How It Works

Welcome to How It Works, the magazine that explains everything you never knew you wanted to know about the world we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert knowledge, and with sections dedicated to science, technology, transportation, space, history and the environment, no subject is too big or small for How It Works to explain.

Welcome to HOW IT WORKS INSIDE THE HUMAN BODY

THE HUMAN BODY • Journey inside the body to discover just what we are made of…

Close up with cells

Key cells of the body

Muscle and movement

Types of muscle

Why our bodies need a little fat

Inside the brain

What role do hormones play in the body?

The ageing body

YOUR FIRST YEAR • What happens to the human body in the first 12 months of life

Why do babies sleep so much?

BABY ANATOMY • Babies are more than just miniature adults — they have their own unique anatomy

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT / HOW BONES GROW

YOUR AMAZING BRAIN • Modern neuroscience is unravelling the body’s most complex organ and rebuilding it from the bottom up

Brain map • The brain can be divided into distinct structures, each with a specialist set of functions

Finding peace

The science of sleep • By monitoring the brain’s electrical activity, scientists are unravelling the mystery of sleep

The developing brain

Making memories • The human brain has an amazing capacity for retaining information

Imaging the brain • Take a look at the most common techniques used to study the living brain

Brain damage • Different injuries affect the brain in different ways

Can the brain heal?

Cutting-edge neuroscience • The human brain is one of the most complex structures in the known universe and understanding how it works is an enormous scientific undertaking. Modern neuroscience brings together experts from a huge array of fields and by using a combination of the most advanced technologies, medical techniques, biological research and computational modelling, scientists are finally beginning to untangle the many profound mysteries of the human brain.

YOUR SKELETON • This incredible living framework provides more than just structural support

Bone structure • The long bones are formed into tubes, closed at both ends and capped with cartilage

Skeletal system • Get to know the bones in your body with our guide to the human skeleton

Joints • For individual bones to function together, they must be linked by joints

Inside a blood vessel • Discover what happens every time your heart beats

How cells work • The building blocks of life explained

The heart – a vital organ • Your heart is a turbocharged double-pumping muscle that beats more than 40 million times every year

Inside the liver and pancreas • How do these vital organs work together to digest food?

What’s inside your head • A look at how our thinking machines are put together

What’s a knockout?

Inside the knee • How do our knee joints allow us to walk and run?

What is thermoregulation? • Why do humans need to maintain a constant internal body temperature of 37°C?

MUSCLE POWER • Why are some people strong but others weak, and how does exercise and training increase muscle strength?

The bigger they are…

Inside your muscle

Wheys and means • Many bodybuilders will supplement their diet with nutritional products – or even illegal drugs – to enhance their physique. Discover these common methods of bulking up…

Hysterical strength – fact or fiction?

SCIENCE OF VISION • Uncovering one of the most complex constructs in the natural world

Colour vision •...