National Geographic (December 2020)

143 pages. Features: *A storm moves over Lake Michigan in this view from the Empire Bluff Trail in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, near Empire, Michigan *As seen form the ground: Quarantined in the Veluwe region of the Netherlands, a photographer documents the many fungi in his yard and nearby woods *Celebrating in the pandemic: Lockdowns limit togetherness. But the holiday's love and light are still within reach *Saber-toothed giant. We know more about its build, thanks to new studies *Color chemistry: From black-hole black to hotter-than-hot pink, scientists make color visible in new ways *The state of women: A new index shows that the well-being of U.S. women varies widely from state to state * So great, so fragile: The Great Lakes hold 84 percent of North America's surface fresh-water and helped make the United States and agricultural and industrial powerhouse. But now climate change, pollution, and invasive species threaten what may be the continent's most valuable resource *The world's lullabies: Songs that soothe little ones to sleep also reflect grown-ups hopes and fears *Arctic dreaming: In Russia's far north, a native returns to the memories and colors of the long polar night *Bites that kill: As many as 138,000 people die each year from snakebites and another 400,000 are permanently disables, says the World Health Organization. It has become a health crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, where getting treatment can be difficult and antivenoms are in short supply