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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
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FEATURES 58 MENTAL HEALTH IS OTHER PEOPLE Physical f itness is all well and good, but are we paying enough attention to our social f itness? 64 PATIENT, D I A G N O S E THYSELF! The stigmas around ment a l hea l t h a re f ading , but is the trend towards self-diagnosis really such a good thing? 70 IS SOCIAL MEDIA RUINING CHILDHOOD? TikTok and Instagram: good or bad? Actually, it ’s a lot more complicated than that. 74 SIGNS OF TROUBLE Can scanning teenagers’ brains help predict ment a l hea l t h i s sue s before they emerge? 58 MENTAL HEALTH IS OTHER PEOPLE WANT MORE? Don’t forget that BBC Science Focus i s av a i l able on a l l major dig i t a l plat f orms. We have ver s ions f or Android, a s well a s an iOS app f or t he iP ad and iPhone. C an’ t wait unt i l nex t month t o ge t your f i x o f s c ience and t ech? Our website i s packed wi t h news , a r t i c l e s and Q&A s t o keep your brain satisfied. sciencefocus.com INSTANT GENIUS Our bite-sized masterclass in podca s t f orm. F ind i t wherever you l i s t en t o your podca s t s . 42 SAMSUNG GALAXY S23 ULTRA Can a £1.2K smartphone possibly be worth the money? We f ind out… 64 DR DEAN BURNETT “ADOLESCENTS, A MAJOR TIKTOK USER BASE, ARE IN A KEY STAGE OF NEUROLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT” LUNCHTIME GENIUS A DAILY DOSE OF MENTAL REFRESHMENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX Sign up to discover the latest news, v iew s and br eak t hroughs f r om the BBC Science Focus t eam www.sciencefocus.com/ newsletter 5

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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

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