FROM THE EDITOR ON THE BBC THIS MONTH...
Five-a-day, eight hours of sleep, 2,500 calories… recommended daily allowances or amounts make me anxious. It’s my fault, I rarely meet them. It’s not just these guidelines either, I don’t think that there are any ‘public health commandments’ that I follow. Exercise for 150 minutes every week? Nope. Two litres of water a day? Never. No more than 14 units of alcohol in a week? Not this month.
Evidently, I’m going to fall to pieces any minute now. Or maybe not. These guidelines, many of them ingrained in the public consciousness, though wellintentioned, are clearly not the final word on how to lead a healthy life. But how well do they stand up against our current thinking? At a time of year when we collectively emerge from a turkey-fuelled stupor, we look at what kind of health targets you really ought to be setting yourself and what health ‘truths’ aren’t set in stone. Turn to p66 to find out more.
As it’s that time of year, we’ve also taken a moment to look back at the images that blew our minds in 2022. Clearly, the James Webb Space Telescope upstaged everyone in this regard this year, but there are some absolutely staggering photos that I bet you’ve never seen before (including my favourite, a robot made out of a dead spider!). Head over to p6 to see them all.
See you in the New Year!
Daniel Bennett, Editor
SCIENCEFOCUS
Okay, so we told you about this last month. But we’re still super excited to see Prof Dame Sue Black take centre stage at the Royal Institution to share the secrets of forensic science. And if you’re too busy thrashing your family at to watch, you can always tune in on iPlayer later.
BBC Four
➤6, ➤7 and ➤8 December, 8pm
Also available on iPlayer
This might be our new favourite radio show. In Greg Foot challenges the latest fads and trends in the world of science, health and technology to find out whether the bold claims made by advertisers really stand up.
BBC Radio 4 Thursdays, 1➤:3➤pm
Also available on BBC Sounds
It’s 125 years since the publication of HG Wells’s science fiction story, which was later made famous by the broadcast by Orson Welles that caused panic among its listeners. Well if you want to recreate that experience, tune in bright and early to Radio 4 Extra in the New Year. BBC Radio 4 Extra
Starts ➤ January, 6:30am Also available on BBC Sounds