National Geographic | YOUR WEEKLY CHECKUP

National Geographic

YOUR WEEKLY CHECKUP

This week: New evidence shows COVID-19 can shrink your brain; the science of human memory; generation germaphobe; how kisses from your pets can turn deadly.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LUCA LOCATELLI FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Even mild COVID-19 can cause your brain to shrink

Recent brain imaging shows the disease can cause physical changes equivalent to a decade of aging and trigger problems with attention and memory. Exactly why is still a mystery.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

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World's brightest x-rays reveal COVID-19's damage to the body

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Could viruses cause Alzheimer's? COVID-19 brain studies offer new clues.

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Can COVID-19 alter your personality? Here's what brain research shows.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT CLARK

The science of human memory: How we make, remember, and forget memories

From the moment we are born, our brains are bombarded by an immense amount of information about ourselves and the world around us. So, how do we hold on to everything we've learned and experienced?

THE TYPES OF MEMORY

PHOTOGRAPH BY FLY VIEW PRODUCTIONS / GETTY IMAGES

Are we raising little germaphobes?

Will the pandemic turn a generation of children into a sanitizer-toting, doorknob-evading, germaphobic horde? Experts say not likely—but parents should still know what signs to watch out for and develop strategies to help kids manage their natural fears.

PREMIUM EXCLUSIVE

TIPS FOR LIFE: Here's how to fight germs wherever you go +

NG VIDEO

What you should know about the germs in your home

The average person encounters thousands of different germs every day.

MOST ARE HARMLESS

PHOTOGRAPH BY MITSUAKI IWAGO, MINDEN/NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

What's in your pet's saliva—and how dangerous is it?

When Julie McKenna arrived at the hospital, her arms and legs were cold and mottled, and her face was turning purple. Doctors quickly determined that she was in septic shock—but it was more than two weeks before they were able to identify the bacteria in her blood: Capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bug commonly found in the saliva of healthy dogs and cats.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

NG STAFF

Cases are rising again in the U.S.

This uptick is fueled by Omicron's more-contagious BA.2 subvariant, which is stealthily increasing in the northeastern part of the country.

TRACK COVID IN THE U.S.

PHOTOGRAPH BY NIAID, NIH, SCIENCE SOURCE

Are some people resistant to COVID-19? Geneticists are on the hunt.

Thousands of people repeatedly exposed to the virus never got sick. Scientists are racing to understand if they might have a genetic resistance to the virus—and whether the trait could be harnessed to develop new drugs against the disease.

CLUES IN THEIR DNA?

FDA grants emergency authorization for first COVID-19 breathalyzer test (USA Today)

Can this 19th-century health practice help with long COVID?

For millions of vulnerable people, COVID-19 is far from over

2 new omicron variants are spreading in N.Y. and elsewhere. Here's what we know. (NPR)

Many virus cases go uncounted. Are there better ways to track the pandemic? (NYT)

BRIDGEMAN/ACI

This doctor upended everything we knew about the human heart

For centuries, few Europeans disputed the teachings of Galen, an accomplished Greek physician and scholar. While his massive contributions to medicine cannot be denied, by the 16th and 17th centuries, scientific methods had evolved, making it easier for new scientists to challenge the old ones. Galen's theories were sitting ducks, waiting for a physician like Englishman William Harvey to take them down.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

MORE HEALTH NEWS

PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER BROWN

Can microdosing psychedelics boost mental health? Here's what the evidence suggests.

Taking tiny doses of drugs like psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca is gaining popularity. But the benefits are still being investigated.

A GROWING PHENOMENON

THE LATEST NEWS: Magic mushrooms can lead to long-term improvements in depression, study finds (USA Today) +

Wastewater can help us monitor COVID-19. What else can it tell us? (Vox)

Despite a decades-long effort, babies are still dying of SIDS (Washington Post)

What is atrial fibrillation, and how do you know if you might have it? (Washington Post)

What really happens when babies are left to cry it out? (BBC)

Images of Zelenskyy show the physical toll that trauma and stress can have on the body (NPR)

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