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EVEN MORE CONTAGIOUS

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we prepare for a rapidly spreading COVID-19 variant, uncover exactly how Rome was founded, investigate a pair of cowboy boots ... and fall in love with volcanoes. Plus, happy National Bittersweet Chocolate Day.

A picture of cells covered in small dots

MICROGRAPH BY NIAID/NIH

It's the biggest COVID variant in the U.S.—and the most contagious ever. Experts fear the new, rapidly spreading variant will trigger a winter wave and change the course of the pandemic.

Experts still haven't determined if getting the latest booster helps your chances of escaping this variant, known as XBB.1.5—but evidence shows a shot can reduce the severity of illness. (Above, a cell infected with COVID.)

Some school districts, like Ann Arbor, Michigan, have already reinstituted masks to try to lessen the risk. What can you do?

Read the full story here.

Please consider getting our full digital report and magazine by subscribing here.

STORIES WE'RE FOLLOWING

A painting of cookies and a copper pot

PHOTOGRAPH BY ORONOZ/ALBUM

How chocolate became the most fashionable drink in all of Europe (Shown above, a copper chocolate pot sits surrounded by baked goods for dipping in this 18th century painting.)

COVID-19 is more widespread in animals than we thought

New clues to Virginia Dare’s mysterious disappearance?

‘Zombie cells’ could hold the secret to Alzheimer’s cure

All over the world, these streets have MLK’s name

How was Rome founded? Not in a day, and not by twins

The deceptively simple plan to replenish California’s groundwater

Is pain relief from cannabis a placebo effect?

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A picture of leather cowboy boots

PHOTOGRAPH BY REBECCA HALE

Boots from endangered elephants? Last summer, Nat Geo’s Dina Fine Maron saw something for sale online that she was surprised could be purchased in the U.S.: a pair of boots (pictured above) purportedly made from the skin of endangered Asian elephants. She spent months investigating the boots’ origin, tracking down information about its makers, and even sent a pair of the boots for DNA testing.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A picture three people looking at a map

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBBIE SHONE, @SHONEPHOTO

Out of the caves: Europe’s ice caves are rapidly disappearing, and these three young scientists are working against time to better understand them. Their work, Nat Geo Explorer Robbie Shone reports, is invaluable. Pictured above, Maria Wind, Tanguy Racine, and Gabriella Koltai studying maps of the caves they sampled.

LAST GLIMPSE

A gif of a woman watching molten rock spew from the ground

VIDEO BY FIRE OF LOVE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS

Hard to stop: “Once you see an eruption,” said volcanologist Katia Krafft, “you can't live without it because it's so grandiose, it's so strong.” Krafft (pictured above) was a fearless pioneer in volcanology, studying the explosive peaks at a time when there were few women in the field. Her story is told in the National Geographic documentary Fire of Love, now streaming on Disney+.

Today’s soundtrack: Beautiful World, Colin Hay

We hope you liked today’s newsletter. This was edited and curated by Sydney Combs, Jen Tse, and David Beard. Have an idea or a link for us? Write [email protected]. Happy trails!

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