07.01.2025

Good morning. It's Tuesday, July 1, and we're covering the Dalai Lama's looming succession plan, a new study challenging a long-held belief about aging, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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 Need To Know 

Heat Grips Europe

Wildfires are scorching parts of southern Europe as a lingering heat wave bakes swaths of the continent, prompting health alerts and evacuations.

Nearly 200 French schools were fully or partially closed yesterday, and 17 Italian cities are under the country’s highest heat alert as of this writing. Portugal and Spain saw record June temperatures near 115 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend. The extreme heat, expected to persist into midweek, is driven by a heat dome stretching from southwestern Europe to Turkey. Scientists say climate change contributes to the frequency and intensity of these high-pressure systems, which trap hot air like a lid on a pot.

The hot, dry air and strong winds in western Turkey have sparked wildfires that displaced over 50,000 people and temporarily shut down an international airport. Smaller fires also ignited in France’s Corbières region, while Greece remains on high alert after battling blazes near Athens last week. 

Central and northern Europe are also sweltering, with Britain recording its hottest opening day in Wimbledon history yesterday.

Dalai Lama Festivities

Celebrations for the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday kicked off yesterday, launching days of festivities honoring Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader. The ceremonies will culminate in an announcement tomorrow of a pathway for identifying the Dalai Lama’s successor—his strongest indication yet that the centuries-old tradition will not die with him. 

The 14th Dalai Lama was born Tenzin Gyatso in 1935. He was selected as the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lama at 2 years old, when a senior monk visited his home, and Gyatso correctly identified objects belonging to his predecessor. The process of identifying a Dalai Lama historically begins after one’s death but has recently become politicized. China—which annexed Tibet in 1950—contends it alone will name high-ranking monks, disappearing a 6-year-old boy named to the clergy in 1995.

Gyatso has lived in Dharamshala, India, since a failed Tibetan uprising in 1959. He says his successor will be born outside China. See a documentary about China’s rule over Tibet here.

Inflammaging Challenge

A new study published yesterday suggests low-grade, chronic inflammation may be tied to environmental factors in industrialized countries, challenging the long-held belief that the biological process—known as "inflammaging"—is a universal part of growing old.  

Researchers analyzed health data from four populations: two industrialized (Italy and Singapore) and two nonindustrialized (Indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon and Malaysia). The study found that while inflammation levels increased with age in industrialized societies, the pattern was absent in the nonindustrialized groups, where inflammation appeared mostly linked to short-term infections rather than chronic, age-related diseases.

The findings suggest the persistent inflammation seen in wealthier nations may be more influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors, such as diet, pollution, and levels of physical activity, rather than by aging itself. The study also highlights the need to consider cultural and environmental contexts when studying the biology of aging. Learn more about aging from 1440 Topics here. 

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