Table of contents for Summer 2020 in BBC Science Focus Magazine

STAY COOL IN THE SUMMER Setting up your home to stay cool in the heat will help you adapt to warmer weather without the need for energy-hungry air conditioning. Closing curtains and blinds during the hottest parts of the day can go a long way to keeping heat outside. Open windows at night to let cooler air in. Trees and plants can act as natural coolers by releasing moisture into the air. Turning off appliances and incandescent light bulbs can also prevent excess warmth from being released into your house. Fridges can also send out a lot of heat: ensure there is plenty of ventilation space behind them.…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact, but its effects have hit some groups harder than others. In the United Kingdom, more than 40,000 people have so far died from COVID-19, with people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities disproportionately affected. A report published on 19 June by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that black men are more than three times as likely to die from COVID-19 than white men, while black women are almost 2.5 times as likely to die than white women. People of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian ethnicity are also significantly more likely to die from COVID-19 than white people. A Public Health England report published on 2 June found that people from BAME backgrounds are also more likely to become infected…

Extra arm In 2016, researchers at Georgia Tech unveiled a robotic arm that drummers strap to their shoulders. The arm responds to the music’s tempo and rhythm. Robot suit A suit controlled by brainwaves has allowed a paralysed French man to move all four of his limbs. It works via electrodes implanted on his brain’s surface. Key implant VivoKey’s implantable chips allow people to open doors, share data or access websites with a wave of the hand. They work a bit like contactless credit cards.…

When’s it coming out? ‘Holidays 2020’ is all that Sony has committed to. This typically means early November, perhaps after the Thanksgiving holiday, though we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the COVID-19 outbreak hasn’t caused setbacks. How powerful is it? Without drowning you in jargon, analysts have estimated it’s between two to three times more powerful than its predecessor, the PS4, but a little underpowered compared to the Xbox Series X (also due for release later this year). But the PS5 is boasting near-instantaneous memory, meaning it can load game worlds in a flash. If the last generation is anything to go by though, it won’t be the hardware that decides which is the best console to buy. It’ll be the games available. Why does it look like a massive…

When eye-catching theories emerge in the field of psychology, they often take on a life of their own. Just look at the idea that oxytocin is the ‘cuddle hormone’. This captures our imaginations, but research has shown that oxytocin can also increase feelings of intolerance and aggression. We are all amateur psychologists, and the field provides an appealing way for us to make sense of our feelings and behaviour. If it can confirm our own beliefs about human nature, then even better. But just like every science, psychology is a messy, ongoing process, and many headline-grabbing results have not been replicated, or are far more nuanced than first realised. Here are eight widely believed pop psychology ideas that are probably wrong, or at least overly simplistic. 5 “POWER ALWAYS CORRUPTS”…

HOLLY GOODRICK, LONDON IS IT POSSIBLE TO RECYCLE PLASTICS AN INFINITE NUMBER OF TIMES? Plastics are made of polymers – long, repeating chains of atoms that are created by combining together building blocks called monomers. These monomers, which form the polymer’s repeating ‘unit’, are shorter chains of atoms such as hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. During the manufacturing process, chemical additives such as pigments, fire retardants and antioxidants are also added, giving the plastic desirable characteristics like colour, heat resistance or durability. Most plastic recycling plants shred plastic waste and melt it down before remoulding it. But this process means that the recycled plastic is weaker. This is because, firstly, the process breaks the polymers. And secondly, any impurities or additives in the plastic waste are virtually impossible to separate from…

WILL THERE BE A SECOND PEAK? We will be facing COVID-19 for many months to come. We are still far from achieving herd immunity, where enough people have become infected (and therefore, it is hoped, immune) to halt the disease’s spread. It is also likely that we won’t have a vaccine for at least another 12 months. As a result, we run a constant risk of a second peak in cases, especially as we ease lockdown restrictions. The key is to keep down the reproduction number R, which measures how many people a single infected person will pass the disease to. At the peak of the UK outbreak, R was between 2 and 3. It has since dropped below 1, and will need to stay there if the virus is…

How They Made Us Doubt Everything The first of a 10-part series telling the story of how public and media perceptions of climate change were influenced by big name oil companies. BBC Radio 4 Mondays at 1:45pm, starting 27 July Led By The Science This documentary speaks to scientists and politicians about the decisions made since the coronavirus pandemic began, and how they have affected the general public’s opinion of science. BBC Radio 4 27 July, 8pm A Wild Year Using time-lapse filmography, A Wild Year shares the beauty of all four seasons across iconic regions of the British countryside: the Pembrokeshire Coast, the North York Moors and the Fens. Available on BBC iPlayer…

WRITE IN AND WIN! The writer of next issue’s Letter Of The Month wins a TomTom GoPremium sat-nav. This sat-nav device gives you trusted road and traffic guidance, helps you avoid traffic jams, and even lets you pick attractions and scenic routes for an inspiring road trip. Plus, you can share your location, notifications and ETA with loved ones, so you can keep your mobile safely in your pocket. tomtom.com In the name of science Reading the news story about a leg being transplanted onto a rat (April, p14), I find it disturbing to think that researchers still think it’s okay to remove and replace limbs from innocent animals all in the name of science. Humans are not superior to other animals. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.…

WHAT DID THEY DO? Researchers from the Society for Neuroscience in Washington, DC, showed a group of rhesus macaque monkeys a series of animations featuring monkeys rendered in varying degrees of detail. WHY DID THEY DO THAT? In robotics, the term ‘uncanny valley effect’ is used to describe the revulsion and feelings of unease that arise when we are confronted by a robot or a computer-generated figure that appears to be almost, but not quite, human. The effect is also seen in monkeys, which makes studying their social behaviour using animated monkey faces particularly difficult. WHAT DID THEY FIND? The monkeys were unconcerned when confronted with wire-frame avatars, but avoided looking at greyscale or furless ones, indicating the existence of the uncanny valley effect. However, the monkeys were comfortable when…

Back in June, University College London (UCL) announced that it would be denaming the Galton Lecture Theatre as “one step in a range of actions aimed at acknowledging and addressing the university’s historical links with the eugenics movement.” Sir Francis Galton, whom the lecture theatre was named after, was a Victorian scientist who founded the British study of eugenics. But does removing Galton’s name minimise, or even hide, his role in shaping our society today? We posed this question to Subhadra Das, a science historian and curator at UCL, who has spent the last eight years looking after the items in the university’s Galton collection. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE RENAMING OF THE GALTON LECTURE THEATRE? I’m very pleased, because it’s something that people have wanted to happen for…

Well, a Tornado is your old push-button phone with the antenna coming out, whereas the F-35 is your iPhone.” Jim Beck is the station commander of RAF Marham in Norfolk, UK. Clearly identifying my scrambled brain, he’s breaking down into the baldest terms just what a revolution the Royal Air Force’s new F-35 Lightning II jets – which live at his base – represent. “JUST AS OUR SMARTPHONES ARE SELDOM USED FOR ACTUAL VOICE CALLS, THE F-35 WILL RARELY FIND ITSELF IN A BRUCKHEIMER-ESQUE DOGFIGHT” “This jet fuses all the data it receives together and only presents about 1 per cent of it to the pilot, when a human decision is required. The actual flying of it is the easiest bit. You don’t even think about it any more.” For…

The new exploration of the Moon is a test of techniques and technology for the larger international endeavour of going to Mars. While it is difficult to put absolute timescales on this endeavour because budgets are being worked out as each country goes along, it is possible to say roughly what the stages will be before humankind is ready to launch a Mars mission. 1 First missions test landing and ascent capability on the Moon. 2 More missions extend the range of tasks performed on the lunar surface. 3 The lunar station is extended to allow more astronauts to live and work around the Moon. 4 A permanent lunar habitat is established, allowing longer stays on the surface 5 Extended stays on the lunar surface or between nine months and…

I’VE BURNED MY HAND ON THE OVEN AND MY FRIEND SAYS I SHOULD PUT HONEY ON IT.IS SHE BEE-ING SERIOUS? Don’t worry, your friend hasn’t lost the plot. Honey has been used for treating wounds, including burn wounds, for thousands of years, as far back as ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Today, we know that honey has both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, and several studies over the last few decades have found that honey can reduce healing times, infection and inflammation, even when compared to conventional wound treatments such as antiseptics. There are likely to be many mechanisms at play in honey’s wound-healing abilities, and we don’t know the full story. But we do know that honey stimulates white blood cell production, which triggers tissue repair and regrowth. Honey is also…

WHEN: PEAKS ON 11-13 AUGUST On any given night of stargazing, you can expect to see about two meteors every hour. Meteors, commonly known as ‘shooting stars’, are flashes of light caused by pieces of dust or rock burning up as they pass through the Earth’s atmosphere. Incredibly, these are usually the size of a grain of sand, but they travel so fast that they create a trail that glows as brightly as the stars. Every so often, the Earth’s orbit brings us into a particularly dense patch of cosmic debris – a trail of rock and dust left in the wake of an asteroid or comet. We see this as a meteor shower. The Perseid (‘Per-see-id’) meteor shower is one of the most active in the northern hemisphere, providing…

BUGS ARE IMPORTANT They are food for other creatures, such as birds, bats and fish. They provide services, like recycling dead bodies, keeping the soil healthy, and pollinating. Three- quarters of the crops we eat rely on insect pollination. It’s been said that if insects were to vanish, the environment would ‘collapse into chaos’. I think that’s true. EVERYONE CAN DO SOMETHING The UK has half a million hectares of garden. That’s a bigger area than all of our nature reserves. It doesn’t take much to make your patch more wildlife friendly. PLANT THE RIGHT FLOWERS Some flowers, like the classic tea rose, may be pretty, but don’t offer much to pollinators. Old-fashioned cottage flowers and herbs, like catmint and comfrey, are much better. In my own garden, I have…

JUANITA BAWAGAN Why are so many BAME patients dying from COVID-19? Science writer Juanita picks apart the web of factors. p30 DR CHRISTIAN JARRETT There are certain ideas from psychology we take as given. But, as psychology writer Christian explains, these ideas don’t always stand up to scrutiny. p70 DR STUART CLARK The idea of a base on the Moon seems fantastical, but there are real plans to start scouting for a lunar outpost. Stu finds out more. p54 MICHÉ AARON As NASA prepares to launch Mars Perseverance, planetary scientist Miché tells us how this mission could help her look for signs of life on the Red Planet. p66…

Love to learn In reply to ‘A learning curve’ by Aleks Krotoski (May, p62) I think parents can often underestimate the impact they already have on their children’s education and general upbringing in everyday life. Just because there’s no school for children to go to at the moment, it doesn’t mean they’re going to become complete monsters. That being said, it’s understandable for parents to feel like they now have a vastly increased workload to handle. It’s fair that parents are feeling pressure at the moment, but they should also remember that children can have a fascination in any number of things and so, whatever decision the parents do make, it’s likely to have a positive impact. Gwilym Jones, age17…

FOOTBALL FANS More than 20 of the 92 professional English Football League clubs could face flooding in their stadiums by 2050 due to climate change, a study commissioned by the Rapid Transition Alliance has found. And we thought there was enough diving already. LATE EATERS Eating dinner later in the evening may cause us to pile on the pounds, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found. They found that people who ate at 10pm had higher blood sugar levels and that they burned less ingested fat than those that ate at 6pm.…

GREENER LAUNDRY HABITS CAN HELP FIGHT MICROFIBRE POLLUTION The huge volumes of microfibres washing into Europe’s rivers and seas could be reduced by up to a third with small changes to laundry habits, a study at Northumbria University has found. An estimated 13,000 tonnes of microfibres are released from washing machines each year in Europe – equivalent to two rubbish trucks per day. The researchers achieved a 30 per cent reduction in how much microfibre was released when they washed clothes in a 30-minute, 15°C cycle compared to a standard 85-minute, 40°C cycle. SUSTAINABILITY NGOs call for a post-COVID green recovery Investment into renewable energy, green transport and ecosystem regeneration could boost the economy while benefitting the planet Boris Johnson must implement policies to ensure a “resilient and inclusive” economic…

1. Makokou, a western lowland gorilla, lives at Johannesburg Zoo. In May, a biopsy revealed he was suffering from a series of polyps in his nasal passages. A CT scan was the only way to safely determine the extent of the polyps’ growth, to help plan any future procedures. The zookeepers chose the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital in Pretoria for the scan as it was the only facility nearby with equipment robust enough to handle Makokou’s 210kg bulk. In early June, he was transported the 65km to the hospital via helicopter. 2. Thanks to Makokou’s enormous size, it took five members of staff to manoeuvre him into position for the scan. 3. Once they had placed Makokou into the scanner, the team continuously monitored his vital signs – much like…

What would you do with an extra thumb? Master that tricky guitar chord? Become a volleyball pro, perhaps, or an expert shadow puppeteer? Scientists and engineers have long been interested in augmenting the human body with extra limbs or fingers. We’ve previously seen drummers with three arms, and robotic sixth fingers for stroke patients. Now, a project called The Third Thumb has shown how the brain adapts to an extra body part. “IT WILL BE OF GREAT INTEREST TO THOSE DEVELOPING BRAIN-CONTROLLED PROSTHETICS” The Third Thumb is the work of Dani Clode, a designer and researcher at University College London’s Plasticity Lab. Her device is a 3D-printed prosthetic that is controlled by the feet. Pressure sensors underneath the big toes detect movement and relay that information via Bluetooth to a…

Glass speakers Back in 2000, Apple partnered with Harman Kardon to create the iconic SoundStick speakers, designed by Jony Ive. This update to the original design is arguably even better. The wireless speaker boasts a 360° sound system that pumps out audio in all directions, so that the music sounds fantastic wherever you are in the house. The inner glass dome is lit with LEDs, to create an ambient light system too. We haven’t listened to it with our own ears, but this is definitely a speaker that would look good at home. Harman Kardon Aura Studio 3 £279.99, harmankardon.co.uk Geodesic tents With lockdown rules easing, but some flight restrictions still in place, it’s time to give camping a second chance. Inflatable tents are the way to go if you’re…

About this time next year, a small robotic spider may be taking its first tentative steps on the Moon. It’s not exactly The Spiders From Mars, but the late David Bowie will have played a part in getting it there. Pavlo Tanasyuk, CEO and founder of the British company Spacebit, remembers once listening to David Bowie’s The Rise And Fall  Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and wondering about one day building rovers with legs rather than wheels. The idea lay dormant until Tanasyuk was visiting a friend at the Japan Aerospace Agency (JAXA), and mentioned his long-held idea of a spider robot on Mars or the Moon. The friend responded immediately with the Japanese proverb of the asagumo, the morning spider who brings fortune. “That’s when it…

The invention of vaccination in the 18th Century is a turning point in medical history. Yet while the English physician Edward Jenner is rightly praised for his role in developing the first vaccine – for smallpox – the key role played by an English aristocrat is often overlooked. In 1717, Lady Mary Montagu was the wife of Britain’s ambassador to Turkey, where she witnessed a strange ritual said to protect against smallpox. It involved smearing infected pus from a smallpox victim into scratches made on those seeking immunity. With 400,000 dying annually from smallpox in Europe alone, Montagu decided to have her two children treated with the method. She also persuaded leading British physicians to supervise experiments, which showed that the technique did protect against smallpox. The method – now…