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IN VOLCANO’S ASHES,
THIS BIG DISCOVERY

Monday, October 16, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn that AI has helped find text long thought destroyed, figure out how to battle the effects of air pollution inside your home ... and find out what makes Appalachia so fertile to haunting? Also why is our average body temperature dropping?

A carbonized papyrus scroll unearthed from a villa in the wealthy town of Herculaneum, destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79.

PHOTOGRAPH BY EDUCELAB

The remnants of charred scrolls in volcano-ravaged southern Italy point to a sad fact of the ancient world: 95 percent of its writing is gone.

However, AI and laser technology (above) is helping to restore this knowledge, one word at a time—beginning with “purple.”

CRACKING A SECRET

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A smoky haze from the wildfires in Canada blankets Chicago, Illinois, on June 28, 2023. Wildfire smoke can be harmful when inhaled, but even after the air clears, it leaves behind threatening compounds.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LEAH MILLIS, REUTERS/REDUX

Harmful chemicals from air pollution (above) can infiltrate your home. What to do?

Harry Houdini’s war on the occult

Don't worry if you have a bad reaction to the new COVID shot. That's a good thing.

What sugar does to your brain

What are the signs of dementia—and why is it so hard to diagnose?

You've heard of forest bathing. Now try forest therapy.

Want to see great white sharks? Consider Cape Cod.

What's the average human body temperature—and is it cooling down?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Fireflies in a tiger reserve at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in India

PHOTOGRAPH BY SRIRAM MURALI, WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Best wildlife photography: Darkness is essential for fireflies to find a mate, making them especially vulnerable to light pollution. An estimated 83 percent of humans live under light-polluted skies. Photographer Sriram Murali is one of the winners of the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, showcasing a forest illuminated with fireflies at a tiger reserve in India. See other winners.

Related: A rare look at synchronous fireflies

SEE THESE STUNNING PHOTOS

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Fog and forest of the Appalachian Mountains

PHOTOGRAPH BY GERD LUDWIG, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Haunted Appalachia: These mountains are home to the Mothman, the Wampus Cat, the Raven Mocker, and the Grafton Monster. What makes Appalachia so fertile to haunting?

LAST GLIMPSE

Limestone landscapes, like this one in the Stone Forest in China’s Yunnan Province, would be hard to find elsewhere in our solar system. That’s because the life on our planet makes limestone plentiful.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHAD COPELAND, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Limestone landscapes, like this one (above) in the Stone Forest in China’s Yunnan Province, would be hard to find elsewhere in our solar system. That’s because the life on our planet makes limestone plentiful.

Today’s soundtrack: The Laser Dance Song, The A La Menthe (from Ocean's Twelve)

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. Is anyone in your family a little too fascinated with the Roman Empire? Let us know!

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