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 206

Global eye

GLOBAL EYE • Showcasing the incredible world we live in

WISH LIST • BACK TO SCHOOL

DISCOVERING THE TITANIC • Finding the remains of this iconic liner on the seabed was no easy feat, but after more than seven decades the wreckage revealed itself

NEANDERTHAL INVENTIONS • These caveman creations kept our ancient hunter-gatherer relatives alive

INSIDE TRUMP’S ‘PALACE IN THE SKY’ • This luxurious intercontinental jumbo jet will be the US president’s new Air Force One

ENERGY EXPLAINED • It’s one of the most basic concepts in physics, governing the behaviour of everything from subatomic particles to galaxies

WHAT ARE EPIDURALS? • How drugs injected into the spine can have a powerful anaesthetic effect

WHAT IS OZEMPIC? • This diabetes drug controls blood sugar levels and suppresses appetite

TRACKING SEA MONSTERS • How a NASA star-mapping tool is being put to a new use – following the largest fish in the sea, whale sharks

HOW DINOSAURS BECAME BIRDS • Dinosaurs were prehistoric egg-laying reptiles that went extinct millions of years ago, but their survivors still live among us

HOW SNAILS BUILD A SHELL • All they need is a specialised organ, some calcium-rich food and time

THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL LASERS • What happens when a beam of energy 100 times the power of the global electricity grid is concentrated onto a pinpoint?

BACKYARD POWER STATIONS • With growing demand and dwindling resources, there’s only one direction fuel bills are going. But soon we could have power stations in our gardens

WHY ARE SMOKE DETECTORS RADIOACTIVE? • These devices use a radioactive element to help sniff out smoke and alert you to a potential fire

AN XBOX ONE? • A victim of the Xbox 360’s success

WHAT CAUSES POWER CUTS? • A series of unfortunate events can plunge our homes into total darkness

WORLD’S BIGGEST SPACE AGENCIES • Between their rivalries and collaborations, how have the world’s top national space agencies contributed to our knowledge of the cosmos?

WHY WE STUDY SPACE DUST • Long ignored by scientists, cosmic dust is becoming an increasingly important field of study

BRAINDUMP • Amazing answers to your curious questions

THE LIBRARY • The latest book releases for curious minds

BRAIN GYM • Give your brain a puzzle workout

HOW TO… • Practical projects to try at home

INBOX • Speak your mind

How It Works

FAST FACTS • Amazing trivia that will blow your mind