Science
BBC Science Focus
Show your stripes
Pictures may tell a thousand words, but this one goes even further. These stripes appeared along Dover's White Cliffs on 21 June, as the iconic landmark was gradually turned into a scientific graphic.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Let's work together
There's a reason they call the ocean Earth's unexplored frontier. Dive into any of this planet's waters and you soon discover an entirely different ecosystem, populated with strange and unexpected species.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Birthday wishes
This is the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. It's the closest star-forming region to Earth - around 390 light-years away - and in stellar nursery terms, it's a rather small, quiet region.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Ideas we like...
Our pick of the month's smartest tech
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Could adolescent reptiles learn martial arts?
Do you need more than pizza, surf slang and bright bandanas to bring out the heroes in four juvenile turtles?
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
ANEMOIA: WHY AM I NOSTALGIC FOR A TIME I DIDN'T KNOW OR A PLACE I'VE NEVER BEEN?
The term nostalgia’ was coined by a Swiss doctor in the 17th century to describe the homesickness experienced by mercenaries fighting far from home from the Greek nostos’ the desire to return home and algos’, meaning pain).
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
BEFORE WE HAD LONG COVID, WAS THERE LONG SARS?
The SARS epidemic of 2002-2004, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), affected over 8,000 people globally.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
DEAR DOCTOR: HOW DO I STOP HICCUPING? WHAT WILL ACTUALLY WORK?
Hiccups, those sudden and sometimes annoying contractions of the diaphragm, can be a perplexing phenomenon. During a hiccup your diaphragm contracts and, immediately after this, the top of your windpipe (your glottis) closes, making the typical 'hic' sound.
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
WHY DO I GO RED WHEN I'M EMBARRASSED OR HAVE BEEN DRINKING?
Blushing, or turning red in the face, is a fascinating physiological response that occurs in certain situations, such as embarrassment or alcohol consumption.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
WHY DOES MY DOG GIVE ME SIDE EYE?
Dog side eye, aka 'the shady gaze', is the subject of many seemingly humorous memes. But this canine characteristic is often more loaded than the videos suggest.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
HOW DO VARIFOCAL GLASSES WORK?
Varifocals are lenses that allow you to see close-up, far away and somewhere in between, all through the same pair of glasses.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SHOULD I EAT DESSERT WITH BREAKFAST TO HELP ME DIET?
It's hard to say whether devouring a dessert at breakfast actually helps with weight loss. The most reported research comes from a team led by endocrinologist Prof Daniela Jakubowicz at Tel Aviv University in Israel. In 2012, her team published a study of 193 people on a calorie-controlled diet who consumed either a low-carbohydrate breakfast or one with high protein and high carbohydrate, including a sweet treat such as a piece of cake or a doughnut.
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SPLENDID PERSEIDS WHEN: EARLY-LATE AUGUST
The Perseid meteor shower shows activity from mid-July through to late August. Generally the meteor rate is low, but between 10-16 August, rates are higher, reaching a peak in the early hours of 13 August.
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SHEEPSHEAD FISH
Someone slap a lawsuit on the dentist who fitted this fish with the freakishly human teeth... What's that you say? Evolution did this. By natural selection? What was it thinking! The sheepshead fish, aka the lovechild of Billy Bass and my granny's dentures, is a scaly, sparkly swimmer that can be found in the shallow waters of the western Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to Brazil. It's a euryhaline species, which means it can tolerate a wide range of salinity.
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
ALBIE HEWITT, RIPON HOW RADIOACTIVE IS MY HOUSE? (DO I NEED TO WORRY?)
Pedantically, we could say that your house is literally bathed in radiation day and night, since visible light is radiation, and so are the infrared wavelengths coming from your radiators and the 2.4GHz frequency radio waves from your home Wi-Fi and mobile phone. But what you're probably referring to is ionising radiation - the kind powerful enough to knock electrons out of atoms and thereby cause cancer and, at very high doses, radiation poisoning and burns.
2 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
OUR BEST FRIENDS
Many of us share our homes and lives with a canine companion. But how much do we really know about what's going on inside their heads? Cognitive scientists Dr Zazie Todd and Prof Alexandra Horowitz explain what we're learning about how our four-legged friends think, and share a few tips on how you can make their lives better...
4 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
FEELING SUPERSONIC
IT'S 20 YEARS SINCE THE PUBLIC COULD BUY A TICKET TO FLY ON A PLANE CAPABLE OF BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER. BUT THERE'S A BAND OF ENGINEERS AND PILOTS WHO THINK COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PASSENGERS ARE ONCE AGAIN FEELING THE NEED... THE NEED FOR SUPERSONIC SPEED
6 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
Five of the best outdoor speakers
A good outdoor speaker needs to be portable, offer great audio and be able to stand up to all types of weather. The BBC Science Focus team picks their faves
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
AI art's hidden echo chamber is about to implode
Artificial intelligence creates millions of images a day, flooding the internet. But what happens when it starts to train on its own data?
4 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
OLDER DADS: ARE YOU EVER TOO OLD TO BECOME A FATHER?
What are the risks and rewards, to you and your children, of becoming a father late in life?
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SIGNS OF LIFE: COULD A SUPERNOVA BE A SIGNAL?
Astronomers think aliens could use supernova explosions to inform us of their presence
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
MEWING: CAN THE TIKTOK TREND GIVE YOU THE JAWLINE OF A MODEL?
Its supporters claim a simple tongue exercise can not only reshape your jaw and help you sleep, but can even improve your teeth. Here's what the experts say...
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
THE VAGINA'S HUGE MEDICAL POTENTIAL IS GOING UNTAPPED.BUT NOT FOR MUCH LONGER
Scientists are beginning to investigate the organ’s potential healthcare applications... and there’s a lot of them
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
YOU'RE HARDWIRED TO TRUST CONFIDENT VOICES... EVEN WHEN THEY'RE WRONG
Human evolution has led to us naturally believing statements that are delivered in a more assured manner
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
THE HUNT FOR INVISIBLE PARTICLES IS OPENING A NEW SCIENTIFIC FRONTIER
The link between theory and experiment is opening a window on to the next iteration of physics
3 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
CHRIS PACKHAM VERSUS THE WORLD
After conquering wildlife programming, presenter Chris Packham is taking on the planet in Earth, a BBC series that sheds new light on the history of our home. He talks Noa Leach through the show's surprising science and his guilty conscience
7 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
NEUROSCIENCE: AI USES BRAINWAVES TO PERFECT YOUR PERSONALISED PLAYLIST
Your mood and energy levels may reveal your preferred musical genres to streaming services
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
MEDICINE: SCIENTISTS DISCOVER WHY SPACE TRAVEL WEAKENS ASTRONAUTS' IMMUNE SYSTEMS
Astronauts routinely break out in rashes or get ill while aboard the International Space Station. Now we know why
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
MEDICINE: SCIENTISTS TO TEST 'POO TRANSPLANT' PILLS IN GROUND-BREAKING GUT HEALTH TRIAL
Your number twos could be the number-one defence against liver disease
1 min |
August 2023
BBC Science Focus
SPACE: A RADIATION 'ECHO' FROM A SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IS SPREADING ACROSS THE GALAXY
The sleeping cosmological giant woke up around 200 years ago and devoured everything in the vicinity, releasing intense amounts of radiation in the process
1 min |