Will red hair go extinct? Plus, ancient fishermen found with extra limbs; free-roaming buffalo

Will red hair go extinct? Plus, ancient fishermen found…

Saturday, July 8, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn ginger genes are here to stay, find ways to keep cool in the heat, discover multiple fishermen buried with extra limbs … and roam with buffalo for the first time in 150 years.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KIKE CALVO, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

The genetic traits for redheads are at the bottom of the barrel, seeming trumped by dominant genes. Only 1 or 2 percent of the population is ginger, leading to concerns that the hair color will die out.

But the ginger hair that came naturally to Prince Harry, Malcolm X, or Emma Stone has a stronger series of traits than once known. It will survive beyond strongholds like Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, Morocco, or England.

READ THE FULL STORY

Unlock this article with Nat Geo Premium! Get access now to exclusive stories, plus a century of archives, photos, and videos. See subscription options starting at just $19/yr.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

PHOTOGRAPH BY LOUISE DELMOTTE, FOR THE WASHINGTON POST/GETTY IMAGES

Heat waves are getting worse. Here’s how to prepare.(Above, a woman wipes sweat from her face during a record-breaking heatwave.)

Ancient shark fishermen found buried with extra limbs

Nature really is good medicine. Science can explain why.

Cape Cod may have the highest density of great white sharks in the world

This new tool will help upend everything we assumed about ancient gender roles

Today only, for about one total minute, 99% of people on Earth will get sun at the same time

The ‘Dial of Destiny’ is real—and was found in an ancient shipwreck

How extreme heat affects our pets—and how to help them

Want to keep your memory sharp? Here’s what science recommends.

A Nat Geo Explorer fights for wildlife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

THEY JUMP INTO DANGER

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK THIESSEN

An intense, hot fight: Within minutes of the call, Alaska’s “smokejumpers” are geared up and in the plane, ready to parachute into nearby burning forests and fight to put them out. They don’t know where they’re going, how big the fire is—or how long they’ll be gone.

HOW THEY DO IT

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY BECKY HALE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Gender roles, upended: What archeologists thought was an ancient male ruler buried in an elaborate Spanish tomb turns out to be female, thanks to a new tool that helps decode ancient DNA to determine sex. What’s next? We challenge our assumptions about the roles gender played back in the day. (Above, a headdress on a 600-year-old skull of a sacrificed male child from Peru.)

LEARN MORE

OH, GIVE ME A HOME

PHOTOGRAPH BY LOUISE JOHNS

Home on the range: Free-roaming American buffalo—descendants of the original herd—will be reintroduced to their native Blackfeet Nation tribal lands. This conservation effort is a landmark step for buffalo (pictured above by Nat Geo Explorer Louise Johns), which were nearly slaughtered to extinction about 150 years ago. “I can’t hardly describe the feeling that I have. I have this jittery feeling, goosebumps,” the director of the Blackfeet Nation Buffalo Program tells Nat Geo.

WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM

Today’s soundtrack: Fifteen, Taylor Swift

This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, Hannah Farrow, and Jen Tse. Amanda Williams-Bryant, Alisher Egamov, Rita Spinks, and Jeremy Brandt-Vorel also contributed this week. Thanks for reading!

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

We’d like to hear from you! Tell us what you think of our emails by sharing your feedback in this short survey.

TAKE THE SURVEY

SHOP DONATE SUBSCRIBE TRAVEL

Clicking on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply.

This email was sent to: peter.hovis@gmail.com. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.

This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036

Stop all types of future commercial email from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences.

Manage all email preferences with the Walt Disney Family of Companies.

Patriot Mom Digest

JCPenney

RJ Hamster

Will red hair go extinct? Plus, ancient fishermen found with extra limbs; free-roaming buffalo

Will red hair go extinct? Plus, ancient fishermen found…

Share this:

Like this:

Related articles