CONTENTS

REGULARS

06 EYE OPENER

This month’s most striking scientific images.

12 CONVERSATION

Your le tt er s , emails and tweets… talk to us!

15 DISCOVERIES

All the month’s biggest science news stories. This month: how the body can slow down the ageing procce s s ; Omega-3 may help prevent blindne s s ; cr abs o ff er new hope f or cor a l ree f s ; how milk helped ancient Tibetans survive; the inaudible screams of tomato plants; NASA names it s next generation of Moon walkers; cartwheeling snakes caught on c amera .

28 PROF GILES YEO

The truth about fat and metabolic health.

30 DR KATE DARLING

Automation or fauxtomation? The real threat posed by AI.

48 SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Save 45% on the shop price when you take out a subscription to BBC Science Focus!

32 PROF STEPHON

ALEXANDER Is the Higgs boson about to rewrite physics again?

34 REALITY CHECK

The science behind the headlines. Tick bites are on the rise, so how worried should you be? Are aliens aware of our presence and could they be watching us? Will gene editing usher in a new era of genuine superfoods?

41 INNOVATIONS

The latest gadgets tried and tested. Plus: explore the ethics of consumer brain-scanning tech.

50 EXPLAINER

Anxiety: what causes it and what it does to you. Plus, a toolkit to help you deal with it.

81 Q & A

Our experts, your questions. This month: will interactive holograms ever become a realit y? Why do we love GIFs so much? Does yoga really decrease stress and anxiety? Why does it get harder to stand up as you get older? What is yerba mate and should I s t a r t dr ink ing i t ?

88 CROSSWORD

Engage your grey matter!

88 NEXT MONTH

A sneak peek at what’s inside the next issue.

90 POPCORN SCIENCE

Could mermaids ever exist?

4

15

DISCOVERIES

34

REALITY CHECK

If you could turn back the clock… Maybe you can, if a new study on ageing is anything to go by.

After the UK’s f irst confirmed case o f t ick-borne encephali t i s , how worried should we be about ticks?

75 Q&A