Will Japan’s present be our future?

January 17, 2023
by RJ Hamster

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we glimpse a future from a much older nation, examine advances in psychedelics, get the science behind the benefits of fasting … and find mysterious mummy paintings outside Cairo.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NORIKO HAYASHI

Restaurant workers in their 80s and even 90s (pictured above). Mobile, pop-up grocery stores serving shrinking, aging villages. In Japan, with nearly 30 percent of its people 65 and over, even the feared gangsters are going gray.

The significant changes to the nation—wrenching and surprising—may be copied by maturing nations worldwide in coming decades. Ready for a look at our future?

Read the full story here.

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Go Team! In the front, Fumie Takino is the founder and, at 90, the oldest member of Japan Pom Pom, a senior cheer squad in Tokyo. “It is important to be yourself and do what you want to do,” she says, “regardless of your age.” Japan—and much of the world—is learning. Read more

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY JASPER DOEST

Can fasting help you live longer? Here’s what the science says. (Above, a five-day diet mimicking a fast)

Chemical found in cosmetics, food packaging linked to tumors in women

Centuries before Columbus, Vikings met America’s First Nations—and perhaps clashed

Wild hyenas may have led to key Neanderthal discovery

These cute predators are back. Tourists love them. Fishermen don’t.

Mushrooms might hold the key to clean laundry

How Paul really drove the rise of Christianity

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY SEPIA TIMES, UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES

The mummy paintings: An oasis outside Cairo was once home to priceless mummy paintings dating back thousands of years, but many were sacked by Western explorers. Several paintings hidden in the sands, however, have been discovered, Nat Geo reports. (Pictured above, a portrait of a woman that was discovered in the area.)

THE OASIS BECKONS

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY @KRISGRAVES

Another Tomorrowland? Vertical growing and aeroponics will be increasingly important to feeding the Earth in the future. The two growing techniques are used at EPCOT’s The Living with the Land attraction—and the produce goes to nearby restaurants, photographer Kris Graves tells us.

A BETTER TOMATO

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALANA PATERSON, THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

Making better psychedelics: First came research showing promise for psychedelic drugs in treating a wide range of mental health disorders. Now scientists are trying to improve the timing, intensity, and duration of the experience, Nat Geo reports.

Today’s soundtrack: San Francisco, Foxygen

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 david.beard@natgeo.com. Happy trails!

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RJ Hamster

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Will Japan’s present be our future?

Will Japan’s present be our future?

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