Science
BBC Science Focus
The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Metaverse
Facebook recently changed its name to 'Meta' in order to position itself at the forefront of a new digital frontier called the metaverse. But what the heck is the metaverse, and what can it offer us mere mortals who do not inhabit the shiny Silicon Valley bubble?
10+ min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
MIGRAINES:CAN NEW TREATMENTS HELP EASE THE SUFFERING OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE?
Better understanding of the processes driving migraine pain is leading to promising new remedies
3 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
ARGOS OR AMAZON: WHO DID IT FIRST?
You can thank an in-flight catalogue, not the internet, for the emergence of convenient same-day deliveries
2 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
Can a smartphone be eco-friendly and desirable?
Fairphone has a long history of producing some of the most eco-friendly smartphones around. In fact, it is currently ranked in the top 1 per cent of sustainable companies in the world according to EcoVadis, a sustainability ratings company.
4 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
MALE CONTRACEPTIVE PILL ONE STEP CLOSER
The researchers behind the drug hope it will start human clinical trials later this year
2 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
Are we living in a multiverse?
Are there universes where the laws of physics do not apply, like in the newest Doctor Strange outing?
3 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
WHY I DITCHED MY FITNESS TRACKER
Stop chasing a 10,000-step target - Active 10 is an easier, more effective way to get fit
2 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
FIT TO BURST
INFLATION IS A USEFUL TOOL IN NATURE, ALLOWING ANIMALS TO PROJECT SOUNDS, SCARE OFF PREDATORS OR EVEN ATTRACT A MATE. LET'S BRING ON THE BLOAT!
5 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
COVID RISK: IS IT SAFE FOR ME TO RESUME ALL MY NORMAL ACTIVITIES?
In a restriction-free world, how risky is going to the pub vs going to the supermarket?
3 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
HAPPINESS: IS IT RIGHT TO PURSUE IT AT ALL COSTS?
Research suggests that focusing on your own happiness can end up making you miserable
3 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
THE DNA DETECTIVE
All sorts of mysteries lurk in our family trees, from long-lost relatives to adoptees' hidden heritages. In the new series of DNA Family Secrets, geneticist Prof Turi King sets out to solve them with the help of presenter Stacey Dooley and home genetic testing kits. She talks to Sara Rigby
6 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
IF MY BRAIN CAN'T FEEL PAIN, WHY DO WE GET HEADACHES?
We tend to experience pain when unpleasant stimuli activate sensory nerve fibres called nociceptors.
1 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
THE RACE FOR THE MOON
A new space race has begun. Over the coming years, an armada of rockets will head to the Moon to hunt down precious resources, satisfy the urges of billionaire tourists and maybe do some intriguing science along the way…
10 min |
April 2022
BBC Science Focus
London Tube: Does Its Air Harm Your Health?
The Mayor of London hopes that 80 per cent of trips in the city will be made on foot, bike or public transport by 2041. But how polluted is the Underground's air?
4 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
Renewable Energy: Why Can't It Keep Uk Energy Prices Down?
Huge increases in gas prices have sent UK bills skyrocketing. Can green energy offer a solution?
3 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
An Immune System for the Planet
Can we build a global pathogen defence system -a planetary equivalent of the immune system - to protect us when the next pandemic arrives?
10 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
YOUR PRODUCTIVE BRAIN
Increasing your productivity is easy. It's just a matter of making a few simple changes to your routine, or behaviour, or thinking, and your productivity will soar. At least, that's what countless online articles claim. The actual science tells a different story. Even a modest amount of research reveals that some of the most commonly touted claims about how to boost productivity fall apart in the face of the evidence. So, here are some of the most common myths around boosting productivity, along with a number of approaches that have a more robust scientific basis.
10+ min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
TORNADOES
THE EXPLAINER
3 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: WHY IS IT BEING RETIRED AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO IT?
The last decade of the ageing space station's life will feature private occupants, movies and an eventual watery grave
3 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
Using magnets to influence the brain could lead to revolutionary new depression treatment
The method, tested in rats, targets star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes. Neuroscientists Dr Yichao Yu and Prof Mark Lythgoe at University College London tell us more...
5 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
SPACE: HOW CAN WE SOLVE THE SPACE JUNK PROBLEM?
Recent news of an out-of-control rocket crashing into the Moon sounds dramatic, but it's the millions of pieces of smaller debris that present the real danger, according to a UK expert
4 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
Q&A: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
10+ min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
AS THE CROW DIES
Corvids, such as crows, rooks and ravens, are some of the smartest animals out there. They can learn to make new sounds, they can cooperate and even use tools. But as Dr Kaeli Swift tells Alice Lipscombe-Southwell, they also have some intriguing rituals when it comes to their dead... and could even be capable of feeling empathy
10 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
Ideas we like...
INNOVATIONS
3 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
With Italy's iconic Etna volcano erupting at the beginning of the year, followed by the lava flows of La Palma making headlines for weeks in autumn, then activity starting at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in late December, it felt like 2021 was a particularly big year for the planet's volcanoes.
6 min |
March 2022
BBC Science Focus
ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?
The search for alien life is ramping up. But what if, instead of searching for signs of biology, we looked for something more familiar: an extraterrestrial civilisation
10+ min |
February 2022
BBC Science Focus
Crime and Nourishment
In prison, suicides, self-harm, and assaults on officers are on the rise. But studies suggest there is a cheap, low-risk way to improve inmate behavior and mental health, making the facilities safer for both staffand prisoners
8 min |
February 2022
BBC Science Focus
Me, You, and Intimacy Too
When was the last time you were intimate with someone, emotionally, intellectually, or physically? Psychologist Dr. Michelle Drouin says we are in an intimacy famine, and speaks to Amy Barrett about whether social media and smartphones are stripping us of one of our basic human needs
10 min |
February 2022
BBC Science Focus
WHY WE NEED TO EAT MORE PROTEIN
Load up on eggs, tofu, Greek yogurt, fish, and lean meat to help you feel full for longer
2 min |
February 2022
BBC Science Focus
THE VOLCANO THAT SHOOK THE EARTH
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano was a once-in-a-century geological event – and now the clock is ticking to study its effects…
5 min |