FROM THE EDITOR

COVER: SCOTT BALMER THIS PAGE: GETTY IMAGES X2,

Caught in the act

WEST BENGAL, INDIA

The Cosmic Tornado

What you see here is a Herbig-Haro (HH)

Quantum butterfly

NEW JERSEY, USA

FEEDBACK

LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR PUBLICATION

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

Using a smartphone may reduce your dementia risk

HEALTH AND TECH

7,000-year-old mummy DNA reveals a ‘ghost’ branch of humanity

ARCHAEOLOGY

Fossils reveal a whole new type of life

BIOLOGY

‘Hot’ Schrödinger’s cat makes quantum technologies possible

90 years on from the famous thought experiment’s conception, researchers have broken a crucial barrier in quantum physics

New method could finally destroy ‘forever chemicals’

HEALTH

Strange microscopic lightning kickstarted life on Earth

Tiny zaps of electricity may have provided the energy to form life

Study makes ‘baby amnesia’ even more mysterious

NEUROSCIENCE

NASA astronauts return to Earth after surprise space stay

SPACE

Happiness is… well, nobody’s really sure

COMMENT

Dark energy could be getting weaker

COMMENT

The ‘dark oxygen’ debate isn’t helping anyone

COMMENT

REALITY CHECK

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE HEADLINES

Crash protection, with added convenience

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR TOMORROW

5 of the Best Air Filters

Take a breath with devices that scrub pollen, pollution and other unwanted particles from your home

EDITOR’S PICKS…

This month’s smartest tech

Are fungi conscious?

New research on fungi suggests they could be demonstrating some form of intelligence, but not all experts are convinced

WILL SUSPENDED ANIMATION EVER EXIST?

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

DOES THE DEEP SEA HAVE SEASONS?

Below the top few hundred metres, the deep

CAN SEAGULLS REALLY GET DRUNK ON FLYING ANTS?

Seagulls feasting on swarms of flying ants have

THE FRILLED SHARK

NATURE’S WEIRDEST CREATURES

HOW HAS LIVING WITH A NARCISSIST AFFECTED ME?

Are you an empathic people-pleaser who prefers to

WHY DOES MARS HAVE SUCH A WEIRD SHAPE?

Mars may look like a sphere, but it’s

IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GIVING US FALSE MEMORIES?

You may have seen videos circulating online of

WHEN: LATE MAY/EARLY JUNE

HOW TO SEE AN OVERSIZED MOON

CAN TUMOURS GROW THEIR OWN ORGANS?

Though the idea might make you squirm, some

CAN YOU AVOID GETTING ‘OZEMPIC FACE’?

Although they were originally developed to treat diabetes,

HAVE WE EVER INTERCEPTED ANYTHING FROM ALIENS?

In 2019, a radio telescope in Australia detected

WHAT WOULD A FUSION ENERGY DISASTER LOOK LIKE?

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

CROSSWORD

PENCILS AT THE READY!

NEXT ISSUE

KEEP FIDO FEELING YOUNG

SWEAT AND BEERS

The latest in exercise science suggests that maybe you can run off a hangover

CSI: ISS

When it eventually happens, a murder

HOW TO BREAK THE YO-YO DIET CYCLE

Research suggests your fat cells have a memory, hence any weight you lose always seems to find its way back to your body. So why is it so hard to make your fat cells forget?

WRONG THING, WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME

Some of the first images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope included a group of unidentifiable objects in deep space. The objects were so unusual, they threatened to break our understanding of the cosmos. Now, astronomers think they might be getting to grips with what the objects could be

YOU ARE FEELING VERY… HEALTHY

Forget the swinging pocket watches, scientists are now praising hypnotherapy as a powerful tool to fight mental and physical pain. Count back from five and we’ll begin…