National Geographic | Mind, Body, Wonder

In today’s newsletter, we row for better health, discover the truth about energy drinks, examine the strange cause of deadlier UTIs, learn about the ‘staggering disease’ hitting North America ... and delight in a method that is saving rare parrots.

There has been a swell of women between 40 and 69 taking up rowing for its health benefits, including some of the these women, seen here practicing in the San Francisco Bay.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINE HEMM KLOK

FOLK ON THE WATER

Who knew that waking up before dawn to row would bulk up your brain, too? Or reduce the effects of loneliness?

These older women plying the early morning San Francisco Bay understand the benefits of strenuous exercise—and researchers are figuring it out, too. Here’s what we know.

•

Why outdoor adventure is important for women as they age. (For men, too.)

•

The simple military-inspired exercise fitness experts swear by

•

The best exercise equipment when you’re older

•

Could getting a pet be a secret weapon to better health?

Broiler chickens at a commercial poultry farm in Mississippi, 2016.

PHOTOGRAPH BY WILLIAM WIDMER, THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDU

COULD BEEF BE BEHIND DEADLY UTIs?

Officials are zeroing in on a cause for more and deadlier urinary tract infections. Did you know UTIs, usually regarded as a nuisance, contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year?

HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW

A colored 3D frontal computed tomography scan of human lungs highlighting a cancer lesion (blue) in the upper left lobe.

SCAN BY K H FUNG, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

What we’re learning from lung cancer patients who never smoked (a cancer lesion, shown above in blue, in a human lung)

Afraid to ask for help? It’s good for you, according to science.

Full-body scans? How much preventative medicine for the rich is too much?

How cicadas became a symbol of rest in Provence

‘Staggering’: A deadly disease that affects cats big and small found in U.S.

Can energy drinks really boost your metabolism? Here’s what science says.

The ancients liked dragons. The Middle Ages turned them into monsters.

Never too late: The best sun protection shirts

TODAY’S QUESTION

A colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell (blue) infected with the Omicron strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (yellow).

MICROGRAPH BY NIAID/NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

SHOULD YOU GET THE NEW VACCINES?

Now that the FDA has approved new COVID vaccines, will you plan to get one of them? Public health officials are concerned, amid a big summer surge, that few of the most vulnerable Americans are getting boosters to protect themselves against a disease killing 600 Americans a week. Will you? Let us know.

Today’s soundtrack: A Case of You, Prince

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard. Let me know if you have ideas or suggestions to make this newsletter better.

Clicking on the Facebook, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply.

This email was sent to: [email protected]. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.

This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036

Stop all types of future commercial email from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences.

© 2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.