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BBC Science Focus Magazine - December 2025

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In this issue

DISCOVERIES
This month’s biggest news, including: Astronomers discover hidden ‘moon’ shadowing Earth; There’s a ‘critical’ design flaw in women’s running shoes, warn scientists; Orcas have devised a disturbing way to kill great white sharks; New DNA evidence reveals how Napoleon’s army was actually defeated;And more…

EYE OPENERS
The most striking science photography from around the world this month

MISSING: THE FIRST STARS
Finding the first stars to exist after the Big Bang could solve a lot of the biggest questions we have about the Universe.
The problem is, they’re missing

ALL EYES ON YOU
Scientists are finding that social anxiety is more rooted in our biology than previously thought

BETTER LIVING THROUGH SCIENCE
Experts are keen to find patterns among ‘superagers’ that could clue us in to the secret of eternal memory. While there are many genetic and lifestyle factors to consider, one common trait among superagers is beginning to stand out,and it’s something we can all practice over the festive season.

A blue ribbon-worthy concept

The ring you see glowing eerily here could be the next big step in women's health. It's a device for delivering 'good' bacteria directly to the vaginal microbiome.

1 mins

Cotton candy

It's easy to see how this organism got its name. When carnival candy slime mould (Arcyria major) releases its spores, it does a convincing impression of the fluffy treat you see people eating off wooden sticks at amusement parks, funfairs and festivals.

1 mins

A slice across the sky

The green flash slicing through the skies in this shot is a fireball.

1 mins

How a tiny worm's brain could transform artificial intelligence

'Liquid neural networks', inspired by tiny worms, promise smaller, smarter and more transparent AI

5 mins

Wikipedia's founder reveals the biggest threats facing the site

Almost 25 years and millions of articles after it launched, Wikipedia has become the biggest bank of human knowledge on the web. But Al, Elon Musk and the culture wars could change everything, says Jimmy Wales

4 mins

Astronomers discover hidden 'moon' shadowing Earth

We've only just spotted an object that's been following us since the 1960s

1 mins

Orcas have devised a disturbing way to kill great white sharks

The marine mammals have worked out how to take down the world's most fearsome fish

2 mins

This bizarre optical illusion could teach us how animals think

By seeing which animals fall for a classic visual trick, scientists are uncovering how different brains make sense of the world

1 mins

New DNA evidence reveals how Napoleon's army was actually defeated

Turns out typhus may not have been the culprit

1 mins

Certain snacks are more likely to cause winter weight gain, study suggests

Dietary fats may influence how our bodies respond to the passing of the seasons

2 mins

I survived the worst fire in the history of space exploration and had to keep it a secret

Astronaut Jerry Linenger opens up about one of the worst accidents in space, and the cover-up that followed

1 mins

2025's BIGGEST MOMENTS IN SCIENCE

Revisit the discoveries and events from the last 12 months that will change the world in the years to come

3 mins

THIS YEAR'S WEIRDEST SCIENCE STORIES

The good, the bad and the frankly bizarre: from the world's oldest baby to a body-snatching bug, here were science's strangest discoveries in 2025

3 mins

TB is surging. Should we be worried?

Cases of the world's deadliest infection are climbing in the UK and US. Why is tuberculosis returning and how do we fight back?

4 mins

There could be a toxic heavy metal lurking in your protein supplement

People everywhere use protein supplements on a daily basis. But a new report suggests some contain worrying amounts of a harmful substance

4 mins

AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH

Could an exoskeleton help you scale every peak with ease? Ezzy Pearson straps on some cyborg enhancements to find out

5 mins

A CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE FOR PEOPLE WITH MORE MONEY THAN SENSE

Who really needs, or even uses, a gift guide these days? You know your loved ones far better than I ever could. Want to get them thoughtful presents? Put some thought into it. So, instead of struggling to come up with ultimately unhelpful – possibly even unsuitable - suggestions for you, I've decided to indulge myself for a change. I'm lifting the covers off my true, in some cases irrational, desires this season, to show you the tech that gets me as giddy as a kid at Christmas

3 mins

ALL EYES ON YOU

Social anxiety isn't only psychological. New research is revealing its biological roots – and how to reset them

9 mins

BRACE FOR THE MEGATSUNAMI

The Pacific Northwest could be rocked by a mega earthquake any day now. A quake that will generate a devastating tsunami. But is America ready for 'the big one'?

9 mins

PROTECT YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF

Combine the cold and dark of winter with the indulgence of the holiday season, and you have the ideal conditions for illness to strike. But there are ways to bolster your body's defences ahead of the onslaught - ways that rely on science's evolving understanding of our immune system

10+ mins

MISSING: THE FIRST STARS

They shaped the Universe, yet the first stars ever born continue to evade the searches of astronomers like Dr Emma Chapman

9 mins

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE

WHAT DOES DYING FEEL LIKE? BY STUDYING PATIENTS WHO'VE SUFFERED NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES, SCIENTISTS ARE ONE STEP CLOSER TO FINDING OUT WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR BRAINS DURING OUR LAST MOMENTS

8 mins

DOES YOUR NAME AFFECT YOUR PERSONALITY?

Research is revealing that nominative determinism isn't as easy to dismiss as you might think

5 mins

DO ANY ANIMALS USE OTHER ANIMALS FOR SPORT?

Dolphins have been observed, on various occasions, holding pufferfish in their mouths.

1 mins

CAN I SWALLOW MY TONGUE?

No, it's a myth. Although the tongue can move in different directions, being attached to the base of your mouth generally keeps it from moving that far back. If it does move backwards, say, during a seizure, then other muscles kick in to open up the throat.

1 mins

THE SKELETON PANDA SEA SQUIRT

Several years ago, scuba divers were exploring coral reefs around Kumejima Island in Japan's Ryukyu archipelago when they saw what looked like a graveyard of tiny panda skeletons.

2 mins

ARE BOARD GAMES GOOD FOR THE BRAIN?

Whether you're pondering a chess move, thinking up a high-scoring word in Scrabble or deciding on your investment strategy in Monopoly, board games are great for getting you thinking. Playing them not only involves a wide range of cognitive skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, memory retention and concentration, but also provides a way to connect face-to-face with others.

1 mins

HOW DIFFICULT WOULD IT BE TO FLY THROUGH THE ASTEROID BELT?

In the 1980 film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo and friends try to escape pursuing imperial forces by flying through an asteroid field. Droid C-3PO remarks, \"the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1\". The scene depicts a chaotic, dense field of rocks swirling and spinning through space. This scenario has been played out many times in the cinema.

1 mins

HOW CAN I BE MORE PERSUASIVE?

Most of us like to think we're rational people. If someone shows us evidence that we're wrong, we'll change our minds, right? Well, not necessarily, because it's not always that simple. Being wrong feels uncomfortable and sometimes threatening. That's why changing someone's mind is often much harder than it seems.

2 mins

ASTRONOMY FOR BEGINNERS

HOW TO SEE THE GEMINID METEOR SHOWER

1 mins

HOW UNLIKELY IS OUR UNIVERSE?

Our understanding of the Universe has revealed that its existence, and indeed our own, relies on a particular set of rules.

1 mins

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I GOT EATEN BY A PYTHON?

First, the good news: snakes rarely eat humans. But it does happen and Indonesia seems to be a particular hotspot for it. Over the past decade, several people in the country have been killed and swallowed whole by pythons, including a 45-year-old woman who was found fully clothed inside a bloated, 5m-long (16ft) snake.

1 mins

LIFE AT THE PARTY

The secret that keeps the superagers so sprightly could be socialising

3 mins

Read all Stories from BBC Science Focus

BBC Science Focus Magazine Description:

Publisher: Our-Media-Ltd

Category: Science

Language: English

Frequency: Monthly

BBC Focus Magazine is the magazine of popular science and technology that explains the wonders of the Universe through stunning photography and accessible articles. Contributors include the very best writers and science experts, with columns every issue from renowned science writer Robert Matthews, TV presenter and scientist Helen Czerski, and science fiction author Stephen Baxter. From archaeology to neuroscience, climate change and particle physics, BBC Focus Magazine keeps you up to speed with the cutting-edge science and gadgets that will change our world.