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NEW DISCOVERIES UPEND WHAT WE KNOW OF A JUNGLE EMPIRE

Saturday, March 9, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we uncover startling new things about the Maya civilization, make an explosive underdground discovery ... and medidate on a Roman emperor’s surprisingly contemporary teachings on stoicism. Plus, daylight saving sleep tips.

Temple V of the Ancient Maya city of Tikal, in present-day Guatemala

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN VAN TIGEHM/ ALAMY/ ACI

Hollywood loves lost cities, particularly if they can show Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, or Charlie Hunnam chopping through the selva to find them. In real life, the scientific breakthrough of lidar has done the heavy lifting—revealing a vanished world.

Lidar’s discoveries have totally upended what we know about once-mighty empires like the Maya—and what caused their disappearance. Here’s what we know now.

Related: What really caused the collapse of the Maya civilization?

MAYA SECRETS REVEALED

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A bust of an older Marcus Aurelius in Carrara marble

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCALA/ FLORENCE

Popular again: The stoic teachings of Marcus Aurelius (depicted above) and his ‘Meditations’

Do you know where your headaches may really be coming from?

Where did these dogs from the Pacific Northwest go?

Overcaffeination can kill you

From house arrest to the Oscars: Documentary sheds light on democracy fighter Bobi Wine (Free article)

Tonight’s the night: But why is daylight saving time still a thing? (Free article)

Was Manhattan really sold for $24?

Returning to the roots of country and the Black musicians who helped build the genre (Free article)

Meet the ‘Countess of Computing’—who wrote the first computer algorithm

Her successor tried to erase her and her contributions. This Egyptian pharaoh’s temple outlasted him—and defeated those efforts

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

LiDAR image of hydrogen gas seeping into the underground

PHOTOGRAPH BY VIACHESLAV ZGONNIK AND MICHAEL DAVIAS

An explosive find: In a seemingly breakthrough discovery in Albania, scientists have found a large cache of hydrogen deep in an Albanian mine. The odorless, colorless gas was located deep within the Earth, effervescing in a small pool. What could this mean for harnessing natural resources?

HARNESSING HYDROGEN?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A male aquatic firefly flying and flashing to attract a female, with hundreds more twinkling lights in the background

PHOTOGRAPHY BY XINHUA FU

How do fireflies get their glow? As summer comes around, fireflies will begin to pepper the evening skies with their famed bioluminescence, glowing shades of green, blue, orange, or yellow (pictured above). But how do these insects do what they do? Scientists may have the answer, as they have now discovered two key genes that allow it to happen.

THE FIREFLY’S FLASH

WHO IN THE WORLD?

Chien-Shiung Wu assembles an electrostatic generator at Smith College physics laboratory, circa 1942.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCIENCE SOURCE / AGE FOTOSTOCK

The ‘First Lady of Physics’ changed the laws of nuclear science through her groundbreaking work on a multitude of projects, including the famous Manhattan Project. Chien-Shiung Wu solidified her place as a trailblazing woman of science, in a historically male-dominated field. This is her story.

A FORMIDABLE FORCE

And finally: A reminder to sleep-deprived readers on daylight saving time:
Set clocks ahead an hour tonight!

Today's soundtrack: I Didn’t Know What Time It Was, Cécile McLorin Salvant

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Nancy San Martín, and Nishita Naga. Contributors include Jen Tse, Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alec Egamov, and Rita Spinks. Thanks for reading!

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