SPRING TO LIFE
GRAND PRISMATIC SPRING, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING, US
Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the US, and it boasts a veritable rainbow of colours. Hot water bubbles up through a crack in the Earth’s crust, supplying the spring. Very little can survive in the centre of the spring, where temperatures can reach nearly 90°C, so the water here is a pure blue. But away from the centre, colourful, heat-loving bacteria begin to thrive, and the spring’s concentric rings of temperature create different niches. The colours come from the photosynthetic pigments, such as chlorophyll and carotenoids, that the bacteria use to manufacture energy from sunlight. Carotenoid-rich Synechococcus bacteria are responsible for the innermost yellow ring, while slightly further from the centre, Synechococcus rubs shoulders with other carotenoid-containing bacteria, giving more of a tangerine colour. Closer to land, where the bacteria are more diverse still, the cocktail of pigments creates a rusty Martian hue.
A SLICE OF RAINBOW CAKE
ZHANGYE NATIONAL GEOPARK, CHINA
Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av BBC Focus - Science & Technology.
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Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av BBC Focus - Science & Technology.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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WHEN'S THE BEST TIME FOR A CAFFEINE HIT?
Wakey-wakey! Find the sweet spot for a coffee shot and science says the benefits are grande
DEAD MAN’S FINGERS
Picture the scene. It's Halloween and you've gone for an ill-advised stroll through the graveyard on the edge of town.
What tipping point are climate scientists most worried about?
Collapsing ice sheets, loss of the Amazon rainforest, melting permafrost.……. Key parts of Earth's climate system are in trouble. Which could trigger disaster first?
PROFESSOR BRIAN COX
The biggest space missions yet are making their way to new parts of the Universe. In his new BBC Two series Solar System, Prof Brian Cox reveals what these explorations are discovering about life in our galactic neighbourhood. Noa Leach sat down with him to talk about the most exciting new missions, life in the Universe and his top behind-the-scenes moments of filming
KEEP YOUR HAIR ON
MORE THAN HALF OF MEN AND MILLIONS OF WOMEN ARE AFFECTED BY HAIR LOSS. IT CAUSES LOW SELF-ESTEEM IN SOME AND ANXIETY IN OTHERS. THANKFULLY, SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE GETTING TO THE ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM WITH PIONEERING NEW TREATMENTS
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
Could we deflect an asteroid to stop it from hitting Earth? The success of NASA's DART mission suggests so, but only after ESA's soon-to-launch Hera mission has checked the results will we know if this approach to planetary defence is a viable possibility
SAVE THE SHARKS...SAVE THE OCEANS
RUTHLESS PREDATORS, MINDLESS KILLERS, MAN-EATERS... SHARKS HAVE A FEARSOME REPUTATION THAT BEARS LITTLE RELATION TO REALITY. THE TRUTH IS, THESE REMARKABLE CREATURES ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE. BUT OUR WATERS WON'T BE ANY SAFER WITHOUT THEM. IN FACT, THE PLANET'S SEAS WILL BE IN EVEN GREATER JEOPARDY THAN THEY ALREADY ARE
COULD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BE THE CURE FOR LONELINESS?
Rates of loneliness are increasing worldwide. But big-tech companies think they have the solution...
Olive mill wastewater: a health-boosting tonic hiding in the leftovers
A by-product of the olive oil production process is packed with compounds that lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of developing cancer.
Lab-grown meat may be better for livestock, but not necessarily for the environment
The move to put alternative protein on our plates is gathering pace but there are still questions to answer
