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WHAT THEY CAN TELL US ABOUT AGING

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we discover how a 51-year look at baboons could help humans; watch a rocket kick-start a new era of lunar exploration; look at the shocking decline of sperm worldwide; marvel at microbes in Germany’s Black Forest … and see our 2022 Pictures of the Year.

A man holds a tranquilized monkey above a table

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NICHOLE SOBECKI

They can live in widely varied habitats, like humans. They have intricate social lives, like humans, and may live longer with more and closer social ties, like humans.

A 51-year study of baboons (above) has provided a bonanza of data, some of it worth following up on humans. One intriguing example: Researchers found female baboons with three or more “adverse events” in their youth die a decade or so earlier than others. It “might be a really good emerging model of human social effects on aging,” says one researcher.

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Portraits of two people in space suits

Any cavities? Nat Geo Explorer Nichole Sobecki photographed researchers examining the teeth of a baboon known as Lyken. As baboons age, the enamel on their molars wears away, giving researchers a clue to their age. Read more.

What if you could combat aging and discover the full potential of the human body? Global movie star Chris Hemsworth explores this revolutionary idea in the new National Geographic original series “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth.” Now Streaming on Disney+.

WE HAVE LIFTOFF

A rocket launches into space

VIDEO BY DAN WINTERS

On to the moon—and Mars? This morning’s launch began NASA’s Artemis mission to put the first astronauts in a half century on the moon—and perhaps eventually on Mars. The night launch was stunning, says witness and Nat Geo photographer Dan Winters, who is covering the Artemis project. “It’s as though the night briefly turns to day and the crackle of the engines is both deafening and yet somehow soothing.” Read more.

Related: A visual guide to NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon

ARTEMIS LAUNCHES

STORIES WE'RE FOLLOWING

Sperm count worldwide is down 62 percent—and declining faster than expected

This spider web is strong enough for a bird to sit on. It’s a scientific first.

She was a California castaway. Her tale captured a nation.

This rebel queen bedeviled the Romans

Our 2022 Pictures of the Year

Our photographers of the year

The influence of this Babylonian queen extended centuries beyond her rule

How these foods may help you live longer

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Two donkeys nuzzle a man

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARCO LONGARI, AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A risky trade: China’s demand for donkeys is on the rise—and it’s not to do more farm work. Gelatin from donkey skin is used in a traditional medicine that’s recently resurged in popularity and now the country is importing skins from Africa to meet demand. A new study finds, however, that the global trade risks spreading deadly diseases, Nat Geo reports. (Above, Jesse Christelis with his donkeys on Donkey Dairy Farm in Magaliesburg, South Africa.)

DEMAND FOR SKIN

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A picture of a microscopic creature that looks like balloon

IMAGE BY OLIVER MECKES AND NICOLE OTTAWA

Soil is alive! At the microscopic level, soil in Germany’s Black Forest is a fantastical realm. From tardigrades to amoebas that look like armored jellybeans with teeth, photographer Oliver Meckes and biologist Nicole Ottawa reveal the marvelous creatures that bring soil to life. They captured the balloon-like microbe above, known as a ciliate, by using a scanning electron microscope and magnifying it 3000 times.

CREATURES OF THE SOIL

THE NIGHT SKIES

An illustration of the moon and the leo constellations in the sky

ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW FAZEKAS

Leo’s meteors may roar this week: Skywatchers are getting excited about a possible outburst of a usually lackluster meteor shower. The annual Leonids is set to peak early Friday—and if latest predictions hold, observers across Eastern North America may get to see up to 300 meteors an hour. The main predicted outburst occurs at 1 a.m. Friday eastern time. The Leonids get their name from Leo, the constellation from which they appear to radiate out from. Leo rises above the northeast horizon late Thursday evening, but as the night progresses it climbs higher in the sky. — Andrew Fazekas

ALL ABOUT METEORS

LAST GLIMPSE

A cabin overlooking a valley

PHOTOGRAPH BY IRIS KUERSCHNER, LAIF/REDUX

Because it’s (also) there: For more than a century, the Swiss town of Zermatt meant two things to mountain adventurers—top-flight Alpine skiing and the gateway to the Matterhorn. Now, a new hiking trail will show another side of the storied resort town, highlighting sparsely populated hamlets, traditional larch timber barns (above), and bucolic alpine pastures. “You can feel the way they lived 500 years ago,” ethnologist Werner Bellwald tells Nat Geo.

THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

Today’s soundtrack: “Luna,” by Italian pop operatic tenor Alessandro Safina

This newsletter has been curated and edited by Jen Tse, Sydney Combs, David Beard, and Heather Kim. Have an idea or a link? We'd love to hear from you at [email protected]. Thanks for reading.

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