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LYME DISEASE SPREADS, GROWS

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we take extra precaution against Lyme disease, explore a Brazilian village run by women, free bumphead sunfish from overfishing ... and discover how this once thought extinct language made a comeback. Plus, should we stop taking collagen supplements?

a tick

MICROGRAPH BY ALFRED PASIEKA, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

It’s the most common vector-borne disease in North America, and half of Americans live where ticks (above) spread Lyme disease.

As a new season of infection begins, researchers are testing possible vaccines in the pipeline, trying to stop a scourge that afflicts nearly a half million Americans a year.

HOW CAN WE STOP IT?

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

women and their babies

PHOTOGRAPH BY LUISA DÖRR

Stunning ‘Amazons’ supposedly rule this Brazilian town. We explore. (Above, mothers with their children gather under a tree)

These are the happiest places in the world

How sugar and fat affect your brain

Taking collagen supplements is unlikely to improve your health. Here’s why

These 8,000-year-old ‘baby’ handprints are not human. Here’s what we know

Diabetes, weight gain: The problem with artificial sweeteners

Britain’s first Black queen? The real story of Queen Charlotte

Should you drink chocolate milk after a workout?

How far can you go to protect dogs in hot cars? Depends in which state you live.

Super-popular on social media, but is this type of cat a good pet?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

an x-ray of a plant

IMAGE BY NICK VEASEY, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

A key step, discovered: Plants can split water molecules to create energy, which then releases oxygen into the air. But how has remained a mystery. Now—thanks to laser beams and x-rays—scientists are privy to how plants do it, filling in a missing piece to the photosynthesis puzzle. But this discovery has opened another mystery. (Pictured above, visualizing the leaves of a smoke bush via x-ray.)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

a person swims with a bumphead sunfish

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID DOUBILET AND JENNIFER HAYES

Once vibrant, now in trouble: Overfishing and climate change are hurting some of the world’s most beautiful and abundant coral reefs and underwater species. Will we be able to protect them? (Above, a boat captain frees a bumphead sunfish from a fishing net in the Philippines.)

PERILS IN THE PHILIPPINES

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

a New York City store front; a boy learning Hebrew

LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES PHELPS CUSHING, CLASSICSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: PHOTOGRAPH BY ARCHIVE PHOTOS, GETTY IMAGES

2,000 years dormant: Hebrew, a language that today is used globally and by millions, used to be thought nearly extinct. Where did the language go? And how did it make a comeback? (Above left, a New York store covered in Yiddish signs; right, a boy learns the Hebrew alphabet.)

Today’s soundtrack: Tick Tick Boom, The Hives

Thanks for reading our newsletter! It was edited and curated by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, and David Beard. We'd love to hear from you: [email protected]. Keep shining!

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