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 • Issue 172

MEET THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS

Intestines under a microscope

Underwater moons

Up, up and away

New view of creation

Two people receive a world-first lab-grown blood transfusion

THE OLDEST KNOWN PLANT GENOME CAME FROM A STONE AGE WATERMELON

‘Artificial’ photosynthesis could lead to new fuels

A 4.6-billion-year-old meteorite may reveal the origin of Earth’s water

THE PESKY ‘LEAP SECOND’ WILL BE ABOLISHED BY 2035

Mars may be ripping its largest moon apart

ORGAN-ON-CHIP REPLICATES EARLY PREGNANCY

The Devils Hole pupfish is so inbred that it shouldn’t be alive

Ötzi the Iceman’s corpse moved after death

Crushed-up planets around dead stars could rewrite history

Fluorescent flashes reveal the secrets of the ‘touch-me-not’ plant

JUVENILE BIRD BREAKS THE RECORD FOR LONGEST NON-STOP FLIGHT

WISH LIST • The latest tech for HEALTH AND FITNESS

HALF-PRICE OFFER

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN… • How your intelligence compares to other clever members of the animal kingdom

Animal intelligence • How EQ and brain size differ across the animal kingdom

Clever critters

Was the T. rex dumb?

Can you beat the How It Works team? • Put your IQ to the test with these perplexing puzzles and see how you compare against team How It Works. You’ve got 15 minutes, starting… now!

HOW CHEESE IS MADE • From dairy farm to cheesemonger, explore the art of turning spoiled milk into a favourite foodstuff

WHAT IS NITROUS OXIDE? • Discover the science of laughing gas

WHY DO GOLF BALLS HAVE DIMPLES? • The bumpy science that will get you closer to scoring under par

DISCOVER THE PAST!

INSIDE THE WORLD’S LARGEST WARSHIP

INSIDE A COMBINE HARVESTER • This specialist machine is a farmer’s go-to vehicle for harvesting crops

The forces of EVOLUTION • What’s the big idea behind the theory of evolution, and why do species evolve?

FOUR FORCES • These environmental and biological factors can force a species to evolve

HOW THE GIRAFFE GREW ITS NECK • The evolutionary journey of one of Earth’s largest land mammals

HUMAN-DRIVEN EVOLUTION • The presence of people forced these animals to adapt and evolve

HOW CATS PURR • Discover the purpose of this distinctive feline sound and why a purring cat is not always a happy one

HOW TO FIND THE BRIGHTEST STARS • See some of the most notable stars in the night sky tonight

WHAT COLOUR IS THE SUN? • The answer depends on whether you’re on Earth or in space

E-WASTE EARTH VS ELECTRONICS • How electronic waste is recycled and why it can be so harmful to our planet

HOW DOES A COMPASS WORK? • The compass has revolutionised how we find our way, making it possible to reach a destination when other means of navigation aren’t possible

HOW HOLOGRAMS ARE PRINTED • Credit cards, bank notes and more: the many uses for applying 3D images to a 2D surface

YOU’D BETTER WATCH OUT • Scared? You should be! We delve into the mysterious origins of one of the strangest characters of Christmas folklore

ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE • How this Welsh naturalist helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution

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