Science Illustrated

Science Illustrated delivers natural science, break through discoveries and an understanding of the world for the entire family. Packed with stunning photography and in-depth editorial it’s a visually spectacular gateway to the world looking into the beginning of life to distant objects in the universe.

The Mythmakers

THINGS WE LEARNED IN THIS ISSUE

3D scanned robot face lives in the uncanny valley

Honey bees build intriguing bridges

Science Update

BY THE WAY

SHOOTING STAR • The pulsar in the Crab Nebula

Ask Us

TOP 5

HOW THINGS WORK

VERSUS

IS IT REALLY TRUE THAT… …punches can cause memory loss? • A groggy boxer might have difficulties remembering his own name right after taking a hard blow to his head. But what happens, when a blow sends the brain down for a count?

THE UNIVERSE’S OLDEST BLACK HOLE IS MUCH TOO MASSIVE • About 13 billion light years away, scientists have discovered a mysterious, supermassive black hole. It is much too big to have formed according to existing theories, so scientists have rephrased the genesis of massive black holes, allowing them to grow faster.

Four new theories explain early monster holes • Scientists require a new theory that can produce so-called "seeds", from which huge black holes could have grown in the early universe.

SCIENCE’S 10 MOST COMMON MYTHS TRUE OR FALSE • Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain. False. Sugar makes kids hyperactive. False. Hard facts disprove old myths about records, food, chameleons, and more…

Gonorrhoea bacterium is the world’s strongest organism • It makes sex organs "burn" with pain, but the gonorrhoea bacterium is also very strong.

Tough Bacteria Love to Eat Radiation • Bacteria can live in extreme cold, intense radiation, and corrosive acid. Now, scientists have discovered microbes that can feed on thin gases, giving new hope to the idea of life on other worlds…

Tough bacteria feeds on thin air • In Antarctica, scientists have discovered bacteria that gets by on sparse gases in the air.

Desert bacteria may be the key to life on Mars • The Atacama Desert is reminiscent of the brutal conditions on Mars. Scientists have discovered how extreme bacteria adjusted to the environment.

Radioactive radiation feeds bacterium • Radioactive radiation is harmful to most life forms, but to a bacterium that lives in the ground, it is vital.

Bacteria improve the chances of life in space • All the bacteria that have adjusted to hostile conditions on Earth indicate that several planets and moons in the Solar System could be the home of yet undiscovered extremophiles.

From organs to space bases: THE FUTURE WILL BE 3D PRINTED • Customised human tissue or huge telescopes printed in empty space. Modern 3D printing methods are churning out shapes and materials that used to be impossible to make, constantly taking technology to new levels.

Drones improve printed homes

Bioprinter stacks living tissue in oil • Scientists aim to create stable tissue for transplants, etc., by 3D printing cell-containing water drops in oil.

Telescope is printed in space • A self-constructing telescope, houses made of moon dust, and plastic tools made of astronaut faeces. Those are a few examples of how 3D prints could be an indispensable help in space. Every kg counts, when equipment and materials are to be sent to alien globes, and millions of dollars could be saved, if space missions print tools and more from local materials.

Rotating nozzles improve print

Laser beams print any shape in 10 seconds • 3D printing in layers is a lengthy process, but using laser light, small plastic models can now be printed quickly, accelerating the process from design to finished...