Good morning. It's Wednesday, Jan. 7, and we're covering a widening economic crisis in Iran, tracing the origins of sleep, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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The death toll from clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters reportedly rose to at least 36 people yesterday, as antigovernment demonstrations expanded to include a sit-in at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. More than 1,200 people have been detained across more than 50 towns and cities.
The unrest began Dec. 28 as Iran’s currency fell to a record low of over 1.44 million to the US dollar. The rial has since plunged further, reaching another record low yesterday. Inflation reached 52.6% last month, according to official figures. The economic crisis comes after the UN reimposed sanctions in September following alleged Iranian violations of a 2015 nuclear deal, including an illegal ballistic missile test. The sanctions include restricting Iran's oil sales and access to global finance. Amid the currency free fall, the country’s central bank last week ended exchange-rate subsidies for importers, a cost that will likely soon be passed on to consumers.
See footage from yesterday's protests here (w/video). |
Sleeping with the Jellyfish |
Jellyfish and sea anemones' sleep patterns are remarkably similar to humans', according to a study published yesterday. The finding suggests sleep evolved far earlier than previously assumed, in part to protect DNA and repair damage incurred while awake.
Although their evolutionary lineages diverged from human ancestors roughly a billion years ago, jellyfish and sea anemones spend about one-third of the day sleeping, similar to humans. When exposed to radiation that induced DNA damage, both species slept more; when deprived of sleep, they suffered greater DNA damage. The creatures also slept more when given melatonin, suggesting the hormone regulates their sleep cycles, as it does in humans (w/video). Together, the similarities between humans and these brainless invertebrates suggest sleep evolved before centralized nervous systems to support basic neural functions.
Sleep’s origins have long puzzled scientists, given its costly trade-offs, including increased vulnerability to predators. Explore our favorite resources on sleep here. |
Pope Leo XIV formally closed the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year yesterday, sealing the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica during an Epiphany Mass that capped a Jubilee drawing more than 33 million pilgrims from 185 countries—led by Italy, the US, Spain, Brazil, and Poland.
It marked only the second time in history that one pope opened a Holy Year and another closed it, following the death of Francis in April. In his homily, Leo criticized what he called a distorted consumer economy and growing hostility toward migrants, urging Catholics to welcome strangers and warning against the seductions of political power. Leo will now host the world’s cardinals at the Vatican for a two-day meeting on governing the 1.4 billion-member church.
Holy Years are typically held every 25 years, though Leo has announced a special Jubilee for 2033 to mark 2,000 years since the death of Jesus Christ and his resurrection, as described in the Christian faith. See a history of Jubilees here. |
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In partnership with Forkful |
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How to Stick to Your Healthy Resolution |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps resigns after federal antitrust trial exposes inflammatory texts (More) | Montana State wins first Football Championship Subdivision title game since 1984, with 35-34 overtime win over Illinois State (More) |
> Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr, who pioneered slow cinema, dies at age 70; he made nine features from 1979 to 2011, notably "Damnation" and "Sátántangó" (More) |
> EDM festival Tomorrowland to host first-ever Asian edition in Thailand, Dec. 11-13; the music festival was founded in Belgium in 2005 (More) |
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In partnership with Motley Fool Money |
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1000s Flock to 21-Month Balance Transfer Card |
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> Microsoft partners with US Midwest electric grid operator to modernize power system serving 42 million people (More) | Meta delays international rollout of Ray-Ban display glasses, citing inventory constraints and high demand in the US (More) |
> Researchers develop AI-generated sensors with potential to detect cancer in early stages via at-home urine tests (More) |
> Astronomers learn galaxies mature faster than previously believed after analyzing detailed images of 18 galaxies located 12.5 billion light-years away (More) |
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> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +1.0%, Nasdaq +0.7%); S&P 500 and the Dow hit record highs (More) |
> Elon Musk's xAI raises $20B in new funding from investors including Nvidia, Cisco Investments, and Fidelity; figure exceeds $15B target and reportedly pushes xAI's valuation above $230B (More) |
> Ford Motor reports US sales in 2025 increased 6% amid demand for hybrids and lower-priced trucks, marking the automaker's best annual sales since 2019 (More) |
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> Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R, CA-1), a seven-term congressman known to advocate for farming communities and lower taxes, dies at age 65 in emergency surgery; Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) must schedule a special election within the next two weeks, likely to occur in June (More) |
> Wyoming's top court strikes down state's 2022 abortion pill ban—the country's first following the reversal of Roe v. Wade (More) | Trump administration freezes $10B in federal funds for social services programs in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York over fraud allegations (More) |
> Dozens of Jan. 6 defendants march in Washington, DC, on fifth anniversary of the storming of US Capitol (More) | See photos (More) |
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1440 Topics gives you the overview, then points you to the best resources: |
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Historybook: Galileo Galilei discovers first three Jupiter moons (1610); First US presidential electors chosen (1789); Author Zora Neale Hurston born (1891); Inventor Nikola Tesla dies (1943); NFL star Lamar Jackson born (1997). |
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"The present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell." |
- Zora Neale Hurston in "Moses, Man of the Mountain" |
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