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WILL WE EVER
KNOW?

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we follow the disappearances of five famous explorers, see how dogs may help us reverse aging, explore a possible alternative to opioids, discover Sudan’s pyramids … and take Nat Geo’s courtyard quiz.

A picture of Amelia Earhart in a plane

PHOTO COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, GETTY IMAGES

Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett set out to find the Lost City of Z. Then he vanished.

Sir John Franklin was chasing the elusive Northwest Passage; George Mallory, the top of Mount Everest; and Amelia Earhart, a flight around the world. All of them disappeared into thin air.

Little by little, new clues to their fates are emerging.

Read the full story here.

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A picture of men lined up in front of a tent

PHOTOGRAPH VIA ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

New evidence: Explorers are still searching for these lost pioneers—sometimes to their peril, as with several ill-fated attempts to track Fawcett. Even as expeditions recover bodies (like George Mallory’s, pictured above without a hat) and possible bones from Earhart (pictured at top), questions remain. Read more.

STORIES WE'RE FOLLOWING

A picture of a dog on a medical table receiving a scan

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID GUTTENFELDER

Dogs could be our best hope to reverse aging in humans (Joe Pup receives an echocardiogram during an anti-aging study.)

Clothing from 1600s shipwreck shows how the 1 percent lived

‘1619 Project’ comes to Hulu, expanding the story of enslaved Africans

No, redheads aren’t going extinct. Here’s why.

‘Fire of Love’ was nominated for an Oscar. Meet the woman who inspired the documentary.

How mud homes are expertly designed to beat the heat

A possible new solution to chronic pain—and the opioid crisis

A wildlife first: World’s biggest ocean stingray tagged in the wild

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A picture of a single-celled microbe

PHOTOGRAPH BY MAREK MIS, SCIENCE SOURCE

Viruses are… food? An estimated 10 nonillion (10 to the 31st power) viruses exist on Earth and until recently, scientists assumed that their submicroscopic size left them out of the food chain. A new study, however, found that a single-celled microbe (similar to the one above) can survive on viruses alone, likely eating hundreds of trillions of them a day in the wild. The finding may change how we understand the carbon cycle, Nat Geo reports.

Related: Viruses on Earth outnumber stars in the universe. Why do only some infect us?

A TINY VIRUS SNACK

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A picture two pyramids in the desert with a darkened, hazy brown sky

PHOTOGRAPH BY NICHOLE SOBECKI, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

More pyramids than Egypt: Nat Geo Explorer Nichole Sobecki was in Meroë photographing Sudan’s best-preserved pyramids when a sandstorm hit. “Watching the wall of sand move toward us across the desert, amid the echoes of ancient kings and queens, was a moment I’ll never forget,” she says. Sudan is home to twice as many pyramids compared to Egypt.

Related: How the Nubian kingdom of Kush exuded power and gold

HOW TO SEE THEM

WHERE IN THE WORLD?

A picture of a courtyard surrounded by stone arches

PHOTOGRAPH BY MIENEKE ANDEWEG-VAN RIJN, ALAMY

Where is this courtyard? Medieval pilgrims braved quicksand and tides to reach this holy place. Today it’s France’s second most popular tourist destination outside of Paris. As the site enters its millennium year, it’s adopting sustainable practices to protect its future. Where is it?

Today’s soundtrack: Lost in Yesterday, Tame Impala

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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