CATEGORIES

WHY WE LOVE SOME ROBOTS AND HATE OTHERS
BBC Science Focus

WHY WE LOVE SOME ROBOTS AND HATE OTHERS

Not all artificial intelligence is equal: just ask Clippy, Microsoft's much reviled virtual assistant

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3 mins  |
Summer 2022
SUNCREAM: HOW DO I CHOOSE THE BEST ONE?
BBC Science Focus

SUNCREAM: HOW DO I CHOOSE THE BEST ONE?

A report from Which? found that several 'mineral' suncreams don't provide adequate protection

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4 mins  |
Summer 2022
MARS: COULD MARTIAN ROL SAMPLES CONTAMINATE OUR PLANET WITH MICROBES?
BBC Science Focus

MARS: COULD MARTIAN ROL SAMPLES CONTAMINATE OUR PLANET WITH MICROBES?

NASA and ESA plan to bring back samples from the Red Planet within the next two decades

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3 mins  |
Summer 2022
CRIME: NEW ALGORITHM PREDICTS WHEN AND WHERE A CRIME WILL HAPPEN BEFORE IT TAKES PLACE
BBC Science Focus

CRIME: NEW ALGORITHM PREDICTS WHEN AND WHERE A CRIME WILL HAPPEN BEFORE IT TAKES PLACE

The Al model was tested across eight cities in the US and predicts future crimes with 80 to 90 per cent accuracy, without falling foul of bias

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4 mins  |
Summer 2022
FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO ROCK
BBC Science Focus

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO ROCK

Think of a rock. It’s angular, grey and on the ground, right? Wrong. Rocks come in a staggering variety of shapes and colours, which help us decipher the stories of their geological lives. Here are just a few of the fantastic rock formations found on this planet…

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6 mins  |
Summer 2022
THE EYES HAVE IT
BBC Science Focus

THE EYES HAVE IT

TWO FRONT-FACING EYES WORKS WELL FOR US BUT NOT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. THESE ANIMALS HAVE SOME BIZARRE AND BEAUTIFUL EYES THAT LET THEM SEE THE WORLD IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS

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5 mins  |
July 2022
PATHOLOGICAL LIARS WHAT DRIVES THEM TO LIE AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?
BBC Science Focus

PATHOLOGICAL LIARS WHAT DRIVES THEM TO LIE AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

From high-profile court cases to recent political scandals, lying is all over the news. A psychologist explains how to spot and deal with a habitual liar

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3 mins  |
July 2022
MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK: HOW WORRYING IS IT?
BBC Science Focus

MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK: HOW WORRYING IS IT?

This rare disease, mainly found in Africa, is unlikely to become a new pandemic in UK, but cases are going to rise over the coming weeks

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4 mins  |
July 2022
Q&A: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
BBC Science Focus

Q&A: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

DOES MY DOG ACTUALLY ENJOY THEIR FOOD WHEN THEY EAT IT SO FAST? ... HOW FAR DOES MY COMPUTER MOUSE MOVE? ... IS THERE SUCH A THING AS LEFT BRAIN VS RIGHT BRAIN? ... HOW DO YOU THICKEN A SAUCE? ... WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OCTOPUS AND A SQUID? ... WHY DO ANIMALS MIGRATE? ... DO WE GET MORE BITTER AND CYNICAL AS WE GET OLDER? ... IS IT TRUE THAT YOU CAN BITE THROUGH A HUMAN FINGER AS EASILY AS A CARROT? ... WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A BLACK HOLE? ... WHY DIDN'T DINOSAURS EVOLVE SENTIENCE?

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10+ mins  |
July 2022
FUTURE CITIES
BBC Science Focus

FUTURE CITIES

GREEN, FRIENDLY AND CLEAN: HOW WE COULD REIMAGINE URBAN LIFE AFTER THE PANDEMIC

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9 mins  |
July 2022
DISCOVERIES
BBC Science Focus

DISCOVERIES

A WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOING ON | BUGS IN OLD GUTS | SALAMADERS IN FREEFALL | A CURE FOR CANCER? | LUNAR ALLOTMENT | RATS TO THE RESCUE

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10+ mins  |
July 2022
CLIMATE: COULD 50°C BECOME THE NEW NORMAL?
BBC Science Focus

CLIMATE: COULD 50°C BECOME THE NEW NORMAL?

A recent heatwave in Jacobabad, Pakistan saw temperatures hit a record 51°C - dangerously close to the limit of human survivability

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3 mins  |
July 2022
AT THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING
BBC Science Focus

AT THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING

Puzzling over the answers to a centuries-old cosmic paradox can teach us profound things about the Universe

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3 mins  |
July 2022
VAMPIRE ELECTRONICS: HOW MUCH POWER DO THESE DEVICES REALLY DRAIN?
BBC Science Focus

VAMPIRE ELECTRONICS: HOW MUCH POWER DO THESE DEVICES REALLY DRAIN?

Can you save £££s by switching off appliances at the mains, as suggested by some headlines?

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4 mins  |
June 2022
WHY DOES RESEARCHING BISEXUALITY MATTER?
BBC Science Focus

WHY DOES RESEARCHING BISEXUALITY MATTER?

It's Pride Month and the UK is aglitter with messages of love. But not all the letters of the rainbow alphabet have been able to shine...

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3 mins  |
June 2022
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT
BBC Science Focus

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

When the asteroid smashed into Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out the fiercest, strongest creatures on Earth - the dinosaurs. So how exactly did our tiny, furtive ancestors thrive in the aftermath of an apocalypse?

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7 mins  |
June 2022
PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT
BBC Science Focus

PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT

SCIENTISTS GO TO EXTRAORDINARY LENGTHS TO EXPAND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RADICAL PHENOMENA IN THE MOST EXTREME LABS ON EARTH

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5 mins  |
June 2022
Could we live alongside dinosaurs?
BBC Science Focus

Could we live alongside dinosaurs?

In Jurassic World Dominion, the toothy ones have integrated into society...

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3 mins  |
June 2022
TRAVELLING TO THE EDGE OF TIME
BBC Science Focus

TRAVELLING TO THE EDGE OF TIME

The James Webb Space Telescope won't just show us the furthest reaches of space, it'll take us back to the dawn of the Universe too...

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3 mins  |
June 2022
PHYSICS: DO GIRLS AVOID IT BECAUSE IT'S TOO HARD?
BBC Science Focus

PHYSICS: DO GIRLS AVOID IT BECAUSE IT'S TOO HARD?

In late April, head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh commented that girls didn't like physics and are put off it because of the hard maths

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3 mins  |
June 2022
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS
BBC Science Focus

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS

Occasionally, you're minding our own business when a weird - and sometimes disturbing or upsetting - thought pops into your head. Why does your brain do this, and does it mean that you're a bad person?

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10+ mins  |
June 2022
HIGHLY SENSITIVE: IS IT THE SAME AS BEING SHY OR INTROVERTED?
BBC Science Focus

HIGHLY SENSITIVE: IS IT THE SAME AS BEING SHY OR INTROVERTED?

Recently, several celebrities have announced that they are 'highly sensitive people'. What does this term mean, and how can you spot the signs?

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4 mins  |
June 2022
Can a VR headset provide peace and tranquillity?
BBC Science Focus

Can a VR headset provide peace and tranquillity?

Alex Hughes tries to relax with a screen inches from his face...

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5 mins  |
June 2022
AI WILL NEVER THINK LIKE A HUMAN... AND THAT'S OKAY
BBC Science Focus

AI WILL NEVER THINK LIKE A HUMAN... AND THAT'S OKAY

There's no point getting frustrated with artificial intelligence when it doesn't do what we expect it to. Instead, we should focus on the ways it can help and support people

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3 mins  |
June 2022
How to Build the Future of Social Media
BBC Science Focus

How to Build the Future of Social Media

At the Polarization Lab in North Carolina, multidisciplinary researchers – including social scientists, statisticians and computer scientists – are breaking apart the social media status quo to rebuild it, one peer-reviewed brick at a time

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5 mins  |
May 2022
W Boson: Is About to Break Physics?
BBC Science Focus

W Boson: Is About to Break Physics?

The mass of the W boson, a subatomic particle, appears to be wrong. What could this mean for the Standard Model of particle physics?

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3 mins  |
May 2022
YOU CAN'T BEAT BEETROOT
BBC Science Focus

YOU CAN'T BEAT BEETROOT

How this humble, purple vegetable can improve the health of your heart

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2 mins  |
May 2022
Sleepiness in Alzheimer's patients is caused by damage to neurons that help them stay awake
BBC Science Focus

Sleepiness in Alzheimer's patients is caused by damage to neurons that help them stay awake

The finding treatments could lead to new for those with the disease to help them stay alert

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1 min  |
May 2022
THE DAY THE DINOSAURS DIED
BBC Science Focus

THE DAY THE DINOSAURS DIED

New BBC documentary, Dinosaurs: The Final Day, presented by Sir David Attenborough, digs into a fossil site that may have recorded the moment an asteroid wiped out almost all life on Earth. Holly Spanner met with Robert DePalma, one of the palaeontologists at the site, to find out more about the significance of this discovery...

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8 mins  |
May 2022
A WHOLE NEW WHORL
BBC Science Focus

A WHOLE NEW WHORL

MANY OF US HAVE SEEN SEASHELLS ON THE BEACH AND MARVELLED AT THEIR COLOURS, AND PATTERNS OF CURVES AND RIDGES. BUT SEASHELLS ARE FAR MORE THAN JUST PRETTY OBJECTS, AND THEIR INTRICATE STRUCTURES CAN HELP US LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INHABITANTS THAT ONCE DWELLED INSIDE THEM

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6 mins  |
May 2022