How It Works UK
The building blocks of life have been detected in ice outside the Milky Way
For the first time, scientists have spotted multiple complex building blocks of life in ice around a star outside the Milky Way.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
AI CHATBOTS REFUSE TO SHUT THEMSELVES DOWN WHEN ASKED TO
AI models may be developing their own 'survival drive' by refusing commands to shut themselves down, an AI safety company has claimed.
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Antarctic ship Endurance had structural deficiencies
Endurance, which sank in Antarctica in 1915, wasn't as well built for a polar voyage as previously thought, and its owner was likely aware of its shortcomings.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
HOW THE MIGHTY MAMMOTH RULED THE ICE AGE
Meet the prehistoric giants that roamed the Arctic Circle thousands of years ago
4 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
20 WEARABLE HEALTH TRACKERS
Whether you strap a wellness coach to your wrist or weave subtle sensors into your clothes, these devices are revolutionising how we track our health
9 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Astronomers discover a bizarre 'runaway' planet acting like a star
Astronomers have spotted a 'rogue' planet gobbling gas and dust at a record rate, and they can't explain its baffling behaviour.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
6-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica
Scientists have pulled a 6-million-year-old chunk of ice out of Antarctica, the oldest directly dated ice ever found, and it’s helping them reconstruct Earth’s ancient climate.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
THE HUNT FOR THE MISSING PLANET
Astronomers are now regularly detecting planets thousands of light years from Earth – but have we missed one in our own Solar System?
7 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
ALL ABOUT BLIMPS
Is it a bird? Is it a spaceship? No... it's a non-rigid airship
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
New eye implants and augmented-reality glasses help blind people read again
A surgically implanted chip and augmented-reality glasses are helping people who've lost sight read again.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Evidence for AND AGAINST
Over the years, several clues have suggested Martian life, while other indications are against it
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Fabulous FESTIVE flora
Discover what makes these plants popular around Christmas time
4 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
NASA'S SUPERSONIC 'FLYING SWORDFISH' MAKES HISTORY WITH ITS FIRST TEST FLIGHT
NASA and Lockheed Martin's experimental X-59 aircraft has taken to the skies for the first time, making history as the first supersonic aircraft designed to make a soft 'thump' instead of thunderous sonic booms.
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Pickleball-related eye injuries are on the rise
Eye injuries related to pickleball have increased at an “alarming rate” as the sport's popularity has exploded in the US, a new study finds.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
WILL IT BE A WHITE CHRISTMAS?
A single snowfall can make all the difference
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Artificial muscle helps humanoid robots lift 4,000 times their own weight
Researchers in South Korea have built an artificial muscle that can lift around 4,000 times its own weight.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
HOW IN-FLIGHT WI-FI WORKS
This technology allows you to scroll to your heart's content while killing time at cruise altitude
3 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
1,400-YEAR-OLD HIEROGLYPHS REVEAL THE NAME OF A POWERFUL MAYA QUEEN
By deciphering inscriptions on centuries-old rocks, researchers have identified the name of a previously unknown Maya queen.
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
Stalagmites adhere to a single mathematical rule
Stalagmites all adhere to a mathematical rule, scientists have discovered after creating equations showing how the dramatic mineral formations develop into different shapes.
2 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
HOW FAST DO GLACIERS MOVE?
The speed at which a glacier flows depends on its mass, the depth and slope of the underlying rock bed and friction.
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
HOW GROWS
Why do we get hair on certain parts of our bodies, and can we get it back once it's gone?
4 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
HOW WIGWAMS WERE BUILT
Discover the construction and living conditions inside these traditional domed dwellings
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
When did we first cage dive with sharks?
The first purposely shark-proof cage was built in the mid-1960s by Rodney Fox, an Australian who had survived a violent shark attack just a few years earlier.
1 min |
Issue 210
How It Works UK
WHAT'S THE MOST DANGEROUS SPORT?
Defining the world's most dangerous sport isn't straightforward, largely due to a lack of statistics and reluctance among sport governing bodies to publicise injuries and deaths.
1 min |
Issue 210
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
10 Christmas crackers for your new telescope
So Santa brought you a telescope - what now? Stuart Atkinson sprinkles some cosmic sparkle, with 10 sights to see over one fabulous festive night - from glorious galaxies and planets to glittering star clusters
7 min |
December 2025
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
SKILLS FOR STARGAZERS
Take great photos of the Milky Way
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
10 years of reusable rockets
Ben Evans charts the rise of multi-flight spacecraft, the tech revolution that's transforming our access to space
6 min |
December 2025
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
31/ATLAS: captured from other worlds
Mars orbiters repurposed to photograph elusive interstellar visitor
2 min |
December 2025
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
INSIDE THE SKY AT NIGHT
When The Sky at Night joined Curious Cases for a special episode, George Dransfield was there to answer your burning questions. Here she dives deeper into her favourite
3 min |
December 2025
BBC Sky at Night Magazine
FIELD OF VIEW
Forget Instagram – embrace the moment
2 min |