National Geographic Magazine

The latest news in science, exploration, and culture will open your eyes to the world’s many wonders. Get a National Geographic digital magazine subscription today and experience the same high-quality articles and breathtaking photography contained in the print edit.

FROM the EDITOR

Our WORLD • BEHIND THE SCENES WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

IN FOCUS • JUST IN FROM OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

THE END OF AGING? • Every cell in your body contains a memory of its youth. Now a fiercely contested, billionaire-backed race is quietly underway to reawaken those memories. Doctors think this cellular reprogramming—just entering its first human trials—could wipe out dozens of ailments. Longevity experts are harnessing it for something even grander.

THE THEORY OF GROWING OLD—AND YOUNG AGAIN • At birth, every cell in your body starts as a pluripotent stem cell capable of developing into any type of cell. In 1957 British biologist Conrad Waddington likened the process of aging to a marble rolling down a hill. The big question for scientists today is: Can we move the marble ourselves?

THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT BEGINS • To combat aging, scientists are trying to return cells to a younger state. Last April researchers began the first human trial of cellular reprogramming, focused on curing glaucoma. They believe the treatment, if successful, could be used for any number of agingrelated maladies, from heart to liver disease.

AN INFUSION OF YOUNG BLOOD

AN AGENT TO FIGHT ZOMBIE CELLS

AN OFF-LABEL CANCER DRUG

AN ENTIRELY NEW SET OF ORGANS

Where a Million FALCONS GO TO ROOST • For years, the secret winter home of rare red-footed falcons remained a mystery. Then an ornithologist discovered the hidden world of ‘Falcopolis.’

Pulling Off a BALANCING ACT BY MOONLIGHT • Reimagining an iconic photo required a full moon, the right vantage point—and someone very unafraid of heights.

ON THE RUN WITH THE ATLANTIC’S SILVER SURFERS • Just beyond the shoreline of the southern United States, the annual migration of the resurgent striped mullet is an uncanny spectacle—and a conservation success story.

Can WILDFLOWERS HEAL THE TOXIC MESS the L.A. Fires Left Behind? • Last year, devastating blazes polluted soil in parts of Los Angeles. Native plants can help repair the damage—and sow the seeds of something more.

THE SURPRISING DETOUR OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST SUPERHIGHWAY • Tourism is booming along the former trade routes of the ancient Silk Road. To understand its recent transformation, Gary Shteyngart took to Uzbekistan’s caravan trail.

CREATING A CROSSROADS • Uzbekistan’s varied geography shaped the trade routes of the ancient Silk Road—and with them, the itineraries of today’s tourists. Merchant caravans followed water sources across windswept deserts and over mountain passes. Now their trading posts and resupply hubs are becoming destination cities.

HOW TO TRAVEL UZBEKISTAN’S SILK ROAD BY TRAIN • As Uzbekistan expands rail options, Silk Road journeys once measured in days or weeks now unfold in hours—and give travelers increasingly comfortable views of the country’s changing landscape. Several different types of trains traverse the classic routes. Here’s what to know.

WHEN ART Becomes a LIFELINE • The wooden birds carved in World War II incarceration camps suggest a shared longing: escape.

A HARD REIGN • AFRICA’S LIONS FACE AN INCREASINGLY PERILOUS JOURNEY TO ADULTHOOD AMID THE RAPIDLY CHANGING SAVANNA.

How Dinosaur ‘MUMMIES’ Are Rewriting PREHISTORIC SCIENCE • Beyond bones and teeth, fossilized skin is now offering a fresh glimpse into the lost world.

MAKE WAY FOR GIANT ANTEATERS • IN BRAZIL’S VANISHING SAVANNAS, DEVELOPMENT IS PUSHING GIANT ANTEATERS CLOSER TO EVER MORE...