BBC Focus - 04.2020_

3

FROM THE

EDITOR

I’msureyoudon’tneedmetotellyouthesearestrange

times.ButI’mhopingthatoverthecomingweeksand

months,thismagazinemightbeabletodosomegood.

Firstandforemost,we’reheretoansweryour

questionsaboutthecoronavirus.There’sa lotof

misinformationoutthere,sosendyourqueriesto

[email protected], andwe’llgetyou

answers.Onp30,wetalktoanexpertfromtheLondonSchoolof

HygieneandTropicalMedicineaboutwhywashingyourhandsis

soeffectiveat slowingthespreadofCOVID-19.Overonp32we

unpackthesciencebehindherdimmunity,andonp24weaska

virologistwhetherthesummercouldloosencoronavirus’s grip.

Plusthere’smoreinourQ&Asectiononp81.

Ofcourse,there’smoretolifethanthispandemic,sowe’vegota

brilliantreadonHubble’spast,presentandfuture(p51),andalsoa

detectivestorychartinghowDNAdatabasesandancestrywebsites

arehelpingpolicearoundtheworldsolvecoldcases(p74).

Inthemeantime,if yourkidsareboredandyouwanttokeep

themoccupiedwhilesneakinginsomescience,headtobit.ly/

science_is_fun. Thereyou’llfind 15 kitchenexperiments that will

helpfillinsomeofthegapswhileschoolsareclosed.

Andfinally,wehavea specialthree-monthofferfornew

subscribersthatjustrequiresa one-offpayment– a simple,

no-stringswaytogetBBCScienceFocusdelivereddirecttoyour

door.Headtobuysubscriptions.com/SFspring3toorderonline,or

call 03330162138 and(quotecodeSPR3MPG,BBCScience Focus).

Full T&Cs available online. Alternatively, turn to p80.

Daniel Bennett,Editor

WANT MORE? FOLLOW SCIENCEFOCUS ON FACEBOOK TWIT TER PINTEREST INS TAGR AM

ONTHEBBCTHISMONTH...

COLINBARRAS

Colinis a freelancescience

writer.Inthisissue,hefinds

outthebestwaystoreduce

thecarbonfootprint of your

diet.-> p

DRELIZABETH

PEARSON

AstheHubbleSpace

Telescopecelebratesits

30thbirthday,SkyAtNight

Magazine’s newseditor

revealsthetelescope’s

hidden gems.-> p

JIMAL-KHALILI

Theoreticalphysicistand

broadcasterJimAlKhalili

tellsushisessentialreading

for physics fans.-> p

CON TAC TUS

Advertising

[email protected]

01173008145

Lettersforpublication

[email protected]

Editorialenquiries

[email protected]

01173008755

Subscriptions

[email protected]

03330162 113*

Othercontacts

sciencefocus.com/contact

SALLYBLOOMFIELD

Canwashingourhands

reallyprotectusagainst

coronavirus?Sally

Bloomfield,honorary

professorattheLondon

SchoolofHygieneand

TropicalMedicine,explains

thescienceofstopping the

spread.-> p

Scanhereto

download

yourfree

InstantGenius:

Microbiome

mini guide!

TheTruthAboutCosmetic

Tr eatmen t s

DrMichaelMosleyandjournalistMehreenBaig

takea lookatanindustryworthnearly£3bnin

thistwopartseries.Doanytreatments work,

andevenif theydo atwhatcost?

CheckRadio Timesfor details

COVER: NASA/HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE THIS PAGE: GET T Y IMAGES BBC X

CONTRIBUTORS

ArtOfNow:RawMeat

Canrawmeatbebeautiful?Canwe

makerealleatherwithoutkilling?Can

slaughterbereplacedbyscience?The

ArtOfNowgetsbloodyina unique

lookatmeat,thatisn’tsimply

advocatingveganism.

BBC Radio 4, 28 April, 11:30am

Horizon:TheRestaurant

ThatBurnsOffCalories

FirstDatesmaîtred’FredSirieixis frontof

houseata restaurantunlikeanyother.Twenty

dinersorderlavishlunches,unawarethata

groupoffitnessfanaticsis pedalling ,running

androwinghardtoburnoffeverysingle

calorietheyeat.

CheckRadioTimesfordetails

*Callsfromlandlineswillcostupto9pperminute.Callsfrommobilephoneswillcostbetween3pand55pperminutebutareincludedinfreecallpackages.Linesareopen8am-6pmweekdaysand9am-1pmSaturdayforordersonly.If callingfromoverseas,

pleasecall+44 1604973 721.BBCScienceFocus(ISSN0966-4270)(USPS015-160)is published 14 timesa year(monthlywitha SummerissueinJulyanda NewYearissueinDecember)byImmediateMediaCompany,Bristol,EagleHouse,ColstonAvenue,Bristol,

BS14ST.DistributedintheUSby Circulation Specialists, LLC, 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 945, Shelton, CT 06484-6238. Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, CT and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BBC Science Focus, PO Box 37495,

Boone, IA 50037-0495.