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

WHAT WE’RE ANTICIPATING

MEET THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS

AR ZONE • Bring the pages to life

Light from behind a black hole spotted

CALIFORNIA CHIPMUNKS CONTRACT THE PLAGUE

Ignoring climate change will yield “untold suffering

Just 1.5 per cent of our genome is ‘uniquely human’

THE AMAZON CREATES MORE GREENHOUSE GASES THAN IT ABSORBS

Megaripples from dinosaur-killing asteroid are under Louisiana

‘Massive melting event’ strikes Greenland

US LIFE EXPECTANCY HAD A HUGE DECLINE IN 2020

Water vapour detected on Jupiter’s massive moon

Archaeologists find exiled Anglo-Saxon hermit king’s lair

Alien abduction stories may come from lucid dreaming

MAN IN CHINA DIES OF RARE ‘MONKEY B’ VIRUS

WISH LIST • The latest tech for PETS

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THE STORY OF EARTH • Our little blue planet in the Milky Way is truly one of a kind

THE BIRTH OF OUR PLANET • How a cosmic cloud gave rise to life

EARTH’S EVOLVING CLIMATE • From hot to cold and back again

FORMATION OF THE ATMOSPHERE

THE MAKING OF THE CONTINENTS • Plate tectonics shift the ground beneath our feet, changing the face of the Earth

PRIMORDIAL SOUP THEORY • Could life really have started in a warm little pond?

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE • One common ancestor gave rise to all things

THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE ON EARTH

WHERE DID OUR CELLS COME FROM?

THE HISTORY OF EARTH

HOW TO SURVIVE ALMOST ANYWHERE • Could you escape the wilderness with the bare minimum of tools?

ATTITUDE AS A SURVIVAL TOOL

FINDING LIFE-GIVING LIQUID • You need to drink several litres of water every day. Here’s how to find it

HOW TO FIND WATER • There are many ways to find water in the wilderness. Here are four top tips

FINDING A PLACE TO REST • A good place to relax is essential, but don’t think you can sleep on open ground

BUILDING AN IGLOO

BRIGHTEN YOUR CHANCES WITH FIRE • A fire can keep you warm and dry, but also provides many more benefits

MAKE FIRE WITHOUT MATCHES • There are many ways to make fire without matches, but they take practice

FINDING YOUR WAY • If your tools get lost, nature can keep you on track

STARS LIGHT THE WAY

KEEPING YOURSELF FED • Nutritious food can often be found alongside the bad

HOW FIRESTORMS FORM • What do you get when you cross a fire with a tornado?

DEEP SPACE PROBES • Five of NASA’s long-range spacecraft are heading beyond the Solar System. What will they find?

THE GRAND TOUR

PAVING THE WAY

TO PLUTO AND BEYOND

PLANNING THE NEXT MISSION • How about a dedicated interstellar probe? We speak with scientist Kirby Runyon about a far-flung mission

MAJOR TIM PEAKE • The European Space Agency astronaut speaks to How It Works about his time on the International Space Station, life in the universe and careers in space

Win! A TECH BUNDLE £1,200 • This month we are giving you the chance to win a bundle of brilliant gadgets, including a smartphone, children’s tablet, sleek soundbar and more

MEET YOUR TEETH • How these pearlescent facial features develop and are maintained in a healthy mouth

ERUPTION

THE CHEMISTRY OF PLAQUE • How bacteria residing in...