Table of contents for No. 172 in How It Works

“Using fossilised T. rex skulls, researchers estimate that they had the largest brains of any dinosaur” Just because they don’t talk, get around on two legs or use a smartphone, doesn’t necessarily make an animal much dumber than you. And just because someone is very old or very young, it doesn’t mean they won’t be able to outsmart you. In this issue, we explore the intelligence of different animal species, including humans, and how scientists have found a rough but reasonably accurate way of measuring brainpower in the animal kingdom, right back to the era of the dinosaurs. You’ll be surprised at how brainy some animals are. You can also go head-to-head against How It Works in our intelligence test, to see how you fare against the team. Enjoy! SCAN…

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The biggest challenge in evaluating the intelligence of a dinosaur is that there are no living examples to examine. Scientists rely on fossil evidence and digital imaging to estimate the brain size of dinosaurs, such as the fierce Tyrannosaurus rex. Using fossilised T. rex skulls, researchers estimate that they had the largest brains of any dinosaur, with an enlarged cerebrum – which controls muscle and cognitive function – and enormous olfactory bulbs, which provide a sense of smell. It’s estimated that its EQ score would make its intelligence similar to that of a chimpanzee. Some researchers have suggested that tyrannosaurs evolved their smarts long before they became reptilian behemoths. The first tyrannosaurs, Timurlengia, lived around 170 million years ago and were small predators feeding in the shadows of much larger…

Nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as laughing gas and NOS, is a colourless gas at room temperature. The sedative and anti-anxiety side effects of this gas make it a useful tool for dentists and other medical professionals who carry out minor surgeries. A patient who is offered this gas will need to wear a mask over their nose and mouth throughout the entire procedure and will remain awake. While medical professionals know how to administer safe amounts of this gas, inhaling nitrous oxide can result in hallucinations and a feeling of dissociation with the body. Too much of the gas can cause people to become dizzy, pass out and even die. In low volumes and controlled concentrations, however, nitrous oxide is used as a painkiller and can cause people to…

Wheat, barley, soy and rye are crops commonly grown by farmers, but the grains you buy in the shops and the products that contain them are only a small part of the plant grown. The edible parts of the plants are the seeds, and to collect them, three processes are required: reaping, threshing and winnowing. All three are usually carried out by combine harvesters. These vehicles can often be seen on modern-day arable, or crop growing, farms. The first process carried out by a combine is ‘reaping’, or the cutting of the crops. As the vehicle is driven over the field, sharp blades at the front cut the crop plants into smaller pieces so that they can be drawn into the machinery. Next, the cut crops enter a rotating drum…

At what point does one species become another? Evolution occurs on varying scales, from microevolutions such as colouration to macroevolutions that alter limbs. At the point where members of a species develop unique characteristics, either as a whole or branching off in smaller populations, a new species is created. Generally, speciation requires around 2 million years of accumulating genetic mutations to occur. For modern-day giraffes, this process of ever-elongated vertebrae and a stretched neck began around 25 million years ago.…

If you live in a large town or city, even on a clear night you may only I be able to see a few dozen stars against the light pollution in the sky. In a really dark location, you may see thousands of stars glittering above you. But even then, some stars will be noticeably brighter than others, and the brightest ones will be the same select few that city dwellers see. These brightest stars have been a familiar sight to humans since ancient times. There are several reasons why some stars look brighter than others. Perhaps the most obvious is that they’re all located at different distances from us. It’s no surprise that, other things being equal, the nearer stars tend to look brighter than ones that are farther…

From great explorers sailing the seas to hikers trying to find their way home after a trek through their local hills, it’s impossible to overstate just how revolutionary the humble compass has been for navigation. A compass is simply a device that indicates direction, and the earliest ones harnessed the power of one of the most powerful forces in nature: magnetism. The original compass design used a magnetised needle that rotated until it lined up with Earth’s magnetic field, with the ends pointing north and south. The part that pointed north would be coloured or marked in some way so whoever was using it didn’t get confused. The first compass designs just consisted of one of these magnetised needles attached to cork or wood, which was then floated in a…

Two centuries ago, the codiscoverer of the theory of evolution was born. Alfred Russel Wallace was not just a naturalist, but a keen explorer, geographer and anthropologist. One of Wallace’s first jobs involved mapping the lands of Bedfordshire and Wales. As a surveyor, Wallace had to make accurate measurements of farmland so that landowners could be taxed to fund their local churches. Wallace wrote essays about the social and economic struggles of working-class farmers during his time surveying, but his true interests lay elsewhere. He loved to study the natural world in his free time. His first trip to study natural specimens took place in 1848, when he travelled to Brazil to search for valuable biological items. Over the following years, Wallace’s expeditions led him to multiple areas of the…

RECYCLING IN THE GARDEN GREEN-FINGERED AND ECO-FRIENDLY AUTHOR ANGELA YOUNGMAN PUBLISHER PEN AND SWORD PRICE £16.99/$26.95 RELEASE OUT NOW Journalist and author Angela Youngman is a keen gardener, but she’s not trying to go head to head with the likes of Monty Don or Alan Titchmarsh. She’s not jostling for a place alongside Charlie Dimmock either, even though there’s something about Dimmock’s horticultural legend that has the same rustic charm as Recycling in the Garden. Youngman is going for green fingered, green-themed frugality: she’s all about making the most of the leftovers and waste of our modern society. Apparently, there’s a lot of everyday waste we can use to decorate outdoor spaces and help our gardens flourish, including footpaths made of tyres, pottery garden mosaics, tree stump plant beds, energy…

ATOMS VERSUS CARDS Dear HIW, I was on holiday with a friend and got into a heated discussion. He claimed that there are more possible ways to shuffle a pack of cards than there are atoms in the Earth. Is this true? Can you explain to me how this is possible as I just can’t believe it. Ben Chapman Thanks for your letter, Ben. We hate to tell you, but in this instance your friend was correct. This is a difficult fact to get your head around as the huge numbers are very hard to imagine. In a deck of 52 cards, there are 8x1067 different order arrangements possible. Meanwhile, our planet contains around 1.3x1050 atoms. If you take just one number in a pack of cards, there are four suits available. These…

Mars’ largest moon Phobos shows signs of being ripped apart by the extreme gravitational M forces exerted on it by the Red Planet. Researchers have revealed that the unusual grooves covering Phobos’ surface, previously assumed to be scars from an ancient asteroid impact, are actually dust-filled canyons that are growing wider as the moon gets stretched out by gravitational forces. Phobos is around 17 miles across at its widest and orbits Mars at a distance of 3,728 miles, completing a full rotation three times every day. Unlike our Moon, Phobos’ orbit around Mars isn’t stable. The tiny satellite is trapped in a death spiral and is slowly falling towards the Martian surface at a rate of 1.8 metres every 100 years. But Phobos’ most unusual feature is arguably its mysterious…

The ancient mummified body of Ötzi the Iceman was found decades ago by hikers in the high Alps, but how T did it get there? A new study questions the prevailing story of Ötzi’s death more than 5,000 years ago, suggesting that Ötzi did not die in the gully where he was found. His remains may have been carried there by the periodic thawing of the ice that surrounded his body, and researchers propose that other prehistoric people who died in icy, mountainous regions could have been preserved by the same process. “I think the possibility now is perhaps a bit larger” of finding another prehistoric body, said archaeologist Lars Pilø. “It’s not so large that I can promise there will be a body in the next decade, but I…

What makes you smart? At its most fundamental level, intelligence is often defined as a person’s ability to learn from an experience, understand their environment and complete tasks. The fundamentals of intelligence have been broken down and pored over for hundreds of years, from the emergence of general intelligence, or the g factor, in the late 1800s to more recent explanations of its niche branches. Psychologist and Harvard professor Howard Gardner estimates that intelligence can fall into one of eight different categories. Each category covers the different ways humans process information, including musical, linguistic, naturalistic, spatial and interpersonal intelligence. A person may have more intelligence in one of these categories but may struggle in others. Whether you’re particularly adept at solving puzzles, retaining factual information or gauging emotion, all forms…

1 Fill in the missing plus, minus and multiplication signs to make the equation below correct, performing all strictly in the order they appear on the page. 2 Which of the options A to E most accurately continues 3 Which of the cubes A to E cannot be made using 4 What number should replace the question mark? 5 Which of the four shapes A to D fits to the circle? 6 What time should the final ANSWERS: PUZZLE 1: 32-28x4-21+7x18=36 PUZZLE 2: B(GROUP ROTATES 90 DEGREES CLOCKWISE, THEN TRIANGLE ROTATES 180 DEGREES) PUZZLE 3: E PUZZLE 4: (18x19)+(3x12)=342+36=378 PUZZLE 5: B PUZZLE 6: 4:30+1:40=6:10 Beat the team results 6/6 NIKOLE Despite her modesty about taking this test, Production Editor Nikole topped the team. You’ll do well to match her…

since the first primordial organisms spawned in Earth’s prehistoric S oceans, life has been on a 4-billion-year journey to the modern day. Along the way, it’s diversified and evolved to fill up almost every corner of the planet, both ocean and land. Evolution stems from environmental and biological events that lead to the morphological and behavioural changes of an animal over time. The theory of evolution was born from the mind of Charles Darwin, a British naturalist who dedicated his life to the study of advancing our understanding of animal biology. Following his journey to the Galápagos Islands on the HMS Beagle in the early 1800s, Darwin penned the beginnings of the theory of evolution by means of natural selection, later written in a book called On the Origin of…

VIEWS OF THE SUN This montage shows the Sun in different wavelengths The Sun is so bright that it’s dangerous to stare straight at it. When we do glimpse it, either low in the sky or partially obscured by clouds, it generally looks yellow in colour, or even orange close to the horizon. But if we approach it more scientifically, it’s not that simple. Sunlight is actually made up of all the colours of the rainbow – after all, rainbows are produced by sunlight. These colours represent different wavelengths of light, and the Sun emits roughly equal amounts of all of them. Combining all these colours together makes white light, which means the true colour of the Sun must also light be white. In fact, in outer space, for example…

Printed holograms are created through a photographic principle called holography, whereby the contours of a three-dimensional object are captured in a two-dimensional image. The history of holograms dates back to 1948, when Hungarian-British engineer Dennis Gabor first conceptualised what’s now referred to as holography. Using an electron microscope and interacting waves of light, Gabor captured the point where the phase of two light waves aligned, creating the illusion of depth in an image. But the invention of the laser in the 1960s allowed scientists to really explore the possibilities of making holograms. In 1962, Russian scientist Yuri Denisyuk introduced single-beam reflection holography, also known as Denisyuk holography. Denisyuk used laser beams – a more focused form of light than other light sources – and mirrors to bounce light over an…

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Two people in the UK are the first ever to receive transfusions of T lab-grown red blood cells. The pair are healthy volunteers in the REcovery and survival of STem cell Originated REd cells (RESTORE) trial, a one-of-a-kind clinical trial taking place at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The trial will ultimately include at least ten participants, each of whom will receive a tiny transfusion of about one to two teaspoons worth of lab-grown red blood cells. The goal of the trial is to compare how well these lab-grown cells survive in the body compared with standard red blood cells from a donor. Each trial participant will receive two mini-transfusions – one with standard cells and one with lab-grown – spaced four months apart. The order of the transfusions will be…

LAIRLUX EM 03 DEEP-TISSUE MASSAGE GUN WWW.LAIRLUX.COM $89 (APPROX. £74.70) The Lairlux EM 03 Deep Tissue Massage Gun uses 20 speed settings and six ergonomically designed attachments to deliver an effective full-body deep-tissue massage. This compact handheld device is no bigger than a travel hair dryer, yet packs some serious punch when it comes to drilling into hard-to-reach muscles and bonier body parts. This massage gun is lightweight in design and cost and comes neatly tucked away in a travel case with a charger, six individually shaped heads and a handy instruction manual for a quick lesson on performing a massage. If you’re looking for a travel companion to keep your limbs loose on the go, the Lairlux EM 03 is up to the task. But if you’re after a…

INKY’S ESCAPE How the Houdini of molluscs broke out of his glass box OCTOPUS ESCAPE ARTISTS Octopuses, of which there are around 300 species, are brainboxes with a talent for escaping. Unlike other mollusc species, octopuses have a centralised brain similar to a human’s. However, only a third of its overall neurons can be found in its brain. The rest can be found in the octopus’ arms. Over the years, many octopuses in captivity have wreaked havoc on their keepers with their escape artist antics. In 2016, an octopus named Inky sprung itself from a New Zealand enclosure, Finding Nemo-style, and into a 50-metre drainpipe that led to the ocean. Similarly, in Bermuda an octopus temporarily escaped its tank to eat the crab inhabitants of the adjacent tanks before returning…

Whether it’s in the form of a French fondue, pizza topping, slice of grilled halloumi or sprinkling of feta, there’s a type of cheese to complement most savoury foods. Humans have produced cheese for around 4,000 years, but its exact origin remains unknown. One common theory is that it was discovered accidentally when stomachs taken from butchered cattle were used to carry milk. Inside the stomach is an enzyme that causes milk to curdle, and when transporting milk for long periods, people discovered that their milk had solidified in the process. Upon tasting it, others wanted to recreate this newly discovered foodstuff’s unique flavour. Over time, specific ingredients and controlled conditions provided the world with cheeses of different flavours, colours and textures. Today, cheese is popular globally. In the US,…

Step aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and see how it compares to other giant warships In order to protect a country at sea, a naval force doesn’t rely solely on ships. Aircraft carriers are large warships that serve as a platform for military planes to take off from and land on, and they are so efficient that aircraft can be launched every 25 seconds from them. To be considered an aircraft carrier, all a ship needs is a runway on its upper deck. But as these vessels have evolved since the early 1900s, ships such as the Gerald R. Ford, the latest class in a long line of US Navy carriers, are decked out with an assembly of machine guns, missiles, submarines, fighter jets and helicopters. These…

GENETIC DRIFT Sometimes external forces can force the hand of evolution’s seemingly gradual pace. Prehistoric mass extinction events are excellent examples of how one species’ evolution can be accelerated. When a catastrophic event such as a volcanic eruption or climatic change occurs, many members of a species die, so only the genetic information of those that remain can be passed on to the next generation. This is known as the bottleneck effect, when a population decreases by as little as one generation and reduces the genetic variety of the population. Fewer variations in a population limits how a species evolves and even how it adapts to the environment. THE FOUNDER EFFECT In a similar fashion to the bottleneck effect, the founder effect occurs when a new population is formed by…

If you’ve ever spent time with cats, you’ll be familiar with the echoing, low-pitched rumble they make. Called a purr, it’s made without the animal opening its mouth, as it does to meow. This relaxing noise is generally associated with a happy cat, and the majority of the time this is true. But there are other circumstances when a cat will purr. Understanding the body language of a cat is one of the main ways to decipher what mood the animal is portraying when purring. If a cat is lying down with a stretched-out body and a closed mouth, the purr indicates contentment. However, if its body looks stiff, its eyes are wide open and ears pinned back, the purring is more likely to be a signal of worry or…

More than 63 per cent of the world is now connected to the internet, M and many workers require an electronic device to do their job. Even for activities that don’t require an internet connection, such as blow-drying your hair, heating up your dinner or illuminating a room, there’s always an electronic item waiting to be used. Around 40 million tonnes of electronic waste, known as e-waste, is produced every year. This includes electrical or electronic equipment that has been discarded. But where does it all go? In the US alone, 100 million mobile phones, 41 million computers and over 20 million televisions are thrown into landfills in a year. Even for standard waste this is problematic, because any materials that are buried in the ground can’t be easily retrieved…

You try to run, but your little legs won’t quite go as fast as you need Y them to. Tears stain your cheeks as you desperately look for your parents. All around you the flames dance as sinister horned shapes run between them. You tried so hard to be good this year, you really did. You did all your homework, ate all your greens and even helped with the chores. None of that matters now, though. You had hoped for a gift from Saint Nicholas this Christmas, but now you’re being hunted… hunted by Krampus, for this is his night. The Krampus Runs of the Alpine regions of Europe have become legendary – a popular alternative Christmas attraction for tourists with an interest in a more satanic side to Santa.…

8,849 METRES Bees can fly higher than Mount Everest 31,760 Tomato plants have 7,000 more genes than humans ANTARCTICA IS LOSING SO MUCH ICE, IT’S AFFECTING GRAVITY IN THE REGION 171 MILLION CUBIC MILES The Pacific Ocean has twice as much water in it than the Atlantic 2060 The year that physicist Isaac Newton believed the world would end 9% Ice takes up a significant percentage of extra volume than the water that created it SIX MINUTES Brain cells react remarkably quickly to alcohol 48.6 Humans average nearly 50 individual thoughts per minute Ten-year-old Clara Lazen discovered a new molecule in 2012 GENIUS THEORETICAL PHYSICIST STEPHEN HAWKING NEVER WON A NOBEL PRIZE, DESPITE HIS SCIENTIFIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS 576 MEGAPIXELS Our brains can process images larger than most digital cameras can…