which is nearly the top of Everest. But the maximum height at which it can hover – vital in mountain rescue missions – is much lower, around 4,000 metres, which is far below Everest Base Camp. In 2005, helicopter test pilot Didier Delsalle was able to land a Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel on the 8,848-metre summit of Everest by stripping unnecessary weight out of the aircraft and taking advantage of powerful updrafts. BB