In this issue

Orchestral arrangement
How the instruments of an orchestra are arranged in tandem with our brain functions.

Surviving the big freeze
Animals have all sorts of strategies for coping with cold temperatures, and some are pretty extraordinary.

The Eden Project explained
How the beauty and importance of global biodiversity is demonstrated by these giant plastic bubbles...

WHAT IS THE SMELL OF RAIN?

After rainfall, this distinctive aroma is released from the soil

1 min

Galileo's GREATEST DISCOVERIES

Peer into the mind of this trailblazing astronomer and discover his pioneering observations

7 mins

WHY JUPITER'S GREAT RED SPOT IS VANISHING

Jupiter’s complex weather system is sapping its famous red spot at an alarming rate. And scientists predict the feature could vanish within our lifetimes

2 mins

HOW ARE CARS RECYCLED?

Step into one of the UK’s largest car recycling centres to discover the secrets of a vehicle disassembly line

5 mins

INSECT INSPIRATION

Why flies have had an impact on science

2 mins

WHY WE NEED FLIES

They’re some of the strangest and most reviled insects on the planet, but they’re also incredibly useful

5 mins

WHERE DOES YOUR POO GO?

Following the flush, your body’s waste undergoes a long journey as it’s prepped to return safely to the environment

2 mins

HOW DIALYSIS MACHINES WORK

These lifesaving devices take over the role of failing kidneys

3 mins

WHAT IF THERE WAS NO GRAVITY?

How this fundamental force controls the way things move on Earth and throughout the universe

9 mins

Fungi seem to 'sweat' to stay cool

Mushrooms, and possibly all fungi, have the ability to cool down by ‘sweating’ away water

2 mins

Hundreds of ancient, invisible structures discovered near our galaxy's centre

Astronomers have discovered hundreds of strange, string-like structures at the centre of our galaxy, possibly tracing the violent path of an ancient black hole eruption

2 mins

A lung cancer pill drastically cuts the risk of death after surgery

A once-daily pill halved people’s risk of dying from a common lung cancer when they took the drug after tumour-removal surgery, new trial data shows

1 min

'Reanimated' hearts can be successfully transplanted

A method for ‘reanimating’ organ donors’ hearts works just as well as the standard approach to collecting hearts for transplantation, new trial data shows. If widely applied, the method could increase the heart donor pool by an estimated 30 per cent

2 mins

An unearthed dinosaur could be a 'missing link'

Palaeontologists have unearthed a never-before-seen raptor-like dinosaur that lived during a period of extreme climate change around 100 million years ago

2 mins

The world's most painful ant sting targets nerves like scorpion venom

Ants that inflict the world’s most painful stings do so by injecting venom that targets their victim’s nerve cells

1 min

Earth is getting hotter despite government pledges

Average global temperatures are rising at an ever faster rate despite pledges by world leaders to tackle climate change

2 mins

SCUBA DIVING SCIENCE

Deep dive into the physics, physiology and equipment of this popular sport

3 mins

HOW LOUDSPEAKERS MAKE SOUND

This box of electromagnets transforms electrical currents into sound waves

2 mins

HOW TO TAKE OFF VERTICALLY

These aircraft have ditched the runway and can shoot straight up into the sky

5 mins

HOW SUNDIALS TELL TIME

These ancient time-keeping devices keep track of Earth's movements around the Sun

3 mins

HOUSEHOLD MINIBEASTS

Meet the creepy critters and pesky pests that find a home in your house

8 mins

MASSIVE MOON CRATER

How Tycho, our Moon's most prominent crater, formed

3 mins

10 INCOMING ASTEROIDS

Discover the near-future encounters Earth will have with passing asteroids - some more hazardous than others

9 mins

"Truly gigantic" Jurassic sea monster discovered by chance in museum

The fossilised remains of a “truly gigantic” ancient sea monster have been discovered by chance in an English museum, revealing one of the largest carnivores to ever stalk the seas

1 min

Non-sugar sweeteners don't help with weight loss

Non-sugar sweeteners (NSS) shouldn’t be used to reduce body weight, according to newly released guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO)

2 mins

Never-before-seen viruses discovered in the oceans

Scientists have discovered never-before-seen viruses that thrive in sunlit oceans from pole to pole and infect plankton

2 mins

China rover may have found evidence of recent water on Mars

Mars may have had liquid water on its surface as recently as 400,000 years ago, data from China’s Zhurong rover suggests

1 min

Blinking fish could hold secrets of our evolution

An ugly blinking fish could hold the secret to how ancient animals evolved the ability to live on land, a new study has found

2 mins

Turtle species doomed to extinction after last female found dead

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), the world’s largest freshwater turtle and one of the most endangered species on Earth, is now essentially doomed to extinction after the last known remaining female washed up dead in Vietnam

2 mins

Energy of "25 billion atomic bombs" trapped on Earth in 50 years

Global warming has trapped an explosive amount of energy in Earth’s atmosphere in the past half century, the equivalent of about 25 billion atomic bombs, a new study finds

1 min

Read all stories from How It Works UK

How It Works UK Magazine Description:

The magazine that feeds minds, Welcome to How It Works, the magazine that explains everything you never knew you wanted to know about the world we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert knowledge, and with sections dedicated to science, technology, transportation, space, history and the environment, no subject is too big or small for How It Works to explain.