Table of contents for January 2017 in BBC Science Focus Magazine

This seemingly infinite corridor of books leads to the entrance of the Yangzhou Zhongshuge bookshop in Zhen Yuan, southern China. The avant-garde architecture is the creation of designer Li Xiang of Shanghai-based architects XL-MUSE, and takes inspiration from the nearby Qiantang river. Black tiles made from polished stone line the floor, which is intended to represent the reflective surface of the water. Meanwhile, the specially designed curved floor-to-ceiling bookshelves represent the many bridges that span the river. “Yangzhou Zhongshuge is located in Zhen Yuan, which is next to the waterside and in front of the trees,” says a spokesperson for XL-MUSE. “We added the arched bridge, an indispensable element of this historical and cultural ancient city, in our design concept as it used to be the guiding factor of culture…

In order to investigate the lift generated by a bird’s wings, a team from Stanford University trained a Pacific parrotlet called Obi to fly through a chamber filled with microscopic aerosol particles illuminated with lasers. As he swooped through the air, the researchers were able to record the motion of the laser light that was scattered by the flapping of his wings. The goggles were specially designed to protect the bird’s eyes and also had reflective markers on the side so the team could track his velocity. The measurements revealed that the swirling vortices generated by the bird’s wingtips break up in a sudden, dramatic fashion that current mathematical models of flight fail to account for. According to the researchers, the results help explain the way animals generate enough lift…

This really is a gem of a planet. A gas giant, located more than 100 light-years away and 16 times the size of Earth, has an atmosphere filled with giant swirling clouds containing the building blocks of rubies and sapphires, a team at the University of Warwick has found. After combing through data sent back by NASA’s Kepler mission, the team found that the light reflected from planet HAT-P-7b changed over time, which is an indicator of the presence of strong winds blowing the atmosphere across the planet’s surface. The planet is so close to its host star that it completes its orbit in around two days. It is also tidally locked, meaning the same side always faces the star. This allows surface temperatures on the dayside of the planet…

These guys definitely don’t judge things at face value. Chimpanzees can recognise each other instantly simply by looking at each others’ buttocks, in the same way that humans recognise each other by looking at faces. Working at the Kyoto University Primate Research Institute in Japan, a team of researchers led by neuropsychologist Mariska Kret from the University of Leiden compared how rapidly humans could recognise faces, and how quickly chimps could recognise buttocks, compared to other objects. Their research found that while humans are better at recognising faces, chimpanzees are better at recognising buttocks. “Faces are enormously important for people, and all the features of our faces are optimally arranged to be seen and to communicate,” explained Kret. “Over the course of evolution, our faces have acquired more contrast: red…

Rail passengers in San Francisco enjoyed a weekend of free rides recently, after the Municipal Transportation Agency’s ticketing system was targeted by hackers. The hackers used ransomware to close down the system over Thanksgiving weekend, demanding payment of 100 Bitcoins (£60,000 approx) to reinstate it. It’s not clear whether any such payment was made or how the situation was resolved, but while ticket machines were out of action, passengers were able to ride the city’s light railway network for nothing. It’s understood that the MTA felt that allowing passengers free travel was a less disruptive measure than closing down entirely. The attack follows other cases of ransomware being used to extort money from hospitals and schools, highlighting the need for adequate security in computer systems used to run public services.…

Back in November, I was part of a team that described a new dinosaur (pictured). Hailing from southern China and living just a few million years before dinosaurs disappeared, the species would have looked like a deranged bird. It was about the size of a sheep and covered in feathers, with a sharp beak that it probably used to crack open nuts and shellfish. We called itTongtianlongin formal scientific parlance, but gave it the nickname ‘Mud Dragon’ because its skeleton was found suspended in rock that hardened from ancient mud. It seems like this poor dinosaur got trapped in the muck and died. Then, some 68 million years or so later, its corpse was exhumed by dumb luck as workmen dynamited bedrock while building a school. It’s one of those…

1 Prefrontal cortex: involved in planning, decision-making and stamping out any urges to do something inappropriate at a party. It’s present in the teenager, though not yet fully functional. 2 Limbic system: if the brain has a ‘teen region’, it’s here. Regardless of age, we all have one – it’s just given more of a free rein in a teenager. 3 Nucleus accumbens: this focal point in the reward system is activated by activities we find pleasurable, from eating food and having sex to seeing Facebook likes. 4 Hippocampus: this plays an important role in memory and learning, and has strong links to the reward centre in teens. 5 Pineal gland: a major source of melatonin, the late release of which is responsible for teenagers’ late nights and long lie-ins.…

“The Danes focus on the small things that really matter, including spending quality time with friends and family” 1 MAKE A HYGGEKROG Every home needs a hyggekrog, which roughly translates as ‘a nook’. It is the place where you love to snuggle up with a book and a hot drink. 2 BRING IN NATURE Danes feel the need to bring the entire forest inside. Any piece of nature you find is likely to get the green light. Leaves, flowers, pine cones… basically, think how a Viking squirrel would furnish a room. 3 THINK TACTILE A hyggelig interior is not just about how things look, it is just as much about how things feel. Letting your fingers run across a warm, wooden table is a different feeling from being in contact…

MOUTH Streptococcus mutans turns sugars into acid that erodes the enamel of our teeth, causing cavities. SKIN Propionibacterium acnes lives deep within our pores and hair follicles, and can cause spots. GUT The majority of our microbiome lives here, as many as 400 trillion microbes. VAGINA Dominated by one species, Lactobacillus. This bacteria pumps out lactic acid, keeping the vaginal environment at a low, acidic pH that discourages other bacteria, yeast and viruses from thriving. SCALP According to recent studies, dandruff is caused by the delicate balance of two common scalp bacteria: Propionibacteriumand Staphylococcus. ARMPIT When some bacteria encounter sweat, they produce pungent compounds called thioalcohols. Staphylococcus hominisis one of the worst offenders. POO Given the huge numbers of microbes in the gut, it’s no surprise that many find their…

01 MEET THE SPYCREATURES Well, wouldn’t you be surprised too? A grey langur does a double take as it meets its animatronic equivalent in Rajasthan, India. This candid shot was taken during filming of the BBC’s new five-part series Spy In The Wild , a follow-up to previous ‘spy’ series including Spy In The Huddle and Spy In The Pod . This time around, Spy In The Wild sees over 30 robotic animals being released into habitats around the world. There are animatronic fish, birds, mammals and reptiles, from tiny SpyCrocHatchlings to a full-size SpyOrangutan. Made to look and smell as realistic as possible, and even to move just like the real creatures they represent, the…

Seen here is the Dallol salt dome. It rises from the floor of the Danakil Depression – part of the East African Rift, and one of the hottest places on Earth – in northern Ethiopia. The Dallol salt dome lies at the heart of a system of hot springs, geysers, salt flows and oily lakes that give off acidic gas and smoke. The dome forms as briny water from springs evaporates when it reaches the surface, leaving the salts behind. As conditions here are thought to be similar to those that prevailed on our planet when life first emerged, the area is of great interest to those studying ‘extremophile’ life forms. Until recently, scientific research in the area has been limited, due to the war between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea.…

It seems that planet-destroying Death Stars aren’t just confined to Star Wars movies. Astronomers have discovered a solar system with a host star a lot like the Sun, and it appears to have swallowed up some of its planets. The study, which was published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, focused on HIP 68468, a star about 300 light-years away with a mass roughly that of our Sun. These ‘solar twins’ are of great interest to astronomers because they can tell us more about the likely past, and future, of our own planetary neighbourhood. Using the 3.6m telescope at La Silla Observatory in Chile, the international team of scientists discovered two potential exoplanets orbiting HIP 68468: a giant planet that’s 50 per cent more massive than Neptune and a ‘super-Earth’, three times…

Could artificial intelligence help us detect eye disease earlier, and therefore prevent more people from going blind? In November, the Journal Of The American Medical Association published its first-ever paper on ‘deep learning’. The paper describes how ophthalmic researchers from various institutions, working alongside Google computer scientists, were able to teach a computer to recognise signs of diabetic retinopathy, a common cause of blindness, in patients’ retinal scans. Diabetic retinopathy affects nearly a third of diabetes sufferers, but because the condition has no symptoms in its early stages, it often goes undetected until it’s too late. However, the disease can be treated if caught early enough, which is usually done by checking retinal scans for signs of bleeding or leakage. The team ‘trained’ a computer algorithm by showing it 128,000…

“The Mavic is a first for us: it’s the only drone we’ve managed to fly without crashing” Form and function Our first 10 minutes with the Mavic were spent simply marvelling at the thing. The gunmetal grey paint and angular chassis scream dystopian sci-fi and we like it. With the arms tucked in, under its belly and behind its back, the Mavic shrinks down to sit on the palm of your hand. The teeny footprint makes it incredibly discreet: larger drones attract crowds in seconds. The 4K camera is mounted on a gimble with added stabilisation. This, paired with sensors all over its shell, creates a vision system that enables it to fly autonomously. Even the remote – into which you dock a smartphone to get a live view from…

1940s French biologist Jean Rostand studies how extremely low temperatures affect the properties of materials and living things – now known as cryogenics. 1962 Inspired by Rostand’s work and science fiction, a physics teacher and war veteran called Robert Ettinger publishes The Prospect Of Immortality, proposing that humans could be frozen and awoken in the future. 1965 As societies and companies dedicated to life extension start to form across the US, the term ‘cryonics’ is coined for the movement started by Ettinger. 1967 Prof James Bedford is the first person to be frozen. In 1991, when removed from storage to be evaluated, his body is found to be preserved but damaged, with discoloured skin and “frozen blood issuing from his mouth and nose”. 1979 Nine supposedly frozen patients are found…

“Over the last century, the amount of time that children and adolescents spend in school has greatly increased” Gerald is a professor of education at Pennsylvania State University. We’ve all done it: pretended to leave an essay at home, or stayed up until 2am to finish a piece of coursework we’ve been ignoring for weeks. Homework, for some people, is seen as a chore that’s ‘wrecking kids’ or ‘killing parents’, while others think it is an essential part of a well-rounded education. The problem is far from new: public debates about homework have been raging since at least the early-1900s. Ironically, the conversation surrounding homework often ignores the scientific ‘homework’ that researchers have carried out. Many detailed studies have been conducted, and can guide parents, teachers and administrators to make…

1. EARTH MOVING Digging a hole into the ground doesn’t apply any net force on the Earth. But as you remove soil from the hole and pile it up into a heap, you are very slightly shifting the centre of mass of the planet. This will cause it to wobble a little as it rotates. The effect is very small, however. 2. SOIL LAUNCHING If you fling each spadeful of soil into space, then you could apply a net force to the planet. You’d need to throw it hard enough to achieve escape velocity, but every billion tonnes you throw over your shoulder would change Earth’s orbital velocity by two nanometres per second. 3. SEA BOILING Alternatively, you could dig a hole at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean deep…

How were the creatures made? Each spy animal has a bare metal skeleton, a chassis, and a complicated system of servos and motors that allow it to move. Most of the skins are made of latex, and the fur is generally acrylic. For the birds, we typically used dyed goose and chicken feathers, each one having to be individually punched into the skin in the correct position. We also had to make some of the animals smell like the real thing by rubbing poo all over them! Which was the most challenging SpyCreature to build? The SpyCrocodile: it has 26 individual motors and an onboard computer to allow it to walk realistically, with the limbs, spine, pelvis and tail all moving simultaneously. It took two people to operate it in…

1 SS GREAT BRITAIN Brunel’s historic steamship is now a popular attraction. Great Western Dockyard, Gas Ferry Road, BS1 6TY ssgreatbritain.org 2 ARNOLFINI Contemporary arts centre situated on the Harbourside 16 Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA arnolfini.org.uk 3 GRAIN BARGE Pub and restaurant on a converted barge. Mardyke Wharf, Hotwell Road, BS8 4RU grainbarge.co.uk 4 LIDO Refurbished pool, restaurant and spa dating back to 1849. Oakfield Place, Clifton, BS8 2BJ lidobristol.com 5 CLIFTON ROCKS RAILWAY This water-powered funicular railway is now open to the public on selected days. Sion Hill, BS8 4DQ cliftonrocksrailway.org.uk 6 CLIFTON OBSERVATORY Features a camera obscura and access to a cave overlooking the Avon Gorge. Litfield Road, BS8 3LT Bristol has a vibrant, creative and outdoorsy feel. It’s a very picturesque city and is perfectly positioned for…

Artificial hands with an almost human-like sense of touch could be on their way. Although some modern robots do have ‘fingers’ and are able to pick up delicate objects, they usually rely on cameras and proximity sensors to determine where an object is – the robot doesn’t actually ‘feel’ anything. Now, a team at Cornell University’s Organic Robotics Lab has managed to give a soft prosthetic hand a refined sense of touch. The robot was so sensitive that it could identify which tomato out of a group of three was the ripest, simply by pressing its finger onto the surface of each piece of fruit. To give the robot a sense of ‘touch’, the team embedded an LED light source and a system of stretchable optical waveguides – structures that…

How might species respond to warmer temperatures? They could stay and change themselves: maybe spend more time in the shade, where their tolerances expand. We call that a ‘niche shift’. Or they can adapt evolutionarily. But my study shows that doesn’t seem to be happening. Instead they’re tracking the suitable climate over space. How does climate affect a species’ geographic range? Temperatures get cooler as you move higher in elevation, towards the top of a mountain, or higher in latitude, towards the North or South Pole. Every single species has a sort of elevational range and a latitudinal range. We call the lowest latitudes and elevations the ‘warm edge’ of a range because they have the highest temperatures. That’s where we expect to see species affected by climate change. What…

Meet the Elettrica, the brand-new electric scooter from Vespa. The Italian company is touting the scooter as “the mobility of the future”, pointing out that 60 per cent of the world’s population live in major cities and consume 80 per cent of the world’s energy. The company suggests that fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly commuter vehicles are the answer. This isn’t a new idea from Vespa, either – it has been experimenting with hybrid engines since the 1970s. The scooter isn’t due to go on sale until the latter half of 2017, and precise details as to its engine power, range, charging times and so on are still to be announced. As you can see, though, it lifts all of its design cues straight from the company’s classic machines of the 1960s.…

We’re sure many readers will, like us, have experienced a pang of sadness when Concorde made its final flight in 2003. We’re also kind of hoping you’re over it by now… but if you’re not, you’ll be delighted to hear that a new supersonic jet could once more be running commercial flights by as early as 2020. The Boom XB-1, currently being developed by aviation start-up Boom Technology, is a 44-seater airliner with a maximum speed of Mach 2.2 that would be able to fly from New York to London in just 3.5 hours – half the time it takes in a 747. The company recently unveiled a one-third scale prototype, the XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator or ‘Baby Boom’, at an event at Denver’s Centennial Airport. Baby Boom uses three General…

Te enager. This is a word that’s become synonymous with a certain attitude and way of life. Mood swings. Rudeness. Risk-taking. Late nights and long lie-ins. It’s fair to say that 13-19-year-olds have something of a PR problem. Many of the personality traits we associate with teenagers have become a bit of a lazy shorthand over the years, but there’s no doubt that there is some truth to their reputation. For starters, when compared to childhood, the adolescent years are associated with a whacking great 200 per cent hike in the number of deaths from preventable causes. Something is clearly going on. But the more we learn about the teenage brain, thanks particularly to advances in neuroimaging over the past decade, the more we’re realising that much of typical teen…

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Ince again, it’s been raining all day. It got dark hours ago. And a bitterly cold January night beckons in the city of Copenhagen. Many people would find all this pretty depressing. But not most Danes. In 2016, Denmark was ranked as the happiest nation on the planet in the World Happiness Report. This might sound surprising given that in mid-winter the country is plunged into darkness for 16 hours a day, deprived of that supposed vital ingredient of happiness: sunshine. So what are their secrets? The annual World Happiness Report typically assesses criteria such as: per capita income; life expectancy; people’s freedom to make life decisions; generosity; social support; and corruption in government and business. For the 2017 report, researchers are looking in depth at Africa and China, happiness…

ROYAL SOCIETY SUMMER SCIENCE EXHIBITION 4-9 JULY 2017 With 22 fascinating interactive exhibits you can discover the science changing our world. Come along and meet scientists from across the UK and discuss their exciting research, right at the forefront of scientific innovation. From dinosaur forensics, supernovae and your own heart, to quantum computing, mental health and the future of our planet, you can explore cutting edge research from across the sciences. The Summer Science Exhibition is suitable for all ages and features a host of free talks and activities throughout the week. exhibition@royalsociety.org  www.royalsociety.org/summer PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL 15-17 MAY 2017 Pint of Science brings more than a 1000 scientists and researchers across 27 cities in the UK to their local pubs to explain their recent discoveries. Every topic is…