BBC Focus - 03.2020

RADAR

THEDANCEOFLIFE

MAGDALENAZERNICKA-GOETZ AND ROGER

HIGHFIELD

£18.99,WHALLEN

MagdalenaZernicka-Goetz

studiesmammaliandevelopment

andstemcellbiology,andwhen

pregnant,foundherbabymay

havehada chromosomal

mutation.TheDanceofLifeis a

deeplymovingstoryintertwined

withthescienceofhuman

development, researchinto

solvingIVFdisorders,preventing

miscarriages and life’s beginning.

READING LIST

NEW BOOKS TO THUMB THROUGH

OURHOUSEISONFIRE

MALENAANDBEATAERNMAN, SVANTE

ANDGRETATHUNBERG

£12.99,ONEWORLD

Howdoesa teenagerbecome

theheadofa globalclimate

changecampaign?Ina seriesof

scenes,MalenaErnmantells

thestoryofhowherdaughter,

GretaThunberg,shottofame.

Shedescribestheirfamilyand

experiencesleadinguptothat

seminaldaywhenGretasat

outsidetheSwedishparliament

toprotestclimateinaction,and

their lives changed forever.

THERULESOFCONTAGION

ADAMKUCHARSKI

£16.99,WELLCOMECOLLECTION

Frominfectiousdiseasesto

financialcrises,viralsocial

mediapoststotechnological

innovation,epidemiologist

AdamKucharskishowshow

scientistsareusingmathsto

predictandcontaincontagion,

andwhysomeoutbreaksstill

takeusbysurprise.TheRulesof

Contagionexpandsfurtherthan

justmediaheadlines.“What

abouttheoutbreaksthatnever

happen at all?” asks Kucharski.

EDITOR’S

CHOICE

byAmyBarrett

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

T

hankstothismonth’srealitycheck,p34,I knowour

bestguessis thatit’llbearound100,000years

beforeBetelgeusegoessupernova.Butthestarhas

beendimming,sowhynottakethisopportunitytolookto

thenightskiesandspotitsorangeglow,formingwhatwe

seeastheleftshoulderoftheconstellationOrion.

Towardstheendofthemonth,we’llbetreatedtoa

fantasticphotoopportunity– on 28 March,lookuptosee

a waxingcrescentMoon,thebrightlightofVenus,andthe

open cluster of stars calledthePleiades,inwhatis known

asa Moon-Venusconjunction.

There’splentytowatchand

listentoontheBBCthis

month– seep3andp98for

someofourfavourites– but

I’lldefinitelymakea pointof

listeningtothesecondseries

ofChangingWorld,Changing

BodiesonBBCSounds.

ProducedbyKevinMousley

fortheBBCWorldService,this

three-partserieswilllookat

howmodernlifehaschanged

ourrelationshipwithsleep,

howourheighthasmore

impactonoursuccessthan

wemighthavethought,and

thepopulationswhooutlive

therestoftheworldandwhy.

ThecityofBristol(where

theBBCScienceFocusteam

worktheirmagic)willhost

theBristolFestivalofIdeasin

March.Communications

officers,scientistsand

policymakersquestionhow

weshouldthinkaboutthe

futurewithwriterMargaret

Heffernan,whileGaiaVince,

scienceandenvironmental

journalistaswellasaward-

winningauthor,discusses

howoursocialcultureandour

loveforthebeautifulplayeda

huge part in human evolution.

RECOMMENDED

WHAT’S CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION THIS MONTH

“AttheBristolFestival

ofIdeas,scientists

andpolicymakerswill

questionhowwethink

aboutthefuturewith

Margaret Heffernan”