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THIS KILLER STRIKES THE OLD
AND THE YOUNG

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we explore 4 types of a stubborn scourge, bat away bats, learn of the increasing importance of stress tests ... and find fossils tracing a herd of dinosaurs just before The Great Extinction. Plus, giving our blessing to the Day of the Dead.

This chest x-ray shows more opacity next to the lower right border of the heart—a sign that the lower lobe of the right lung is consumed with pneumonia (left side of the frame).

PHOTOGRAPH BY LIVING ART ENTERPRISES, LLC/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

With medical advances, you’d think the illness that felled Harriet Tubman, Geronimo, Mary Tyler Moore, and a clutch of U.S. presidents would be fading.

But the recent hospitalization of Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton sheds light on pneumonia’s enduring grip on us. (Above, chest x-ray shows a lung consumed with the infection.)

One million Americans are hospitalized each year with it—and 40,000 die. For children under 5, pneumonia is the leading cause of death worldwide.

There are four types of pneumonia. Here’s what you should know.

PNEUMONIA'S GRIP

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

An ECG in the foreground, printing measurements of a patient's heart electrical activity as they exercise on a treadmill, visible in the background.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DR P. MARAZZI, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Stress test (above) may reveal more than your heart condition. Related: Suffer from stress? Or chronic stress?

This Inca girl was frozen for 500 years. She just got a new face.

The mysterious growth of shingles among the young

The last dino herd? Rare fossils found from shortly before The Great Extinction

Doctors said exercise would help beat this mystery illness. It made it worse.

Uncover the secrets to longevity in this Japanese village

See a rare view of a manta ray courtship ritual deep in the sea

A tsunami could swallow this idyllic village. Here’s how they’re preparing

Why are hurricanes intensifying more rapidly now?

Top 10 things to know about the Day of the Dead

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A man starts a low-intensity blaze to protect his community

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW ABBOTT

Fighting fire with fire: Indigenous communities in Australia have had extraordinary success limiting wildfires. We discover how. Above, Conrad Maralngurra starts a controlled, low-intensity blaze to protect his community.

Related: The oldest community of humans outside Africa?

INDIGENOUS INGENUITY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Indian star tortoises for sale

PHOTOGRAPH BY AISHWARYA SRIDHAR

Uh oh: Good luck is bad news for Indian star tortoises. The tortoises that have more yellow in their shells often can fetch higher prices as pets. Why? Beliefs that the animals (photographed above by Nat Geo Explorer Aishwarya Sridhar in Bangkok) bring good luck.

READ THE FULL STORY

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

From capturing bats in flight to making it rain indoors, National Geographic staff photographer Mark Thiessen shows us how he tackles challenging assignments—usually with creativity, curiosity and a lot of fun.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK THIESSEN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

It’s Bat Week! So how do you capture an erratically flying bat grabbing a moth mid-flight—in the dark?

“You just have to keep at it,” explains Nat Geo photographer Mark Thiessen, who made the images (above), “because there’s going to be that one perfect time where the bat’s coming in and it’s hunting the moth. And you gotta be there, ‘cause the bats don’t warn you, they just do it.”

Related: Why bats are the real superheroes of the animal world
Related: Etsy and eBay are selling dead bats—and scientists are disturbed

TACKLING CHALLENGING ASSIGNMENTS

Today’s soundtrack: Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. Have an idea for us? Let us know! See you tomorrow!

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