Thursday, October 24, 2024

In this week’s Discovery newsletter, two long-lost Silk Road cities were found, examining the Loch Ness mystery, a Roman ‘miracle plant’ discovered. PLUS: Can we finally decipher ‘meow’? Are there hangover-resistant wasps?

PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIDGEMAN/ACI

A dinosaur, a dragon, a sea serpent? What was it doing in a lake in the Scottish Highlands? More than nine decades ago, the world learned of the Loch Ness monster. Did Nessie have roots in Celtic legend? What happened? 

Another Puzzler: Breaking down the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s death 

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALICE ZOO

IMAGING BY SALELAB, J. BERNER, M. FRACHETTI

New technology has unearthed two long-lost cities along the fabled Silk Road that ran from China to the Mediterranean. They were “hiding in plain sight,” says Nat Geo Explorer Michael Frachetti, a leader of the expedition. In what modern-day country were they found? 

A. China 
B. Mongolia 
C. Turkmenistan 
D. Uzbekistan 

Today’s Soundtrack: Question and Answer, Pat Metheny Trio 

Today’s newsletter was edited and curated by David Beard and produced by Uzbekistan native Alisher Egamov. Sign up here to get tomorrow’s Top Ten stories of the week or catch Sunday’s Photo of The Week.