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WHEN WE BREATHED IN WATER

Thursday, February 8, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we learn our complicated switch from humans breathing in water to air, discover how menstrual cycles affect the brain ... and explore Harriet Tubman’s lesser-known heroism—as a daring U.S. spy.

A human fetus floats in the amniotic sac at 18 weeks, receiving all the oxygen and nutrients it requires via the placenta.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LENNART NILSSON, TT/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

“Take a gulp and take a breath,” the wicked Ursula implores Ariel in The Little Mermaid.

We, too, like Ariel, once breathed in the water like the human fetus (above) receiving all the oxygen and nutrients it requires via the placenta. How did we lose that skill? Could we ever switch back? Here’s the latest science on how it happened.

TAKE A BREATH: READ ON

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

The 14-year-old Ice Maiden of Ampato, as reconstructed by archaeologist and sculptor Oscar Nilsson.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAGMARA SOCHA

Who was the Ice Maiden of Ampato? (Pictured above, as reconstructed by archaeologist and sculptor Oscar Nilsson)

What your biological age can reveal about your health

How Harriet Tubman’s espionage work helped liberate thousands (and won a war)

The missing feet found in the Pacific Northwest

Who were the original 49ers? The true story of the California Gold Rush

Does this room contain Michelangelo’s lost artwork?

Alexander the Great had big problems towards the end Related: Were Alexander the Great and Hephaestion more than friends?

Is this rare disease really rare—or just misdiagnosed?

Why are women being diagnosed with ADHD at unprecedented rates?

How the menstrual cycle can reshape your brain—literally

Why is throwing toilet paper a staple of New Orleans Mardi Gras? Related: The difference between Carnival and Mardi Gras

WHAT IN THE UNIVERSE?

Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, showing the large Herschel Crater that makes the moon look like the Death Star from the movie Star Wars.

PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE

The ‘Death Star’ moon made of … water? Recent evidence has surfaced of a watery ocean beneath Saturn's peculiar moon, Mimas. Getting its name from the unique crater on one side of the moon that mimics that of Star Wars' Death Star (pictured above), measurements of the moon's mass suggest it is made almost entirely of water ice. What are most moons primarily made of?

A. Rocks
B. Soil
C. Gas
D. Aluminium

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Herculaneum scroll with red laser lines being 3D scanned at Institut de France by Brent Seales and his team.

PHOTOGRAPH BY EDUCELAB

The word that clued us in … is “purple”! For years, scholars have feared that the immense damage done to the Herculaneum scrolls in the A.D. 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius meant that the library was lost to us forever. Until now. With help from AI and a $1 million prize, technology has unearthed the Ancient Greek word for “purple” from a text, which may hold promise for the artifacts previously labeled as unreadable curiosities. (Pictured above, Herculaneum scroll being 3D scanned.)

THE VESUVIUS CHALLENGE

PHOTO OF THE DAY

A self-portrait by Cory Richards after surviving an avalanche, his face encrusted with ice

PHOTOGRAPH BY CORY RICHARDS

What do you do after surviving an avalanche? Climber and National Geographic Explorer Cory Richards, the first American to successfully summit an 8,000-meter peak in winter, took a selfie (pictured above). The photographer and his partners, veteran winter climbers Simone Moro of Italy and Denis Urubko of Kazakhstan, were hit by a massive wall of snow and ice churning down the flanks of Gasherbrum II in Pakistan. What happened and how did they all survive?

A TALE OF THREE CLIMBERS

One last thing: In accepting the National Geographic Society’s Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling late yesterday, Sharon Guynup and Steve Winter dropped a bombshell: After 34 years together, they were getting married. The two Nat Geo Explorers won for their two-year investigation into U.S. captive tigers. Here’s how they got the story.

Today’s soundtrack: We Go On, The Avalanches ft. Cola Boyy, Mick Jones

We hope this newsletter brightened your Thursday! It was curated and edited by David Beard, Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, and Nishita Naga. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup. See you tomorrow!

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