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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PROFESSOR NICK LEMOINE CBE MD PHD FMEDSCI, CHAIR OF THE MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION Gifts in Wills could be the key to protecting the future of human health Our experience of COVID-19 shows how suddenly a global health challenge can appear. As someone interested in science, you will understand that while nobody can predict what we will face next, we can be certain that the future will bring many more threats to human health. As Chair of the Medical Research Foundation – the charitable arm of the Medical Research Council – I have seen the incredible impact that individuals who remember the Foundation in their Wills can have on the future of our health and wellbeing here in the UK. These gifts fund research and researchers which can have far-reaching implications for human health. With a gift in your Will you can play a key role in providing the science that will protect the health of future generations. Right now, the Foundation is funding research to tackle antimicrobial resistance, and investing in researchers like Dr Myrsini Kaforou – who will make the fight against antimicrobial resistance her life’s work. Without support at the crucial early stages, researchers like Dr Kaforou can be forced to abandon their passion and leave science altogether, with an immeasurable loss to future human health. Gifts in Wills provide the long term funding and security that allows the Foundation to invest in projects like Dr Kaforou’s and lay the foundations for quality research in years to come. Your Will can fund the rational response to health challenges that medical science provides. “As scientists, our duty is to secure the future of research for the generations that follow.” Professor Fiona Watt, Patron of the Medical Research Foundation and Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization. While we don’t know what the future holds for human health in the UK, we do know that research, and the brilliant scientists driving that research forward, are the key “The funding I received through the Medical Research Foundation will be transformative for my research.” Dr Myrsini Kaforou to meeting those challenges for years to come. But many of these scientists rely on the generosity and foresight of fellow members of the medical community who understand the power of science and are willing to leave a gift to medical research in their Wills. At the Medical Research Foundation, over 90% of our voluntary income comes from individuals who choose to include a gift in their Will – they are crucial in the Foundation’s ability to fund research that will enable the next generation of scientists to make real world discoveries in the future. I firmly believe that a gift in your Will to the Medical Research Foundation is an excellent investment and will have a lasting impact on science and on the future of human health in the UK. Please consider this very special gift today. Professor Nick Lemoine CBE MD PhD FMedSci Chair of the Medical Research Foundation Get your free guide to supporting research in your Will. Scan this QR code to find out more To request your free guide to gifts in Wills fill in this form and return to Freepost, MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION. You don’t need a stamp OR visit medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/support-us/wills Name Address Email address Postcode We would like to contact you from time to time with our latest news. Please tick here if you are happy for us to contact you via email. The Medical Research Foundation does not share your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time. For further information on how we collect, store and process your personal data, please read our Privacy Notice medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/privacy Medical Research Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales (Reg. Charity No. 1138223). Please follow Government isolation and distancing guidelines if posting. 0523BSF 0222BSF
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FROM THE EDITOR Will interactive holograms ever become a realit y, like the holodeck on Star Tre k? �p81 CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTORS I G H T B R I E L , D A N X 3 I M A G E S : G E T T Y PA G E I S T H J A L A OI K O : E C O V E R Your brain is a tough nut to crack. Psychologists have been trying to understand what’s inside our heads for over a century (which actually isn’t very long, as science goes), and there are still gaping cavities at the roots of our models. We have a pretty good understanding of how each of our senses work – how we see, touch, feel, hear and smell – but not so much how we generate consciousness – our sense of being. We have some sound models of what happens when we try to remember something, but no definitive picture of how those memories are created, or encoded, in the first place. This, in the face of our understanding of the rest of the Universe – of black holes, of distant worlds, of our own genetic code and so on – seems a bit disappointing. It’s so disheartening in fact, that there’s even a school of thought that says we might never be able to fully understand the brain. There’s just too much navelgazing going on; in other words, our brains might be too limited to ever really understand how they do what they do. I’m mentioning all this, not because I’m having another existential crisis (I save those for the holidays) but because May is Mental Health Awareness month around the world. This inspired us to devote a whole issue’s worth of features to the subject. But as we debated which stories we could fit on our pages, it became clear just how much we still don’t understand about what happens when our minds – the product of our brains – get ill. That said, this issue has taught me one thing for sure: that we’re happier and healthier when we’re together (p58), which is nice. So in that spirit, we hope you enjoy the issue and find someone to share it with. Daniel Bennett, Editor WANT MORE? FOLLOW SCIENCEFOCUS ON FACEBOOK TWITTER PINTEREST INS TAGRAM ON THE BBC THIS MONTH... People Fixing the World: Making peace with nature Many of the planet ’s most violent conflic t s take place in i t s most v a luable natur a l wildernesses , but what happens once the f ighting stops? This series explores how nature and people c an recover a fter war. In this episode, the team v i s i t s a projec t in Columbia that trains former guerrilla f ighters to create ecotourism initiatives that protect biodiversit y. BBC World Ser v ice , 9 May, 3pm Also available on BBC Sounds Sliced Bread Sliced Bread re turns wi th a new ser ie s that cu t s through the adver t i s ing hype to f ind out whether the latest wonder products really do what they claim. First to go under the microscope this season, are anti-snoring devices and barefoot running shoes. BBC Radio 4, 11 May, 12:30pm Also available on BBC Sounds dScience: CrowdScience: Why am I so lazy? I f, like me, you think of li fe as a perpetual f ight against the joy o f iner t ia , then this episode o f CrowdScience i s f or you. The team uses a bit of science to e xpla in why a l i tt le la z ine s s is no bad thing. BBC World Service, 12 May, 8:30pm Also available on BBC Sounds PROF PETE ETCHELLS A prof e s sor o f ps ycholog y, Pete researches how screens, and in particular video games, a f f ec t childr en. We a sked him whether socia l media i s ruining childhood. ->p70 GINNY SMITH Neuroscience expert Ginny f inds ou t whether t he blueprints of teenagers’ br a ins c an predic t t heir likelihood of suf fering poor mental health. ->p74 PROF STEPHON ALEXANDER In his f i r s t column, Stephon investigates the idea that t he Hig g s boson may have been invol ved in t he bir t h of the Universe. ->p32 DR EMMA BECKETT Emma i s a f ood and nu t r i t ion s c ien t i s t at t he Uni ver s i t y o f Newca s t le , Aus t r a l i a . She e xplore s t he potent i a l f or gene-edi ted f ood to boos t our health. ->p38 CON TAC T US Advertising David.DSouza@ourmedia.co.uk 0117 300 8110 Le tt er s f or publication reply@sciencefocus.com Editorial enquiries editorialenquiries@sciencefocus.com 0117 300 8755 Subscriptions buysubscriptions.com/contactus 03330 162 113* Other contacts sciencefocus.com/contact *UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tariff). Outside of free call packages call charges from mobile phones will cost between 3p and 55p per minute. Lines are open Mon to Fri 9am-5pm. If calling from overseas, please call +44 1604 973721. BBCScience Focus (ISSN 0966-4270) (USPS 015-160) is published 14 times a year (monthly with a Summer issue in July and a New Year issue in December) by Our Media, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST. Distributed in the US by NPS Media Group, 2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 420, Shelton, CT 06484. Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, CT and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BBCScience Focus, PO Box 37495, Boone, IA 50037-0495. 3

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PROFESSOR NICK LEMOINE CBE MD PHD FMEDSCI, CHAIR OF THE MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Gifts in Wills could be the key to protecting the future of human health

Our experience of COVID-19 shows how suddenly a global health challenge can appear. As someone interested in science, you will understand that while nobody can predict what we will face next, we can be certain that the future will bring many more threats to human health.

As Chair of the Medical Research Foundation – the charitable arm of the Medical Research Council – I have seen the incredible impact that individuals who remember the Foundation in their Wills can have on the future of our health and wellbeing here in the UK. These gifts fund research and researchers which can have far-reaching implications for human health.

With a gift in your Will you can play a key role in providing the science that will protect the health of future generations.

Right now, the Foundation is funding research to tackle antimicrobial resistance, and investing in researchers like Dr Myrsini Kaforou – who will make the fight against antimicrobial resistance her life’s work.

Without support at the crucial early stages, researchers like Dr Kaforou can be forced to abandon their passion and leave science altogether, with an immeasurable loss to future human health. Gifts in Wills provide the long term funding and security that allows the Foundation to invest in projects like Dr Kaforou’s and lay the foundations for quality research in years to come.

Your Will can fund the rational response to health challenges that medical science provides.

“As scientists, our duty is to secure the future of research for the generations that follow.”

Professor Fiona Watt, Patron of the Medical Research Foundation and Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization.

While we don’t know what the future holds for human health in the UK, we do know that research, and the brilliant scientists driving that research forward, are the key

“The funding I received through the Medical Research Foundation will be transformative for my research.” Dr Myrsini Kaforou to meeting those challenges for years to come.

But many of these scientists rely on the generosity and foresight of fellow members of the medical community who understand the power of science and are willing to leave a gift to medical research in their Wills. At the Medical Research Foundation, over 90% of our voluntary income comes from individuals who choose to include a gift in their Will – they are crucial in the Foundation’s ability to fund research that will enable the next generation of scientists to make real world discoveries in the future.

I firmly believe that a gift in your Will to the Medical Research Foundation is an excellent investment and will have a lasting impact on science and on the future of human health in the UK.

Please consider this very special gift today.

Professor Nick Lemoine CBE MD PhD FMedSci Chair of the Medical Research Foundation

Get your free guide to supporting research in your Will.

Scan this QR code to find out more

To request your free guide to gifts in Wills fill in this form and return to Freepost, MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION. You don’t need a stamp OR visit medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/support-us/wills

Name Address

Email address

Postcode

We would like to contact you from time to time with our latest news. Please tick here if you are happy for us to contact you via email. The Medical Research Foundation does not share your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time. For further information on how we collect, store and process your personal data, please read our Privacy Notice medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/privacy

Medical Research Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales (Reg. Charity No. 1138223). Please follow Government isolation and distancing guidelines if posting.

0523BSF

0222BSF

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