BBC Focus - 03.2020

Q&A

GET T Y IMAGES X5, BBC, WIKIPEDIA COMMONS ILLUSTRATION: DAN BRIGHT

It’sduetoa mutationinthegenethat

is responsibleforprovidinghairswith

theirkeratinproteinastheyemerge

fromthefollicle.Thehairis formed,

butit hasa weakerstructureand

becomeseasilydamagedand

dislodged.Thisgeneticmutationcan

occurincatsnaturally,butselective

breedingforthistraitsincethe1960s

hasproducedtheSphynxbreed.Some

Sphynxcatsarecompletelybald,while

othershaveshortdownyfurover their

bodies or in isolated areas.CC

GRETATHUNBERG

AND SNOOKER?

WHAT CONNECTS

1. TeenageclimateactivistGreta
   Thunberghasa beetlenamedafterher.
   ThebeetlewasfoundinKenyainthe
   1960sbutwasn’tnamedasa newspecies
   (Nelloptodes gretae) until last year.


2. Attenborough’sTVcareerbeganin
   1952,whenhejoinedtheBBCand
   startedproducingnaturalhistory
   seriessuchasAnimalPatternsandZoo
   Quest. Helater became controller of
   BBC Two.

4.WhentheBBCbeganbroadcasting

incolourin1967,Attenborough

showcasedthebenefitsofcolourTVby

commissioningPotBlack, a programme

featuringthe,thenrelatively obscure,

sport of snooker.

2. Thunberghasa longwaytogoto
   catchupwithSirDavidAttenborough,
   though.Hehasatleast 20 speciesand
   generanamedafterhim,includinga
   beetle(picturedabove),a carnivorous
   plant and an extinct marsupial lion.

CATHERINEMURPHY,VIAEMAIL

WHYARESPHYNX

CATSHAIRLESS?

TOBYGRAHAM,SHREWSBURY

HOWDOESWATER

EVAPORATE

WITHOUT BOILING?

Theestimatedglobalcostof

damagetocropsbydiamondback

mothseachyear.Totryandcombat

this,USscientistsaretriallinga

releaseofmalemothsthathave

beengeneticallymodifiedto

ensuretheirfemaleoffspringdie

soon after hatching.

£3.9bn

KEVINWARD,STROUD

ISHOTFOODMOREFILLING

THAN COLD FOOD?

Hotfooddoestendtomakeyoufeelfull

forlonger,andthisis becauseit increases

thetimeit takesforyourappetiteto

return.Freshlycookedfoodhasmore

flavourbecauseofthevolatileorganic

compoundsthatarereleased,andthis

extrastimulationmakesthefoodfeel

moresatisfyingthanthesamenutrients

eatencold.It’salsomuchhardertobolt

downhotfood,andeatingslowlysignals

toyourbrainthatyouareconsuminga

substantialmeal– andsoyourbrain

suppressesyourappetiteforlonger once

you’ve finished your meal.LV

Liquidwateris madeupofmolecules

ofH 2 O attractedtooneanotherby

intermolecularforcesknownas

‘hydrogenbonds’.Thesearerelatively

weak,andtherearealwayssomeH 20

moleculeswhizzingaroundwith

enoughenergytobreakfreeoftheir

neighbours,evenattemperatureswell

below100°C.Thesecanthenescape–

‘evaporate’– intotheair.Evenmore

evaporationwilltakeplaceif the

surroundingairpressureis reduced,for

example by going to high altitude.RM