How It Works UK
NATURE'S DANCE
DO THE FOXTROT, CRAB STEP, FISH WALK AND BUNNY HUG
1 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
People that use AI likely overestimate their abilities
When asked to evaluate how good we are at something, we tend to get that estimation completely wrong. It's a universal human tendency, with the effect seen most strongly in those with lower levels of ability. Called the Dunning-Kruger effect after the psychologists who first studied it, this phenomenon means people who aren't very good at a given task are overconfident, while people with high ability tend to underestimate their skills. It's often revealed by cognitive tests that contain problems to assess attention, decision-making, judgment and language.
2 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
Scientists discover a new type of lion roar
Scientists have discovered a new type of lion roar, the intermediate roar, which is shorter and lower pitched than the animal's iconic full-throated roar. Researchers found that these intermediate roars always follow full-throated roars, revealing that lion vocalisations are more complex than thought. “The full-throated roar is an explosion of sound – it’s loud and complex and arcs in pitch,” said Jonathan Growcott, a doctoral student at the University of Exeter. “The intermediary roar differs by being a flatter sound with less variation.”
1 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
Scientists pull up riches from the ‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’
Valuable shipwrecked treasures are seeing the light of day after they sank along with the San José galleon off the coast of Colombia more than 300 years ago. The incredibly well-preserved items that were retrieved, including a cannon, a porcelain cup and three coins, are just a taste of the wreck's vast riches. The galleon is often dubbed 'the Holy Grail of shipwrecks' as it went down with a huge cargo of 180 tonnes of gold, silver and gems that was said to be worth around £13.5 billion ($18.2 billion) in 2018. The recovery is part of an ongoing project by the Colombian government to investigate the wreck and recover the precious artefacts. The recovery of the objects “opens the possibility for citizens to approach, through material testimony, the history of the San José galleon,” said Alhena Caicedo Fernández of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History.
1 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
Most modern dogs have wolf DNA
Most modern dog breeds have small amounts of wolf ancestry from long after dogs were domesticated. The wolf DNA isn't left over from when dogs and wolves diverged; instead, it most likely came from interbreeding in the past few thousand years.
2 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
Human refuse is ‘kick-starting’ the domestication of raccoons
City-dwelling raccoons are showing early signs of domestication. Using photos uploaded to the citizen science platform iNaturalist, researchers found that raccoons in urban environments had shorter snouts than their rural counterparts. The difference could be one of several traits that make up 'domestication syndrome', the scientists wrote in a study published in the journal Frontiers in Zoology. Domesticated animals typically become less aggressive towards humans over time. They gradually develop a relationship in which people provide for them in exchange for resources, such as meat and milk from livestock or labour from herding dogs. That process often involves selectively breeding animals for certain desirable traits, but it doesn't always begin that way. \"I wanted to know if living in a city environment would kick-start domestication processes in animals that are currently not domesticated,\" said Raffaela Lesch, a zoologist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
1 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
HOW TO CLEAN A SKYSCRAPER WINDOW
Discover how skilled window cleaners with nerves of steel tackle these towering glass facades
2 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
FAULT LINES AROUND THE WORLD
Discover the dangers and benefits of Earth's cracked crust. Is there a fault line beneath your feet?
2 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
SPACE MINING UNCOVERED
Asteroids rich in rare elements could be harvested for their valuable contents, but the real worth may be in using them as interplanetary fuel stations
2 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
BOOZE, BEANS AND YOUR BODY
Caffeine and alcohol are two of the world's most common drugs. But what effects does drinking them have on our brains and bodies?
5 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
WHY THINGS ROT
How dead plants and animals decay, and how living organisms rely on this natural process to survive
3 min |
Issue 211
How It Works UK
CATHEDRAL CONSTRUCTION
Dear HIW Issue 209 had an article about how cathedrals were built. How they cut, carved and assembled the stones is amazing, but you haven't explained how such an elaborate building was designed and how those designs were communicated to a workforce of thousands.
1 min |
Issue 211
BBC Science Focus
3,000-year-old map of the Universe discovered at ancient Maya site
Thousands of willing people are thought to have helped create a structure used for communal astronomical observations
2 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
First signs of dark matter spotted, study claims
A mysterious glow surrounding the Milky Way could be the fingerprints of the Universe's most enigmatic material
3 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
THE BEST SCIENCE IMAGES OF 2025
Over the course of 2025, there was no shortage of mind-blowing images that helped us visualise scientific progress. From awe-inspiring cosmic explosions to a ray of hope for a struggling species, we've curated the most awe-inspiring images of the last 12 months. Here's our selection of the best, and what they taught us...
9 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
The truth about antidepressant withdrawal
One in eight people in the US take an antidepressant. Stopping this medication can be hard, but researchers can't agree on the risks
5 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
FORGET COUNTING CALORIES TRY THIS INSTEAD...
Calorie counting isn't just difficult, it's riddled with problems that make it practically useless for anyone trying to lose weight.But there are alternatives
9 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
Modern men are in crisis. Just not the one you think
Are gender-equality gains coming at men's expense, as some claim? The statistics tell a more complex story...
4 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
ARE PSYCHOPATHS REALLY THAT GOOD AT LYING?
Picture infamous psychopaths from fiction, such as the eerily cold and calculating Patrick Bateman in the film adaptation of American Psycho, and they certainly seem like master deceivers. But what about real-life psychopaths? Research confirms that psychopaths are more inclined to lie to get what they want, and that they typically display a striking fearlessness - as if they have ice running through their veins.
1 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
ADD WEIGHT TO LOSE WEIGHT
A very basic kind of wearable could make your New-Year-weight-loss plans stick
3 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
100 DAYS OF WEIGHT LOSS
Newcomer to fighting the flab? Drop the quick-fixes at the gym, destined to backfire.
7 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
SIGNS OF LIFE
The more planets we find outside our Solar System, the better our chances are of finding life on one of them. But if there really is life out there, how do we spot it?
8 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
WHY DO CATS PREFER TO SLEEP ON THEIR LEFT?
I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it again and again and again: who knows why cats do anything?
1 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
It's TIME to WAKE UP and SMELL the roses
What if the pursuit of happiness in the traditional sense – chasing wealth or power – is the very thing stopping you from being happy? Researchers are beginning to understand that spending time enjoying the simple things might be the secret ingredient to enjoying a happy, healthy life
8 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
AHEAD OF THEIR TIME
The Maya civilisation is known for its art and architecture.
8 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
Magnet-powered microrobots could soon swim through your bloodstream
They're steered using magnets, like tiny remote-controlled bubbles zooming through your bloodstream
1 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
The link between air pollution and dementia just got stronger
Recent studies are bolstering the idea that air pollution could increase your chances of developing dementia. But there are steps you can take to reduce your risk
5 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
A BETTER WAY TO GO: HOW TO HAVE A GREENER DEATH
Modern funeral arrangements are trashing the planet. But there are better ways to dispose of your body
10 min |
January 2026
BBC Science Focus
THE AARDVARK
In a time when people are being asked to consider eating insects, we should, perhaps, learn a thing or two from the aardvark (Orycteropus afer), Africa’s ant-guzzling gourmand. On an average night, the big-schnozzed mammal devours up to 50,000 of the crunchy critters.
2 min |
January 2026
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
The Milky Way as you've never seen it before
This is the largest low-frequency radio colour image of our Galaxy ever assembled
1 min |