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FROM THE EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS CONTRIBUTORS Did dinosaurs have flea s? �p86 These days it seems like every time I look in the mirror I notice yet a not her g r ey ha i r on my head or a not her w r i nk le on my f ace – da i ly r eminders t hat I ’m not get t i ng a ny younger. Su r e, t hese cha nges a r e on ly cosmet ic a nd of no r ea l consequence, but as the ravages of time take their toll on our bod ies, t he r i sk of age -r elated d i sea ses such a s ca rd iova scu la r cond it ion s, osteoporosis a nd dement ia, r i ses d r amat ica l ly. Over t he past 100 yea r s or so, l i fe expecta ncy i n t he UK has r i sen f rom a n average of a rou nd 45 yea r s i n 1900, to a rou nd 80 by 2010. Th i s i nc r ea se i n l i fespa n has broug ht wit h it a whole host of new cha l lenges for hea lt hca r e professionals and medical researchers. But what if we could halt the ageing process or maybe even reverse it? I n t h i s i ssue, we look at some of t he lates t sc ient i f ic ef for t s to do exac t ly t hat. Resea r chers ac ross t he world a r e beg i nn i ng to hone i n on t he ‘biolog ica l hallmarks’ of ageing – processes within the body that are linked to many common age-related diseases. From pi l l s t hat supercha r ge ou r bod ies’ abi l it y to r emove malf unct ion i ng, d i sea se - causi ng cel l s, to uncover i ng t he myster ies of how t he immor t a l jel ly f i sh i s able to keep r egenerat i ng it sel f , sc ient i s t s a r e t a nt a l i si ng ly c lose to making a breakthrough. Though much of the current research is being carried out on mice, it seems h ig h ly l i kely t hat at lea s t some of t he ef fec t s wil l c ross over to humans when clinical trials begin. And if all goes well, we may be seeing significant results within a decade. You can read all about it, starting on p68. g Maybe we won’t be able to live forever, but perhaps we can stay healthier for longer, even if we do have a few more grey hairs. DR ANDREW STEELE How close are we to a pill that can slow down, if not stop, the ageing process? Closer than you might think, as scientist and author Andrew, f inds out. ->p68 DR MICHELLE GRIFFIN Many women struggle to f ind bir th control that suits their bodies and needs. Women’s health expert Michelle tells us how personalised contraceptives could be a game-changer. ->p32 COLIN STUART Many of Ear th’s species are facing extinction. Could building a ‘bio-vault’ on the Moon help preserve the planet’s wildlife? Space writer Colin Stuart investigates. ->p34 G A L E , A D A M 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 Daniel Bennett, Editor WANT MORE? FOLLOW SCIENCEFOCUS ON FACEBOOK X (FORMERLY TWITTER) PINTEREST INS TAGRAM ON THE BBC THIS MONTH... Ancient Apocalypse: Death on the Nile We may be closer to knowing how the Pyramids were cons t ruc ted, but dive back into the BBC archive and you can discover how the exper t s think the Ancient Egyptian civilisation collapsed. Watch now on BBC iPlayer Click: Volcano Tech Geothermal energy sounds appealing , r ight? But what i f you had to drill into an ac t ive volcano to harness i t? The Click crew meets the scientis t s aiming to do just that. Watch now on BBC iPlayer CrowdScience: Why am I symmetrical? The le ft and r ight sides of your body are basically the same. But only on the out side. Anand Jagatia f inds out why. Listen now on BBC Sounds ELIZABETH BENNETT Do you ever feel like a fraud? Impostor syndrome is surprisingly common, but, as health writer Elizabeth discovers, there are steps you can take to get over your fear of being ‘ found out’. ->p54 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 ourmediashop.com/contact-us 03330 162113* 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 BBC Science Focus, PO Box 401 Williamsport, PA 17703. 3

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FROM THE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

CONTRIBUTORS

Did dinosaurs have flea s? �p86

These days it seems like every time I look in the mirror I notice yet a not her g r ey ha i r on my head or a not her w r i nk le on my f ace – da i ly r eminders t hat I ’m not get t i ng a ny younger.

Su r e, t hese cha nges a r e on ly cosmet ic a nd of no r ea l consequence, but as the ravages of time take their toll on our bod ies, t he r i sk of age -r elated d i sea ses such a s ca rd iova scu la r cond it ion s, osteoporosis a nd dement ia, r i ses d r amat ica l ly.

Over t he past 100 yea r s or so, l i fe expecta ncy i n t he UK has r i sen f rom a n average of a rou nd 45 yea r s i n 1900, to a rou nd 80 by 2010. Th i s i nc r ea se i n l i fespa n has broug ht wit h it a whole host of new cha l lenges for hea lt hca r e professionals and medical researchers.

But what if we could halt the ageing process or maybe even reverse it? I n t h i s i ssue, we look at some of t he lates t sc ient i f ic ef for t s to do exac t ly t hat. Resea r chers ac ross t he world a r e beg i nn i ng to hone i n on t he ‘biolog ica l hallmarks’ of ageing – processes within the body that are linked to many common age-related diseases.

From pi l l s t hat supercha r ge ou r bod ies’ abi l it y to r emove malf unct ion i ng, d i sea se - causi ng cel l s, to uncover i ng t he myster ies of how t he immor t a l jel ly f i sh i s able to keep r egenerat i ng it sel f , sc ient i s t s a r e t a nt a l i si ng ly c lose to making a breakthrough.

Though much of the current research is being carried out on mice, it seems h ig h ly l i kely t hat at lea s t some of t he ef fec t s wil l c ross over to humans when clinical trials begin. And if all goes well, we may be seeing significant results within a decade. You can read all about it, starting on p68.

g

Maybe we won’t be able to live forever, but perhaps we can stay healthier for longer, even if we do have a few more grey hairs.

DR ANDREW STEELE How close are we to a pill that can slow down, if not stop, the ageing process? Closer than you might think, as scientist and author Andrew, f inds out. ->p68

DR MICHELLE GRIFFIN Many women struggle to f ind bir th control that suits their bodies and needs. Women’s health expert Michelle tells us how personalised contraceptives could be a game-changer. ->p32

COLIN STUART Many of Ear th’s species are facing extinction. Could building a ‘bio-vault’ on the Moon help preserve the planet’s wildlife? Space writer Colin Stuart investigates. ->p34

G A L E

, A D A M

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

Daniel Bennett, Editor

WANT MORE? FOLLOW SCIENCEFOCUS ON FACEBOOK X (FORMERLY TWITTER) PINTEREST INS TAGRAM

ON THE BBC THIS MONTH...

Ancient Apocalypse: Death on the Nile We may be closer to knowing how the Pyramids were cons t ruc ted, but dive back into the BBC archive and you can discover how the exper t s think the Ancient Egyptian civilisation collapsed. Watch now on BBC iPlayer

Click: Volcano Tech Geothermal energy sounds appealing , r ight? But what i f you had to drill into an ac t ive volcano to harness i t? The Click crew meets the scientis t s aiming to do just that. Watch now on BBC iPlayer

CrowdScience: Why am I symmetrical? The le ft and r ight sides of your body are basically the same. But only on the out side. Anand Jagatia f inds out why. Listen now on BBC Sounds

ELIZABETH BENNETT Do you ever feel like a fraud? Impostor syndrome is surprisingly common, but, as health writer Elizabeth discovers, there are steps you can take to get over your fear of being ‘ found out’. ->p54

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 ourmediashop.com/contact-us

03330 162113* 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 BBC Science Focus, PO Box 401 Williamsport, PA 17703.

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