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GETTING IT OUT
IN THE OPEN

Thursday, February 9, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we explode myths about menopause, get an up-close view of snow leopards, document the biggest factors in aging, learn how drought may have collapsed an ancient empire ... and hear Rhiannon Giddens and Yo-Yo Ma.

A picture of a woman with bright red light on her

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ELIZABETH DALZIEL

Fifty-two remains the average age for American women to experience menopause, though it can happen in the 40s or 60s.

Technically, it’s when estrogen levels have dropped so low that ovulation and menstruation permanently cease. What do we know about the “change” and its relation with hot flashes and depression? And why don’t we know more?

Read the full story here.

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

A picture of a woman in bed bathed in green light

First came the sleep loss: In perimenopause, the impact of lost sleep “carries on throughout the day, you are not able to concentrate, you feel exhausted, and have no patience,” says Rachel Woods, 49 (pictured above). Hormone replacement therapy has helped. At top, Lisa Davis, 44, described “mood swings and a fuzzy brain” from menopause. Read more.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A photo of a bright orange and black bat flying

PHOTOGRAPH BY MERLIN TUTTLE, SCIENCE SOURCE

Etsy and eBay are selling dead bats—and scientists are disturbed (Above, painted woolly bats are sold online)

Revealed: Centuries-old coded messages, aimed at toppling a legendary British queen

Photos: The beauty of spiders

The underground hospital that treated Syria's civil war victims is now full of quake victims. Related: The doctors who saved thousands in ’The Cave’

What’s the biggest factor in aging? Genes? Wear and tear on the body?

China, making news for its spy balloon, kept this 800-year-old shipwreck a secret for decades

What your lips tell about your health

The Renaissance pleasure palace that produced Casanova

Snow leopard image wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice award Related: Seeing the mysterious big cat up close

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Carved stone lions flank a gate made of large stones

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALI BALIKCI, ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES

What caused this empire to vanish? For more than four centuries, the Hittites ruled over what is much of modern-day Turkey and Syria. Then, suddenly, gone. Researchers theorized that quakes, volcanos, pirates, or disease led to the swift downfall, but the study of 3,200-year-old trees points to another cause. Click here to find out. (Above, stone lions from the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusa in central Turkey.)

SOLVING A MYSTERY

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A photo of the Titanic's bow at the bottom of the ocean

PHOTOGRAPH BY EMORY KRISTOF

Honoring a legend: Nat Geo Explorer Emory Kristof was a pioneer in deep-sea photography, using submersibles and remote controlled imaging systems to capture never before seen depths. He started as an intern at Nat Geo in 1963 and went on to photograph discoveries like the Titanic (above). “He stood tall as a pioneer of the deep and now others stand on his shoulders to reach farther, or in this case, deeper…as it should be,” said Nat Geo Explorer David Doubilet, an ocean photographer. Kristof died Monday at the age of 80.

See: The discovery of the Titanic through Kristof's eyes

IMAGES THAT STUNNED THE WORLD

LAST GLIMPSE

A picture of a man playing the cello in a forest

PHOTOGRAPH BY AUSTIN MANN

‘His whole heart was smiling’: That’s how one colleague described cellist Yo-Yo Ma, whose musical comfort to victims of this week’s quake in Turkey and Syria reflects his humanistic, heartfelt personality. Here’s our 2021 profile of the virtuoso (pictured above in Indonesia) on a six-continent tour, playing Bach and promoting the environment and social justice.

HOW MUSIC HEALS

Today’s soundtrack: Build a House, Rhiannon Giddens featuring Yo-Yo Ma

Hear Rhiannon Giddens talk about the hidden history of the banjo on this week’s Nat Geo podcast, Overheard.

Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Sydney Combs, and Jen Tse. Let us know what you think and send us story ideas here. Thanks for reading!

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