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Issue 202

Kidney clean-up

© Alamy Inside our kidneys, there are hundreds

Building the body of Christ

© Getty In Encantado, Brazil, stands the world’s

Teddy bear fight

© Shutterstock It’s difficult to believe that these

Peering behind the veil

© ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Sankrit Drifting in

3.47-billion-year-old meteorite crater discovered in Australia

PLANET EARTH

New cells discovered in the eye could help restore vision

Two retinal stem cells were located in the

SCIENTISTS HAVE REALISED THAT A ‘VIKING’ SHIPWRECK IS SOMETHING ELSE

A 15th-century shipwreck off the coast of Sweden

The Extremely Large Telescope could detect signs of alien life

SPACE

CHINA’S NEW BATTERY CHARGER IS TWICE AS FAST AS TESLA’S

A Chinese automaker has developed a battery that

Giant blobs deep inside Earth are ‘evolving by themselves’

Two enormous blobs deep inside Earth appear to

HUBBLE SHOWS A SPARKLING STELLAR NURSERY

A stellar nursery appears reminiscent of the early

The ocean’s ‘heart’ may be slowing down

PLANET EARTH

Iguanas sailed 5,000 miles on rafts 34 million years ago

Around 34 million years ago, iguanas undertook the

Scientists break down plastic waste using air

PLANET EARTH

Genius ape who could understand English and play Minecraft dies

Kanzi at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa

A ROAD-LEGAL FLYING CAR IS CLOSE TO TAKING TO THE SKIES

A new kind of road-legal flying car is

Is it true that all pandas belong to China?

Amazing answers to your curious questions

Do grey tree frogs actually live in trees?

Grey tree frogs – including the Cope’s grey tree frog – do frequent trees and may live far from ponds and lakes. These amphibians are camouflaged to look like lichen-covered bark and blend really well with arboreal surroundings. There are several reasons tree frogs branched out from their terrestrial ancestors, such as fewer competitors for insect prey and perhaps fewer predators – larger frogs and several snakes are known to eat small frogs. Unlike many tropical species, grey tree frogs return to the ground each spring to lay eggs in ponds and ditches, and they’re far easier to find and catch at this time.

What caused the ice ages?

It’s likely that a combination of changes to atmospheric composition, Earth’s orbit and ocean currents are responsible for these periods of low temperatures. Many experts link the onset of ice ages to falling levels of greenhouse gases. Variations in Earth’s orbit around the Sun also play a role, controlling how much solar energy the planet receives and affecting temperatures. Finally, the shifting of tectonic plates has a knock-on effect on ocean and wind currents, which have an important influence on our planet’s climate.

THE LIBRARY

The latest book releases for curious minds

MAKE A WATER FILTER

HOW TO…Practical projects to try at home

INBOX Speak your mind

COMPOSTING QUERY Dear HIW , I want to

SIGHT AND SCREEN TIME

Digital eye strain doesn’t usually cause long-term damage

ELECTRIC DILEMMA

I’ve recently bought an electric car as I

SAVING THE STARS

Today, 150 fewer stars can be seen by

PLASTIC PLATE

Apples and carrots can contain over 100,000 microplastics

FAST FACTS

Amazing trivia that will blow your mind

MONSTERS OF THE DEEP

Dive deep below the ocean’s surface to discover razor-mouth viperfish, animaleating sponges and other fearsome and fascinating creatures that lurk in the midnight depths

ENTERING THE ESCA

How this anglerfish organ is turned into a beacon that lures prey like moths to a flame

ALL FOR ONE AND

ONE FOR ALL Meet the members of a siphonophore’s family

10 AMAZING EARTH FACTS

From its active core to its explosive surface, scientists have made incredible discoveries about the past, present and future of the rock we call home

HOW COAL IS MINED

Extracting the fossilised remains of prehistoric animals can be a dangerous business – for people and the environment

DIVE INTO THE WORLD’S DEEPEST POOL

The Blue Abyss pool will train scientists and astronauts for subsea and space environments

HOW ARE TV MASTS CONSTRUCTED?

These tall and spindly structures send signals to connect you to daily digital communications

HOME GADGETS EXPLAINED

We often take the technology that keeps our homes running for granted, but here’s how they actually work

HOW TO DIG FOR TREASURE

There’s a lot more to a detectorist’s hobby than picking up a metal detector and sweeping a field. Here’s how to responsibly prepare for a fun day out, detecting techniques and, perhaps most importantly, the law

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

1 Metal detector You don’t need to

HOW A METAL DETECTOR WORKS

Get to know about this vital piece of equipment before you start

DETECTING TECHNIQUES

There are two basic metal-detecting methods you should employ to maximise your chances of finding something

THE LAW

Is treasure hunting permitted in your country?

WHAT IS TREASURE?

There’s a legal definition of ‘treasure’ in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that was established under the 1996 Treasure Act. Essentially, any gold or silver item that is at least 300 years old, any group of ten or more base (non-precious) metal coins that are at least 300 years old, a group of two or more prehistoric base metal items or anything found with a treasure object, should be considered treasure. A similar but broader law exists in Scotland.

THE SENIOR TREASURE REGISTRAR AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Ian Richardson and his team are responsible for acquiring and assessing thousands of treasure items found across Britain

PET MUMMIES UNWRAPPED

It’s not just people who were mummified in ancient Egypt – animals were too. But why was this done?

DR KRISTINA KILLGROVE

Anthropologist and science writer

NEW MUMMIES IN THE MAKING

A dead sparrowhawk is covered with resin and

SEEKING OIL AT SEA

This prospecting vessel sails while using sound to track down precious underwater resources

HOW FIREFIGHTING AEROPLANES WORK

Aerial firefighters are essential machines used to cover and contain rapid-spreading wildfires

NATURE’S MOST TOXIC ROCKS

Why these sparkling crystalline minerals are among the most hazardous rocks in nature

HOW WINE IS MADE

From grape to glass, the ancient process of making one of the world’s most popular beverages

WHAT IS JAUNDICE?

This condition, common in newborns, can turn skin and eyes a shade of yellow

BLOOD CELL BREAKDOWN

How bilirubin hops around the body’s organs before it eventually finds its way into a toilet

DEADLY ASTEROID CLOSE CALLS

Asteroid 2024 YR4 may not be the serious threat it was once thought to be, but scientists are still concerned about the possibility of future asteroid collisions

WHAT’S THE RISK?

Asteroid threat assessment is the process astronomers use to decide how dangerous a newly discovered asteroid is

NEO SURVEYOR

Artist’s impression of the NEO Surveyor spacecraft in

OBSERVING ASTEROID 2024 YR4

Earlier this year, astronomer Olivier Hainaut gave his thoughts on this potentially high-risk asteroid

5 DANGEROUS SPACE ROCKS

It’s not likely, but one of these may hit Earth

SPACE RADIATION

Space is full of lethal energies we’re not exposed to on Earth. How can astronauts protect themselves?

PARTICLE

PATHS How dangerous radiation is deflected around Earth

IS OUR UNIVERSE THE ONLY ONE?

Might our universe – as vast as it is – be simply one of many? We look at the growing evidence that there’s more than one cosmos out there

FIVE IMPLICATIONS OF THE MULTIVERSE

An infinite sea of universes would have some very odd features

Q&A: PROFESSOR ALEXANDER VILENKIN

Director of the Institute of Cosmology at Tufts University, Massachusetts