WELCOME

© Alamy “The spill directly affected 70,000 square

MEET THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS

JAMES HORTON James has a PhD in evolutionary

AR ZONE

Bring the pages to life

Global eye

An ant up close © Getty This is

WISH LIST

The latest tech for FITNESS

2 eBooks FOR EVERY READER!

Grab yourself two fascinating, fact-packed How It Works specials for your digital device. Simply use the links below or scan the QR code to download

BRAINDUMP

Amazing answers to your curious questions

THE LIBRARY

The latest book releases for curious minds

MAKE A STALACTITE

Follow these simple steps to emulate the mineral pillars seen in caves

INBOX

Speak your mind

Probe ‘touches’ the Sun for the first time

Artist’s concept of the Parker Solar Probe approaching

COMET LEONARD’S METEOR SHOWER ON VENUS

Comet Leonard, which was discovered in January 2021

Super-carnivorous ichthyosaur discovered

Y ou wouldn’t want to meet an ichthyosaur

Octopuses, squids and lobsters could be classed as ‘sentient beings’

Octopuses are one of several marine invertebrates to

HOTTEST EVER ARCTIC TEMPERATURE RECORDED

Siberian wildfires have been growing in intensity, with

Water’s freezing point just got lower

Scientists just broke the record for water’s freezing

MUTANT BACTERIA LOOK LIKE VAN GOGH’S STARRY NIGHT

A strain that adheres to itself (yellow) and

Newfound millipede breaks a world record

A newfound species of millipede has more legs

Epic sea level rise drove Vikings out of Greenland

Ruins of a church in Hvalsey, a Norse

Toxic cane toads invade Taiwan

More than 200 cane toads have been captured

NASA plans a lunar nuclear power plant

Illustration of a permanent lunar base by the

US NUCLEAR SUBMARINE COLLIDES WITH UNDERWATER MOUNTAIN

Submariners standing on top of the USS Connecticut

DISASTER CLEANUP

From nuclear explosions to oil spills, we explain how some of the most harmful human-made catastrophes in history happened

EARTH’S DEFORESTATION PROBLEM

Why the removal of forests in just a handful of places around the world is a serious issue

HOW STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES FORM

There’s some complex chemistry behind the spikes that decorate cave ceilings and floors

HOW TO EAT POISONOUS PLANTS

Here’s how toxic compounds are removed from some of our foods

HOW RADAR WORKS

Why radio waves enable us to see objects far beyond our human senses

THE QUANTUM GENERATION

Henry White, sensing technologist at BAE Systems, talks about how quantum radar takes detection to a whole new level

INSIDE AN ENERGY-SAVING LIGHT BULB

The light bulb changed how we live, work and play. But with the race on to save the planet, new energy-efficient alternatives have come to the forefront

3D PRINTING WITH METAL

How 3D printers can materialise sturdy rocket parts and more in metal

DEEP-SEA DIVERS

These machines explore the greatest depths of our planet

10 AMAZING EXOPLANETS

Astronomers continue to find planets orbiting other stars – here are the most intriguing recent discoveries

INSIDE THE BLUE MOON LANDER

This lunar spacecraft is being developed for a future human colony on the Moon

CAN WE CONTROL THE WEATHER?

How existing and future technologies could help humans manipulate the climate

WHY WE GET ADDICTED

How our brains can be tricked into wanting more and more

HOW HUMANS LEARNED TO FLY

Discover the evolution of human aviation, from our first forays into flight to the jets and rockets of today

ARISTOTLE

How a Greek philosopher became known as the first ‘real’ scientist