National Geographic Magazine - UK November 2022

LIKE SO MANY of you, we at National Geographic have long been fascinated by ancient Egypt. Its incredible sophistication in everything from agriculture to architecture to art, its court politics and intrigue, its elaborate rituals, particularly around death—much of what holds our interest in this civilization is what we still don’t fully understand. Perhaps that’s why Egyptology remains as popular today as when it took the Jazz Age by storm following the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. National Geographic correspondent Maynard Owen Williams was among the first observers granted entry to Tut’s tomb at its official opening. In our May 1923 issue, he reported “disappointment” at getting to visit only chambers that were mostly cleared of items, rather than the one said to be “filled to the roof” with…

After four years on the road with family circuses in Europe, a photographer remains spellbound by the magic of the big top.…

AS THE DAUGHTER of two flight attendants who took her on work trips to far-flung places—Singapore, Venezuela, Australia, India—photographer Stephanie Gengotti was used to a life on the go. So when she began following family circus troupes through Europe six years ago, the experience seemed familiar to her. “I feel very similar to these people because I also come from a family of travelers,” Gengotti says. “I connected to them. It reminded me of who I was.” The troupes she tracks come from the nouveau cirque school, in which trained humans, not trained animals, are the stars of the show. While the circuses might include a few laying hens or horses that pull their caravans, most scenes are performed by artists who lead audiences through a story arc via theater,…

THE PORTOBELLOS STRIKE my Le Creuset pan with a sizzle. Leeks, onions, and carrots go in next, along with a full bottle of California Cabernet. After hours of braising, I reduce the burgundy slurry to syrup, which I spoon over the mushrooms again and again until they’re glazed like an ube doughnut. Because chef Thomas Keller’s braised short ribs was my favorite meat dish, I felt confident adapting the recipe with portobellos for my first vegan Thanksgiving. But as I placed the mushrooms onto the plates of my guests—some of my closest relatives—I already sensed that I’d made a mistake. The portobellos had turned the unappealing color of organ meat. As I sliced in, they didn’t taste bad; they simply tasted like portobellos. Every single portobello I’ve ever eaten, off…

Saying no when Fidogives you his best “puppy-dog eyes” can be extremely difficult. For thousands of years, dogs have been cajoling people by making this pitiful, adorable expression—an ability that may be the result of selective breeding, a new study says. Tiny muscles around the eyes and mouth enable terrestrial mammals to form myriad facial expressions. Those muscles are more similar in dogs and humans than in dogs and wolves, says the study by researchers from Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University. In wolves, most of the facial muscles are slow-twitch fibers, which adjust less rapidly, while in humans and domesticated dogs, most of the muscles are fast-twitch fibers, which react quickly. It’s this musculature difference that allows dogs to make puppy-dog eyes and other animated, humanlike expressions that wolves can’t. Communicating with…

Light interacting with microscopic ridges on the wing surfaces of the African Cynandra opis butterfly gives rise to iridescence. These “structural colors” can appear in a wide spectrum of visible hues, including some not in the butterfly’s pigmentation. Now researchers in Switzerland have replicated the wings’ nanostructure with 3D printing on translucent plastic. The innovation could be used for banknotes, inks, and display…