Explore desert landscapes

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The magazine that feeds minds!

GROWING NERVE CELLS

This group of cells, known as multipotent human

EUROPA’S FROZEN SURFACE

Meet Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. It’s the gas

GLOWING MUSHROOMS

During the day these mushrooms are unimpressive, but

Brain-eating amoebae on the move

This photomicrograph reveals the tissue characteristics associated with

Alien hunters detect mystery signal

The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s

New fungi turns flies into zombies before eating them from the inside

Two newly discovered fungi species have a similarly

Air pressure makes Everest ‘shrink’

Fluctuating air pressures at Mount Everest’s summit can

An angel, devil and a heart appear on Mars

An angel-like province of red sediment has appeared

Arctic methane could be unlocked by the Moon

The Moon could be affecting how much methane

Scientists spot the farthest galaxy in the universe

The galaxy GN-z11, which scientists think could be

Tudor gold coin stash found in English garden

A family in England was weeding their garden

China gives global access to world’s largest radio telescope

This photo shows the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope

WISH LIST

The latest smartphone gadgets

BRAINDUMP

Because enquiring minds need to know…

If a vaccine is 95 per cent effective, what happens to the five per cent it doesn’t protect?

© Getty The efficacy of a vaccine like

Why do different herbs taste different?

© Getty Although all herbs come from

Is black a colour, scientifically?

© Getty Black can be created in paint

How is energy stored in normal batteries you can buy in the shops?

© Alamy A common battery, like the AAs

How do different coloured plants photosynthesise?

© Alamy Green-leafed plants are filled with a

BRAINDUMP

How does glassblowing work?

Why is atropine so deadly?

© Getty Atropine can be prescribed to manage

How many atoms are there in the universe?

DID YOU KNOW? Atropine is named after a

What is the s mallest thing ever seen?

The average-sized human is made up of around

Where was the first village settled?

Çatalhöyük’s first residents would have settled around 7400

What is the world’s most toxic plant?

Oleander flowers can be pink, red, orange, white

BOOK REVIEWS

The latest releases for curious minds

BRAIN GYM

GIVE YOUR BRAIN A PUZZLE WORKOUT

HOW TO…

Practical projects to try at home

INBOX

Speak your mind…

FAST FACTS

Amazing trivia to blow your mind 

HOW TO BUILD A WARS SHIP

The Royal Navy is updating its fleet: here’s how it builds its future-proofed, world-class combat vessels

SHIP-BUILDING SITES

Most of the Type 26’s exterior building work

BUILDING A BATTLESHIP

Building a frigate like the HMS Glasgow is a complex process

THE TYPE 31’S INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING

The Type 31 frigate shares its modular approach

ROYAL NAVY SHIPS THROUGH THE AGES

DIRECTOR FOR TYPE-26 FRIGATES

Rear Admiral Paul Marshall CBE, the senior officer responsible for delivering these latest warships, explains their role in the Royal Navy

LANDING A PLANE

Find out how pilots get tonnes of  metal down safely to the tarmac

The Humvee

The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) roars off the production line ready for action

Atomic icebreaker

Meet the latest nuclear-powered vessel to sail the frozen seas

BUSH MEDICINE

Aboriginal Australians are experts of the outback, utilising  life-saving remedies found in nature

Kangaroo apples

The taste of kangaroo apples has been compared

Quick tricks for first aid

© Getty 1 Muddy cuts You might think

A natural bandage

Growing either as a bush or treeclimbing vine,

Traditional Aboriginal healing

Complementing the Indigenous Australians’ traditional healing methods, some

Bush wattle benefits

Umbrella bush wattle can be found in all

What’s in a witchetty grub?

Per gram, witchetty grubs contain more protein than

USEFUL EUCALYPTS

If we take apart the gum trees of the bush, what comforting components can we find?

DISCOVER DESERTS

What might at first glance appear to be a barren wasteland is actually teeming with life and unique terrain

Earth’s make-up

Of the 30 per cent of Earth that is land, desert accounts for one-fifth of that terrain

Life at the extremes

Facing scorching days, freezing nights and little water, hot deserts are hard to survive, but lots of wildlife call them home

Sand dunes

Almost 99 per cent of Earth’s active dunes are in deserts, but how do they form?

ANTARCTICA’S MELTDOWN

Why Earth’s frozen continent is shedding so much ice

Keeping an eye on ice

An artist’s concept of ICESat-2 using a laser

Record-breaking temperatures

On 6 February 2020, the Esperanza Base weather

Deep-diving sperm whale

How does a mammal the size of a bus survive great depths?

HOW SPACE TECH BENEFITS EARTH

Discover some of the inve ntions made for space exploration that we now  use every day

Seeking the origins of life with Hayabusa2

This probe has returned home with asteroid samples that could unlock the secrets of the universe

Secrets of the SYNCHROTRON

Find out how the UK’s largest laboratory can accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light

How to stop a hurricane

Oceantherm CEO

Inside a blast furnace

The steel that shapes our modern cities starts from glowing metal made in these massive furnaces

How do stenographers type so quickly?

Phonetic word processors let them record court proceedings in real time

Cells: the body’s building blocks

Trillions of cells keep us alive, but what processes take place within these intricate systems?

How superconductors work so efficiently

Superconductors may seem like perfectly ordinary materials, but turn down the temperature and their superpowers are revealed

Superconductor evolution

How It Works takes a journey through the last century to see just how far superconductors have come

How our ANCESTORS MAPPED the world

What ancient depictions of the globe tell us about our ancestors’ beliefs

Mystery of the Nazca Lines

A lizard, llama and spider connected by a series of criss-crossing lines… whatever could it mean?

How the Nazca Lines were formed

Archaeologists have spent years trying to understand how the people of Nazca created the patterns

Why Stonehenge was built

What can this prehistoric stone circle tell us about Neolithic times?