WELCOME

Issue 175 “Your immune system saves your life

Underwater pests

These aquatic parasites weave themselves into the bodies

Martian crater deposits

In the northern hemisphere of Mars is Arabia

Southern sea lions

A colony of South American sea lions (Otaria

Inside a dwarf galaxy

The James Webb Space Telescope has peered into

Earth’s mantle has a gooey layer

Showcasing the incredible world we live in

HUBBLE SPOTS GALAXIES ABOUT TO COLLIDE

Three galaxies in the constellation of Boötes imaged

The first UK child to receive gene therapy for a fatal disorder is ‘happy and healthy’

A 19-month-old girl named Teddi recently became the

Earth-sized exoplanet spotted just 72 light years away

An artist’s rendering of HD 219134 b, another

16-METRE-LONG BOOK OF THE DEAD PAPYRUS IS DISCOVERED

An illustration from the Papyrus of Ani, which

The world’s deadliest mushroom conquered California with a clone army

The death cap mushroom is a small, green-tinged

NASA SPIES A ‘TEDDY BEAR’ IN MARTIAN ROCKS

A cracked hillside on Mars looks just like

Invading queen bees are taken down by rival workers

A new study has shown that free-roaming queen

Scans of the ‘golden boy’ mummy reveal 49 hidden amulets

A series of images from the study, including

AI is deciphering a 2,000-year-old text

Alexander the Great, pictured here in a mosaic

Fatal ‘brain-eating’ amoeba successfully treated

A drug for urinary tract infections may also

EUROPE’S JUPITER EXPLORER ARRIVES AT THE SPACEPORT

The ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft

WISH LIST

Thelatesttechfor THEOUTDOORS

Does it ever snow in Antarctica?

Antarctica has an amazing climate. The coldest temperature

WHY AREN’T FEET MEASURED IN CENTIMETRES OR INCHES?

Feet, like any other part of our body,

WHY AREN’T BUTTERFLIES BORN AS BUTTERFLIES?

Nature has given butterflies the best adaptations not

WHAT IS A SHORT CIRCUIT?

People usually say ‘short circuit’ to mean any

Are Komodo dragons venomous?

© Getty Did you know? Komodo dragons grow

HOW DO FLOWERS PRODUCE A SCENT, AND WHAT’S IT MADE OF?

Flowers produce scents via specialised glands located in

WHY IS BLUE-GREEN ALGAE DANGEROUS?

Blue-green algae can be dangerous when they produce

How long were sabretoothed tigers’ teeth?

Sabre-toothed tigers were actually sabre-toothed cats, or Smilodon,

WHY DO RATS HAVE SUCH BAD TEETH?

Rats do not necessarily have bad teeth. However,

WHY DOES EARTH HAVE AIR?

Earth has a key ingredient for life: water.

What was the Parthenon in Athens used for?

The Parthenon is the name given to the

WHAT IS DANDRUFF?

Dandruff is when dead skin cells fall off

What’s the biggest shark, and is it the most dangerous?

The biggest shark in the world, reaching lengths

WHAT IS THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE PETRA?

Petra is the name of the ancient city

WHAT IS CHAOS THEORY?

Chaos theory is a mathematical way to study

How do stalactites form?

Stalactites form by deposition of various minerals held

DID LADY GODIVA RIDE NAKED THROUGH THE STREETS OF COVENTRY?

© Getty Ben Ashford Despite being entrenched in

THE INDESTRUCTIBLE TOM CREAN

THE TALE OF AN UNSUNG HERO’S ADVENTURES AT THE SOUTH POLE

THIRTY TRILLION CELLS

HOW YOUR BODY REALLY WORKS

NURSERY EARTH

THE LIVES OF BABY ANIMALS AND THE WAYS THEY SHAPE OUR WORLD

HUMAN 2.0

A CELEBRATION OF HUMAN BIONICS

MAKE A BEE HOTEL

With these materials, you can help solitary bees find a place to call home

EXPANDING UNIVERSE

Dear HIW, I know that the universe is constantly expanding, but I don’t understand how this works. Can you explain?

SPY BALLOON SAGA

Dear HIW, I’ve been following the Chinese spy balloon saga and wonder about how these balloons operate?

EXPERIMENT SUCCESS

Dear HIW, We tried the self-inflating balloon experiment. Please find attached the picture of the balloon.

EXPANDING MUSCLES

Dear HIW, When I do workouts, sometimes I find that my muscles go bigger for a few hours after working out, then go back to normal. Why does this happen, or is it in my head?

PRIME IMPORTANCE

Dear HIW, I don’t like learning about prime numbers at school. Why do we need to know them and are they important outside of school?

WE ASKED YOU

This month on social media, we asked you: If you could design the next spacesuit, what cool feature would you be sure to include?

YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM EXPLAINED

Meet the cells and organs that make up your immune system. Discover how it keeps deadly invaders at bay and what happens when it gets out of control

DAMAGED NERVES

ES An illustration of immune cells attacking a

IMMUNITY MYTHS

Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist and a professor of biomedical sciences and public engagement at the university of Manchester, separates immunity facts from fiction

SPACESUIT SCIENCE

How spacesuit technology has protected astronauts for decades

LAYER BY LAYER

How they support an astronaut’s life

HITCH A RIDE ON LAUNCHERONE

How does Virgin Orbit’s rocket launch multiple satellites into space without a launchpad?

MEGA PORTS

Almost everything you consume in your daily life comes through one of these complex facilities

PORT TECHNOLOGIES

Discover the heavy-lifting, cargo-cradling machines that make port processes more efficient

HOW ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES WORK

Discover the power sources of the world’s all-electric vehicles

EARLY EVS

An example of an early electric vehicle, created

NEXT GENERATION

A solid-state battery with solid electrolyte (white spheres)

POINTLESS BODY PARTS

Discover the anatomical echoes of our evolutionary journey to the modern day

VESTIGIAL KINGDOM

Plants and animals that have clung onto some of their ancestral anatomy

WHY STOMACHS RUMBLE

What’s your gut trying to tell you with its growling and grumbling?

INSIDE THE BOMB FACTORY

We take a tour of a world-leading munitions factory to find out how bombs and bullets are made

PRODUCTION

Did you know? BAE produces a million small

HEAVY-METAL ENGINEER

Martin Coats is a graduate engineer at BAE. Here’s how he got his start

HOW WIND FARMS WORK

This technology uses turbines to convert great gusts into electricity

THE BUZ Z ABOUT BEES

Why different species of this pollinating insect are crucial in keeping our planet healthy

THE WORLD’S AGRICULTURAL POLLINATORS

Bumblebees have relatively bulky round bodies compared to

HIVES AND HOMES

From solitary bees to crowded colonies, here are the locations bees call home

THE SCIENCE OF SINKHOLES

Why holes sometimes open up in the ground and swallow the land above

WHAT IS FROGSPAWN?

Discover the origins of your favourite garden amphibians

VIKING RAIDERS

Portrayed as bloodthirsty pirates pillaging innocent villagers, Vikings also ruled the waves with a lucrative trade network

VIKING VOYAGES

The Vikings were able to voyage further and wider than any civilisation before

RAIDS

No monastery was safe from the fiery scourge that swept over the land from beyond the sea

TRADE

Vikings were powered by a complex and prosperous trade network