Ticks cause Lyme…and a life-threatening meat allergy? Plus, a diet soda disaster; a surprise from Mars’s biggest mountain; justice for Henrietta Lacks

RJ Hamster

1 year ago

Thursday, August 3, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we avoid ticks at all costs, question how this artificial sweetener became so popular despite health concerns … and discover a surprise island on Mars.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

In a summer hyped as the worst season for ticks ever, one strange variant is spreading.

The syndrome that has struck hundreds of thousands of Americans in recent years is a potentially life-threatening reaction to a sugar found in red meat. It is spread by the Lone Star tick (above) and often not diagnosed by health professionals.

Unlike most allergies, it doesn’t strike until hours after eating—and can put you at risk of anaphylaxis. How can we determine if we have it? How can it be treated?

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY BETTMANN, GETTY IMAGES

Addicted to diet soda? Here’s the history of its low-calorie secret weapon, aspartame, now suspected of links to cancer. (Above, a group protesting a proposed ban in 1977 on another sweetener, saccharin.)

Why Iceland wants its stolen skulls back

The blue whale may no longer be the largest animal ever

What studying twins can tell us about ourselves? And why are the number of twins growing?

A surprise emerges from the biggest mountain on Mars

Centuries-old secrets from Anne Boleyn have been revealed

You and everyone you know are living because of this actions of this person. Do you know him?

Can you spot these hidden animals?

What does extreme heat do to the body?

Who broke the Sphinx’s nose?

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

IMAGE VIA THE BRITISH LIBRARY

Hint: Not a rhino: Medieval artists in Europe had to rely on oral and written descriptions to draw animals they’ve never seen, including the 13th century illustrations above. Do you know what animal they were trying to draw?

A. Ant eater
B. Elephant
C. Walrus
D. Antelope
E. Pit bull

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

PAID CONTENT FOR FINISH

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE MCBRIDE

Every drop counts in America’s waterways crisis

Two of our nation’s critical lifelines—the Rio Grande and Colorado Rivers—are shrinking tragically with every passing day. National Geographic Photographer Pete McBride is on a mission to protect these vital rivers and their ecosystems. An effort from Finish Dishwashing is also helping to raise awareness of the crisis affecting freshwater resources everywhere.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEL SARTORE

Repellent, anyone? If you think this summer’s mosquitoes are bad, then steer clear of Alaska’s North Slope. Above, photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Joel Sartore, while on assignment in 2006, took off his shoes and let the bugs bite—all for the pic. “They piled on so thick they made a crackling sound,” he wrote. This image became one of the most talked about photos of his career.
Related:
You really are a mosquito magnet. Here’s what you can do about it.

ARE YOU A MOSQUITO MAGNET?

LAST GLIMPSE

PHOTOGRAPH FROM SCIENCE SOURCE

Justice, finally: No doctor told cancer patient Henrietta Lacks that her genetic material would be “stolen” from her dying body. Nor did they tell her family later. ”Had they been a white family they would have been treated differently,” her biographer, Rebecca Skloot, told us in 2013. This week, 72 years after her death, her descendants reached a settlement with a science and tech company that profited from research on her amazing genetic material.

WHO WAS HENRIETTA LACKS?

Today’s soundtrack: Lift Ev’Ry Voice and Sing, Brandee Younger
We hope this newsletter brightened your Thursday! It was curated and edited by
David Beard, Hannah Farrow, Nancy San Martín, and Jen Tse. See you tomorrow!

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