BBC Science Focus Magazine January 2022

What if you didn’t have to get old? What if there was a way to immunise yourself against the inevitable consequences of ageing? No more creaky knees, sore back, or failing eyesight. No more trips to the doctor that end in: “Well, that’s just how your body works now.” Instead, what if you could live in a body that worked as well in your 40s, 50s and 60s, as it did in your 20s? It sounds too good to be true (and being forever 21 might just be out of reach), but the idea that we can treat old age like a disease is a school of thought that’s drawing attention from scientists and policymakers around the world. The theory goes that if we can target the mechanisms that age us…

Room 5 This series shares the stories of people who’ve had their lives changed by illness and explores how their relationship with their minds and bodies altered forever. BBC Radio 4 Tuesdays, 9am Available on-demand on BBC Sounds Forbidden America Louis Theroux returns with a new ‘documentary series investigating the impact of the internet across America, and how our ‘technotopia’ causes real-world harm. BBC Two Check Radio Times for details Naturebang The definition of consciousness is an elusive thing. Naturebang explores how scientists and philosophers have looked for answers, starting with the octopus. BBC Radio 4 From 17 January, 1:45pm COVER: MAGICTORCH THIS PAGE: BBC, GETTY IMAGES X2, DANIEL BRIGHT…

MARCUS CHOWN Cosmology writer Marcus takes a closer look at some of the biggest explosions in the Universe (from a safe distance). →p70 DR HELEN PILCHER Scientists have discovered a group of drugs that seem to slow the effects of ageing. Biology writer Helen finds out how long it’ll be before we can get a dose. →p52 HAYLEY BENNETT Pets scoff nearly a quarter of all the meat consumed in the US. Science journalist Hayley finds out how we could reduce the carbon pawprint of our beloved pets. →p30 DR PEPIJN KOOIJ For millennia, the tropical forests of South America have cultivated an unlikely friendship between ants and fungi. Evolutionary biologist Pepijn tells us more. →p64 CONTACT US → Advertising David.DSouza@immediate.co.uk 0117 300 8110 → Letters for 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…

An ash blanket LA PALMA, CANARY ISLANDS This scene shows the vast amount of ash that covered the island of La Palma after its volcano, Cumbre Vieja, started erupting on 19 September. “The first week was chaotic, no one really knew what was going on,” says Ben Ireland, a junior volcanologist with GeoTenerife, who was 120km from the island when the eruption started. “A few months later, even though the volcano was still going, it was a lot calmer.” This is the ninth eruption on La Palma since records began in the 1400s and is the longest running eruption the island has known. “Ash is just tiny fragments of magma,” explains Ireland. “Magma coming up the conduit has got lots of gas in it, and as it rises up and the pressure decreases, this gas…

I love the end of each year as it is the time for a good old retrospective look at what has occurred in the previous 12 months, and so I was highly pleased to see my trusty BBC Science Focus news review 2021 (December, p22). Given how COVID-19 and the science around it have dominated our thinking, many of the science discoveries passed me by in the chaos. The story on the continued revelations surrounding CRISPR gene-editing techniques and the amazing feats that can be achieved was most welcome and eye-opening. The advancement of being able to inject a patient without the need to extract and work on changing the cells outside the body first is a game-changer. I am pleased for the patient who saw a drastic reduction in…

reply@sciencefocus.com BBC Science Focus, Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST @sciencefocus www.facebook.com/sciencefocus @bbcsciencefocus “THE BIG TECH COMPANIES ARE PROPELLING THE METAVERSE FORWARD WITH VIGOROUS PRESS RELEASES AND STARRY-EYED HOT TAKES BORDERING ON THE MESSIANIC”DR ALEKS KROTOSKI, P62 Great red... whirlpool? Is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot really a storm (December, p20)? Could it instead be caused by an object protruding above the surface or a hole beneath it, creating a whirlpool effect more like a liquid? Personally, I think a storm is a misnomer because what storm stays in the same place for years? Conversely, what whirlpool or maelstrom moves (Corryvreckan, Saltstraumen, Moskstraumen, for instance)? Tony Sandy The atmospheric conditions on Jupiter are very different from those on Earth. There are strong atmospheric currents (which we see as the planet’s stripes) that keep the storms within them firmly locked in place.…