Reader Digest Australia Feb2020

The Border Guard, the Mayor and the Wall

PHOTO: CTK/AL AMY STOCK PHOTO 2015 Europe. Robert would lean close to
THE MAYOR WHO the radio, then relay forbidden news
PROTESTED THE FENCE from around the world to his hearing-
impaired grandfather.
Robert Molnár has a lot of experience
His grandfather would tell him
A defying authority how his German parents came to
s Mayor Robert Molnár, 48, Kübekháza to help start tobacco pro-
enters his office in the city duction; through their work and that
hall of Kübekháza, a small of others, it grew into a thriving village.
town on the Hungarian bor- However, under the Communists, the
der with Serbia and Romania, it is village had been neglected. The roads
quiet outside. The only disturbance is were muddy and treacherous, and
a column of army trucks on the nearby houses had fallen into disrepair.
highway.
In 1985, when Robert was 14, he was
Robert hangs his coat over a chair reported to the police while collecting
and sits behind his desk. Among his signatures against the Communist
papers, the French newspaper Libéra- village leadership’s rule. The police
tion lies open at a full-page article. A threatened to send him to a reform-
picture shows an angry mayor, arms atory. After he was released, Robert
crossed, standing in front of a new moved to Szeged, a nearby city, and
fence. The headline reads: ‘In Hun- joined an underground resistance
gary, Robert Molnár Goes Into Battle movement. They created a monument
With Barbed Wire’. commemorating the people who died
in 1956 during the Soviet invasion of
At age seven, Robert would sit with Hungary and wrapped a statue of
his grandfather in their small house Lenin in cloth. One night, Robert
in Kübekháza listening to Radio Free returned to Kübekháza, climbed the
Soviet sculpture in the village square
and knocked its red star off with a
hammer.

On August 19, 1989, he heard on the
radio that there was a breach in the
Iron Curtain on the Austrian border
with Hungary during a ‘Pan-Europe-
an Picnic’. He was overjoyed. Finally,
the Communist regime was coming
to an end.

Robert was euphoric in the days
and months after the fall of the Berlin

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READER’S DIGEST

Wall. At age 27, he was elected to the new mission: to focus on people who
Hungarian parliament. As a member truly needed his help.
of the Commission for Foreign Affairs,
he attended meetings where NATO ON JULY 13, 2015, a farmer’s wife
membership was discussed. Europe on the outskirts of the village calls
was gradually unifying. He earned a Robert. “The soldiers!” she shouts.
high income, everybody wanted to be “They are driving large trucks over
his friend, and he married Ágnes, a my yard.” The army is rolling out
beautiful lawyer. kilometres of concertina wire, three
rows deep and four metres high to
But then things went wrong. Rob- close the border with Serbia.
ert lost his seat in parliament in 2002,
and Ágnes lost her job. When may- Robert is furious. Immediately, he
oral elections in Kübekháza were writes a letter to the Minister of the
announced, Robert seized the oppor-
tunity to start a new life and entered “IF WE LEAVE THE
the race against four other candidates. FENCES THERE, IF
WE DON’T CRUSH
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain THEM, WE BRAND
nothing had improved in Kübekháza.
Promising to build up the village so HUNGARY’S
the people could be proud of it again, FUTURE”
Robert won three-quarters of the vote.
MAYOR ROBERT MOLNÁR
At seven o’clock the next morning (in a letter to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán)
he got started. Mud roads were tarred,
and a park was built in the village Interior, Sándor Pintér: “They come
square. Working with the villagers, here, unannounced, to build a fence
Robert built a new school, a commu- on municipal land, destroying the
nity centre and a fitness centre. farmers’ estates along the way, where-
as you have to apply for planning
A few months later, Ágnes, who’d permission for every single dormer.”
stayed in Szeged to finish her PhD,
asked for a divorce. Robert had But there are more than just
worked so hard in Kübekháza that practical concerns. He has already
he had neglected his wife. While the heard about the government’s plans to
village celebrated Christmas and New protect Hungarians with barbed wire
Year, Robert was alone. against Muslims. It makes him think
of European history: the Gulag (Soviet
With the help of counselling, Rob- forced labour camps), Auschwitz, but
ert’s marriage survived. Ágnes moved especially the Iron Curtain.
to Kübekháza, and they had three
children. However, his marriage cri-
sis had set him thinking. He took on a

100 february 2020

The Border Guard, the Mayor and the Wall

A fence against others will always Picnic at the place where three stones
bring a curse on people, Robert is symbolise the tri-border area for Hun-
convinced. During Communist rule, garians, Serbs, and Romanians. He
he saw how isolation led to hate, not wants to maintain warm relationships
just against the people outside but with the mayors across the border, but
also among the Hungarians them- the main goal of the picnic has been to
selves. To Prime Minister Viktor Or- symbolise an open Europe, just as the
bán, he writes: “If we leave the fenc- first Pan-European Picnic did in 1989.
es there, if we don’t crush them, we
brand Hungary’s future.” He does not It’s very doubtful the picnic will
receive an answer. continue, he thinks. At the moment,
Hungary’s fence ends in the empty
Two months after placing a fields around Kübekháza, but it can be
151-kilometre long fence along the extended along the Romanian border
border with Serbia, Orbán’s govern- at any moment. The posts are already
ment declares a state of emergency in in the ground.
the province where Robert is mayor.*
© 2019 BY IRON CURTAIN PROJECT. THIS ARTICLE HAS
Robert walks through the mud to BEEN CONDENSED BY READER’S DIGEST.
the new fence. The coils of barbed THE ORIGINAL TEXT AND VIDEOS CAN BE VIEWED AT:
wire, the watch tower: no one can WWW.IRONCURTAINPROJECT.EU/EN/STORIES/THE-
deny the similarities with the Iron RETURN-OF-BARBED-WIRE/
Curtain. The soldier standing guard THE IRON CURTAIN PROJECT INVESTIGATES HOW THE
looks bored – in the last couple FORMER IRON CURTAIN STILL INFLUENCES THE DAILY
of days hardly any refugees have LIVES OF EUROPEANS. IT HAS ONLINE STORIES AS
arrived. Behind him is a portable WELL AS EXHIBITIONS, DEBATES AND AUDIO NIGHTS.
toilet, which Robert arranged to be
put there. He might be against the Update: Hungary now has more than
fence, but he still wants the situation 450 kilometres of razor-wire fences
to remain decent for the soldiers. along its borders with Serbia and
Croatia. The Romanian border with
The days when a lot of refugees ar- Hungary remains open, and Robert
rived were difficult, the border guard Molnár’s Pan-European Picnic has
says. He saw desperate families walk- become an annual event.
ing towards him but had to stop them.
At such moments, he turned off his Árpád Bella supports Viktor
feelings. Orbán’s decision to close off Hungary
with fences and barbed wire. Árpád
Every May since becoming mayor, calls it a necessary evil; the fences are
Robert has organised a Pan-European necessary to protect Hungary against
refugees who would otherwise flood
*SEVERAL OTHER COUNTRIES, INCLUDING the nation. And he isn’t alone: in 2018
AUSTRIA, BULGARIA, MACEDONIA AND SLOVENIA, Orbán won a third term in office on a
BUILT THEIR OWN FENCES IN 2015. strong anti-immigration platform.

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102 february 2020

PHOTO FEATURE

TOWERING
SUCCESSES
Visitor attraction, tourist site, landmark
– these structures rise above most

BY Cornelia Kumfert

Countless tourist photos seem to show the Leaning Tower
of Pisa standing upright again. While these are only
optical illusions, custodians of the 58-metre-high
landmark in the Italian region of Tuscany really have been
trying since the mid-1990s to get the tower back closer to
vertical. And they’ve been successful. Holes have been
carefully drilled under the north side and soil removed in
order to prevent the dangerously unstable tower from
leaning even further. Since then, the marble structure has
moved about 45 centimetres in the right direction.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/CULTURA RM EXCLUSIVE/WALTER ZERLA

103

 This London landmark is PHOTOS: (LEFT) GETTY IMAGES/XPACIFICA; (ABOVE) GETTY IMAGES/SCOTT E BARBOUR;
known under a false name. Many (BELOW) GETTY IMAGES/BERNARD COLLARDEY PHOTOGRAPHIE
people call the tower on the
Palace of Westminster ‘Big Ben’.
In fact, only the biggest and
heaviest of the five bells it
contains bears this name. The
tower itself used to be known
simply as the Clock Tower until
it was renamed the Elizabeth
Tower on the occasion of the
Queen of England’s Golden
Jubilee in 2012. But tourists from
all over the world will no doubt
always call it Big Ben.

 For many years the
468-metre-high Oriental Pearl
Tower was the tallest building in
China. Even though it has now
been overtaken by several
skyscrapers, it still counts as one
of the tallest TV towers in the
world. Its unusual architecture,
with its 11 spheres of different
sizes, has earned it the nickname
‘Pearl of the East’ and makes the
gigantic Shanghai tower one of
the most beautiful of its kind.

 Wind speeds and gusts of
up to 180 km/h are barely able to
ruffle the iron lady of Paris. The tip
of the Eiffel Tower oscillates no
more than 12 centimetres in a
gale. It owes its solidity to its airy
construction. Even though the
colossus is built primarily of steel
and weighs around 10,000 tonnes,
there’s hardly any surface to offer
the wind any resistance.

104 February 2020

105

 Daredevil visitors to the Falcon’s PHOTOS: (RIGHT) GETTY IMAGES/TAMPATRA;
Fury plunge a frightening 102 metres (LEF T) VIAVAL/AL AMY STOCK PHOTO
towards the ground – and do so
voluntarily. This ‘drop tower’ is a
magnet for visitors to a theme park in
Florida and the highest freestanding
drop tower in North America. It takes
around a minute for the gondolas
carrying the riders to reach the drop
height. Then down they go, at more
than 90 km/h.

 One of the Petronas Towers in
Kuala Lumpur weighs about the same as
42,857 elephants. The twin towers,
which are connected by a steel sky
bridge, have a combined weight of
600,000 tonnes. They house a museum,
an art gallery and a concert hall, as well
as countless offices.

106 February 2020

107

TRAVEL

HeTHaErt

EurOFope

In Strasbourg, the scars of history have
healed and the city has reinvented

itself as the capital of a united Europe

Text and photographs by Paul Robert

108 february 2020

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t is a late Sunday afternoon in February in Strasbourg,
the capital of the Alsace region and the newly created
French department Grand Est on the border with

I Germany. The city is a blend of French and German
culture as a result of the region’s mercurial history. Even
the street signs are bilingual. The ‘rue des écrivains’ (street of
the writers) is also called ‘Schriwerstubgass’ in the local dialect.

I AM SITTING IN A PARISIAN-STYLE French cities of Chartres and Reims
changed the building style from
restaurant, which proves that the city’s Romanesque to Gothic and executed
split nationality extends to the Alsatian the splendid rose window over the
cuisine. Yes, there is foie gras on the central entrance in a typical north-
menu. But there is also jarret de porc, ern French style.
a dish Germans would call schwein-
shaxe: roasted ham hock, served with The half-timbered Renaissance
sauerkraut (which the French call houses and high, sloping rooftops
choucroute) and an eye-popping Al- on the square are typical of southern
satian mustard with horseradish. German architecture. But the adjacent
18th-century museum complex, a
To drink, t hey ser ve A lsat ian former bishop’s palace, is all Louis XV.
wines with German names such
as Riesling and Gewürztraminer, There’s a reason for all this: strate-
but a lso beer f rom St rasbourg’s gically located on the rivers Ill and
own brewery Fischer. In this city Rhine, Strasbourg has been a Roman
the French drink beer. How Ger- settlement, a diocese, an independ-
man is that? ent imperial city, and since 1681,
officially French, German, French,
I choose the jarret de porc over German and French, respectively.
the baeckoeffe, a meat-and-potatoes
speciality of Alsace. I have plans for We roam the narrow streets,
that dish later in the week. squares and banks of the waterways.
Strasbourg Mon Amour, a Valentine’s
The next morning, Régine Day festival to be held this week, will
Baumgartner, a city guide, takes me feature concerts and a dance in the
on a tour. Régine, whose surname is wedding room at the town hall. It
officially pronounced with a French all comes together perfectly when
accent as Bohmgardnehr, starts in I see a young bride and groom pos-
front of the majestic, medieval Stras- ing for their wedding photos against
bourg Cathedral. The genius behind the backdrop of the canal and its
it was German master builder Erwin half-timbered houses.
von Steinbach. But builders from the

110 February 2020

The Heart of Europe

Clockwise from top left: Orientalist architecture in Neustadt; Strasbourg Cathedral spire
rising 142 metres above German-style rooftops; Place Kléber, the heart of Strasbourg

Clockwise from above left: Thierry Schwaller preparing Baeckoeffe; neo-classical
edifice of Strasbourg University; an Art Nouveau-style school for girls in Neustadt

112 February 2020

The Heart of Europe

Régine and I cross a bridge and names of German architects and

leave t he old cit y to enter Neu- builders engraved like painters’ sig-

stadt, an area around the Place de natures in the walls. This area, now

l’Université. Neustadt, or ‘new city’, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is

was developed as a Germanisation one of the most impressive and com-

project after France’s defeat in the plete monuments of late 19th- and

1870 Franco-Prussian war. When early 20th-century German architec-

it was finished around 1910, Neu- ture, with its Neo-Roman churches,

stadt effectively tripled the size of Neo-classical government buildings

Strasbourg, and was inhabited by and university, Jugendstil and Orien-

tens of thousands of families who talist residential structures.

were drawn from all over Germany More names are engraved in the

by the promise of affordable hous- edifice of the main building of the

ing, modern facilities, and excellent universit y: Schiller, Humboldt,

education on all Goethe, and other

levels – up to and 30 YEARS AGO famous Germans.
including a new uni- THIS PART OF THE Among them I dis-
versity. cover the name of
CITY WAS NOT French philosopher
After the Ger-

man defeat in World INCLUDED IN Descartes, in modest
War I, Alsace was TOURIST MAPS recognition of 190
brought back un- years of French rule

der French control. that preceded the

There were numer- German conquest.

ous name changes, and up to 100,000 It is a testimony to how both sides

ethnic Germans were expelled, a denied the other’s legacy in the city

mere footnote in the tragedy-filled and the region beyond, with the local

history of 20th-century Europe. population as the eternal victims of

“Only 30 years ago this part of the distant Paris and Berlin alike. But

city was not included in our tourist it has created one of the most fasci-

maps. The name wouldn’t even be on nating cities in Europe and even a

it,” says Régine as we stand outside unique cuisine.

a magnificent Jugendstil (Art Nou- On an earlier, brief visit to Stras-

veau) building erected by German bourg it was baeckoeffe that struck

architects at the beginning of the me as a dish that could serve as a

20th century. It used to be the home perfect metaphor for Alsace. Its Ger-

of an insurance company called man elements are typically meat

Germania. It’s now called Gallia. and potatoes, whereas the addition

As we walk, Régine points out the of white wine gives the casserole an

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Strasbourg's iconic vista of the medieval covered bridge

unmistakable French twist. Almost the reduced marinade. “Finally,
every restaurant in Strasbourg and I add a piece of heavily smoked pork
beyond serves it. But beware, there rind on top for taste only.” He pushes
is baeckoeffe and there is Baeckoeffe, the lid onto it, seals it with dough,
just as there is riesling and Riesling. and lets it cook in the oven for three
hours.
Chef Thierry Schwaller, owner of
restaurant Finkstuebel, laughs when The result is gorgeous. “This is the
I ask him the difference between an dish of the Alsace,” says Schwaller. “I
average baeckoeffe and a top Baeck- have seen casseroles in Germany, of
oeffe. Most of the tourist restaurants, course, but never with wine like this.”
he says, receive the ingredients for
their baeckoeffe pre-cooked: “All As I eat, I consider what Schwaller
they have to do is heat their meals up told me about the history of the dish.
in a microwave.” He then shows me The word baeckoeffe comes from
how it should be done. ‘baker’s oven’. In the past, people
would prepare the dish at home, seal
Schwaller builds his Baeckoeffe it with dough, and take it to the local
with consecutive layers of potatoes, baker on Friday, where they would
vegetables, and meat that he has place it in the bread oven that was
marinated for two days in Riesling gradually cooling down. The dish
wine and herbs. “I always add car- would be ready the next day.
rots, because that helps neutralise
the acidity of the wine,” he says. The That baeckoeffe is inspired by
build-up continues until the casse- the Jewish sabbath dish of Cholent,
role is more than full, then he adds which is prepared in a similar way to
avoid cooking on the sabbath, adds

114 February 2020

The Heart of Europe

another layer to the city’s mixed cul- On my last afternoon in the city, I
ture and tumultuous past. Strasbourg follow the banks of the river Ill and
was the scene of one of Europe’s first pass splendid old townhouses and
pogroms, when hundreds of Jews the headquarters of the French-
were blamed for the black death in German TV network Arte on my way
1349 and publicly burned. to the futuristic glass palace housing
the European Parliament.
That horrid story and the rest of
the city’s history, from Roman days A temporary press accreditation
to the annexation of Alsace by the allows me to sit in the press stand in
Nazis in 1940 and its reintegration the main meeting room. Looking
into France, are featured in the Stras- down into the debating arena, I recog-
bourg historical museum that I visit nise some of the members of this Par-
the next day. liament, which has brought Europe an
unprecedented 70 consecutive years
A multimedia timeline ends with of peace. To the left of the chairman
European unification symbolised are the Socialists and Greens, then the
by the new Rhine River bridge to Liberals and Christian Democrats and
Germany and the presence in the the Conservatives to the right. And all
city of the European Parliament, the the way to the right are the National-
Council of Europe, and the Europe- ists and Eurosceptics, eager to turn
an Court for Human Rights. If there back the clock and retreat behind
is one thing the presentation under- borders and fences. The history of this
lines, it is the symbolic significance beautiful city should serve as a warn-
of Strasbourg as the seat of the Euro- ing to them, and to us all.
pean Parliament.
115

READER’S DIGEST

THE MAN
WHO IS
AG E I NG

TOO FAST

116 February 2020

BONUS READ

Could a rare condition that causes the
human body to age at super speed help us find
a way to slow ageing – or stop it altogether?

BY Erika Hayasaki
ILLUSTRATIONS Moonassi for Mosaic

FROM MOSAIC

Nobuaki Nagashima was room, around 40 kilometres west of
in his mid-20s when Tokyo. A grey newsboy cap covers
he began to feel like his hairless head freckled with liver
his body was breaking spots. His eyebrows are thinned to a
down. He was based in few wisps. Black-rimmed glasses help

Hokkaido, the north- with his failing eyesight, his hip joints

ernmost prefecture of Japan, where – replaced with artificial ones after

for 12 years he had been a member arthritis – ache as he stands to slowly

of the military, vigorously practis- walk across the room. These ailments

ing training drills out in the snow. It you might expect to see in an 80 year

happened bit by bit – cataracts at the old. But Nagashima is just 43.

age of 25, pains in his hips at 28, skin He tells me that he has been in and

problems on his leg at 30. out of hospital ever since his diagno-

At 33, he was diagnosed w ith sis and that his deteriorating health

Werner syndrome, a disease that forced him to leave the militar y.

causes the body to age too fast. Nagashima has had five or six sur-

Among other things, it shows as geries, from his toes to hips to eyes,

wrinkles, weight loss, greying hair to treat ageing-related ailments. He’s

and balding. It’s also known to cause lost 15 kilograms since he was first

hardening of the arteries, heart diagnosed. He needs a walking stick

failure, diabetes and cancer. to do a distance over a few metres,

I meet Nagashima under the white and has a temporary job at the City

light of a Chiba University Hospital Hall, going to the office when his

117

READER’S DIGEST

body will allow but working from and as of 2008, there were only 1487
home when it doesn’t. documented cases worldwide, with
1128 of them in Japan.
He remembers driving home after
his diagnosis, crying to himself. When Lest this seem like a uniquely
he told his parents, his mother apolo- Japanese condition, George Mar-
gised for not giving birth to a stronger tin, co-director of the International
person. But his father told him that Registry of Werner Syndrome at the
if he could endure this disease, he University of Washington, thinks
was indeed strong, and maybe scien- the number of actual cases globally
tists would learn from him, gaining is around seven times higher than
knowledge that could help others. the numbers recorded today. He says
most cases around the world will not
Apart from the X and Y sex chro- have come to the attention of physi-
mosomes, we inherit two copies of cians or registries.
every gene in our bodies – one from
our mother and one from our father. The huge imbalance in Japanese
Werner syndrome is what’s called cases he puts down to two factors.
an autosomal recessive disorder, First, the mountains and islands

HIS FATHER TOLD HIM IF HE COULD ENDURE
THIS DISEASE, HE WAS INDEED STRONG,

AND SCIENTISTS WOULD LEARN FROM HIM

meaning it only shows when a per- of the Japanese landscape and the
son inherits a mutated version of a isolating effect that’s had on the
gene called WRN from both parents. population through history – mean-
ing people were more likely to end
Nagashima’s parents are ageing up having children with someone
normally. They each have one func- more similar to them genetically. A
tional copy of WRN, so their bodies similar effect is seen in the Italian
don’t show any symptoms of the island of Sardinia, which also has
disease. But he was unfortunate to a cluster of Werner cases. Second,
have received two mutated copies of the startling nature of the condi-
WRN. His grandparents are still alive tion, and the higher frequency with
and as well as one might expect for a which it appears in Japan (affecting
couple in their 90s, and the family are an estimated one in a million peo-
unaware of any other Werner cases in ple worldwide but one in 100,000 in
their family history. Japan), means the Japanese medical

WRN was discovered only in 1996,

118 February 2020

The Man Who is Ageing Too Fast

system is more aware than most
when Werner syndrome appears.

EAST OF TOKYO, AT CHIBA UNI- of chromosomes in one of your cells
you would end up with about two
VERSITY HOSPITAL, are the records metres of DNA. That DNA is folded
of 269 clinically diagnosed patients, up into a space about a 10,000th of
116 of whom are still alive. One of that distance across – the compacting
them is Sachi Suga, who can only get occurring with help from proteins
around in a wheelchair. Her muscles called histones.
are so weak she can no longer climb
in and out of her ofuro, a deep tub DNA, and the histones that package
of steaming hot water. She used to it up, can acquire chemical marks.
cook breakfast for herself and her These don’t change the underlying
husband, but now she can’t stand genes, but they do have the power to
at a stove for more than a minute silence or amplify a gene’s activity.
or two so she’s resorted to prepar- The formation of these marks seems
ing quicker-to-make miso soup the to be influenced by our experienc-
night before, which he eats before es and environment – in response
leaving for work at 5.30am. to smoking or stress, for instance.

Waif-like in a short black wig, Suga 119
has tiny wrists, and she speaks to me
in a hoarse, throaty whisper. She tells
me of the home aid worker who visits
three times a week to help wrap her
ulcer-covered legs in bandages. She
has terrible back and leg pain. Yet
on the positive side, the 64 year old
has long surpassed the average life
expectancy of around 55 for people
with Werner syndrome.

Only a handful of people with Wer-
ner currently attend Chiba. Recently,
they started a support group. “Once
our conversation started, I forgot
about the pain completely,” says
Suga. Nagashima says the meetings
often end with the same question:
“Why do I have this disease?”

If you were to unravel the 23 pairs

READER’S DIGEST

The marks can be read from blood,
urine, organ or skin tissue samples.

Professor Hor vath’s team ana-
lysed blood cells from 18 people with
Werner syndrome. It was as if the
methylation marking was happen-
ing on fast-forward: the cells had an
epigenetic age notably higher than
those from a group without Werner.

Nagashima’s and Suga’s genet-
ic information is contained within
databases and registries that are pro-
viding researchers with insights into
how our genes work, how they inter-
act with the epigenome, and how that
fits with ageing as a whole.

Some seem to be down to random SCIENTISTS NOW UNDERSTAND
chance, or the result of a mutation,
as in cancer. Scientists call this land- THAT WRN is key to how the whole
scape of markings the epigenome. We cell works – in reading, copying, un-
do not know yet exactly why our cells folding and repairing. Disruption to
add these epigenetic marks, but some WRN leads to widespread instability
seem to be connected to ageing. throughout the genome. “The integ-
rity of the DNA is altered, and you get
Steve Horvath, professor of human more mutations… more deletions and
genetics and biostatistics at the Uni- aberrations. This is all over the cells,”
versity of California, Los Angeles, says Martin. “Big pieces are cut out
has used one type of these, called and rearranged.” The abnormalities
methylation marks, to create an ‘epi- are not just in the DNA but in the epi-
genetic clock’ that looks beyond the genetic marks around it too.
external signs of ageing such as wrin-
kles or grey hair, to more accurately The million-dollar question is
measure how biologically old you are. whether these marks are imprints
of diseases and ageing or whether
the marks cause diseases and ageing
– and ultimately death. And if the
latter, could editing or removing epi-
genetic marks prevent or reverse any
part of ageing or age-related disease?

We know relatively little about the

120 February 2020

The Man Who is Ageing Too Fast

processes through which epigenetic adult progeria). Remarkably, the
marks are actually added and why. mice rejuvenated brief ly, but died
Horvath sees methylation marks as w ithin a couple of days. Totally
like the face of a clock, not necessar- reprogramming the cells had also led
ily the underlying mechanism that to cancer and loss of the cells’ ability
makes it tick. The nuts and bolts may to function.
be indicated by clues like the WRN
gene, and other researchers have Then in 2016, scientists at the Salk
been getting further glimpses be- Institute in California engineered
neath the surface. a way to partially rewind the cells
of mice with progeria using a lower
In 2006 and 2007, Japanese re- dose of the Yamanaka factors for a
searcher Shinya Yamanaka pub- shorter period. The premature age-
lished two studies which found that ing slowed down in these mice. They
putting four specific genes – now not only looked healthier and livelier
called Yamanaka factors – into any than progeria mice who hadn’t had
adult cell could rewind it to an earli- the treatment, but their cells had
er, embryonic state, a stem cell, from fewer epigenetic marks. Moreover,

COULD EDITING OR REMOVING EPIGENETIC
MARKS PREVENT OR REVERSE ANY PART
OF AGEING OR AGE-RELATED DISEASE?

which it could then be turned into they lived 30 per cent longer than the
any other type of cell. This method, untreated mice. When the research-
which earned Yamanaka the Nobel ers applied this same treatment to
Prize, has become a mainspring for normally ageing mice, their pancre-
stem cell studies. But what made this ases and muscles rejuvenated.
all the more interesting was that it
completely reset the epigenetic age of The same scientists are also us-
the cells to a prenatal stage, erasing ing gene editing technology on mice
the epigenetic marks. to add or subtract other epigenet-
ic marks and see what happens.
Researchers replicated Yamanaka’s They’re also trying to modify the his-
experiments in mice with a condition tone proteins to see if that can alter
called Hutchinson–Gilford progeria genes’ activity. Some of these tech-
syndrome, which has similar symp- niques have already shown results
toms to Werner but only affects chil- in reversing diabetes, kidney disease
dren (Werner is sometimes called and muscular dystrophy in mice.

121

READER’S DIGEST

NAGASHIMA TELLS ME ABOUT HIS FORMER
GIRLFRIEND. THEY WANTED TO MARRY.
BUT HER PARENTS DISAPPROVED

The team are now trying similar Horvath says that there are clear
experiments on rodents to see if they commonalities in ageing across
can reduce the symptoms of arthritis many regions of the body. Epigenet-
and Parkinson’s disease. ic ageing in the brain is similar to
that of the liver or the kidney, show-
The big question remains: is the ing similar patterns of methylation
disappearance of the epigenetic marks. When you look at it in terms
marks related to the reversal of cell of these marks, he says, “ageing is
development – and possibly the actually rather straightforward,
ageing of the cell – or an unrelated because it’s highly reproducible in
side-effect? Scientists are still trying different organs.”
to understand how changes in epige-
netic marks relate to ageing, and how There’s a feverishness around the
Yamanaka factors are able to reverse idea of resetting or reprogramming
age-related conditions. the epigenetic clock, Horvath tells

122 February 2020

The Man Who is Ageing Too Fast

me. He sees huge potential in all of diagnosis and even took a genetic test
it, but says it has the feel of a gold so they could be sure they would not
rush. “Everybody has a shovel in pass the condition on to their kids.
their hand.” But her parents disapproved. The
relationship ended.
Jamie Hackett, a molecular biologist
at the European Molecular Biology He has a new girlfriend now. He
Laboratory in Rome, says the excite- wants to make her his life partner but
ment comes from the suggestion to do so he must get up the courage to
that you can have an influence over ask for her parents’ permission.
your genes.
Nagashima slips down a brown
BACK IN THE CHIBA HOSPITAL sock, revealing a white bandage
wrapped around the sole of his swol-
ROOM, Nagashima removes one len foot and ankles. Beneath, his skin
of his high-top sneakers, which he is raw, revealing red ulcers caused by
has cushioned with insoles to make his disease. “Itai,” he says. It hurts.
walking more bearable. Then he smiles. “Gambatte,” he says
– I will endure.
He tells me about his former
girlfriend. They wanted to marry. EDITED FROM MOSAIC (MAY 21, 2019) © 2019
She was understanding after his MOSAICSCIENCE.COM

Clear as Mud

Drivers with smartphones these days don’t often get really lost,
thanks to navigation services such as Google Maps. But even with

new technology, some shortcuts can still go very wrong.
That’s how nearly 100 drivers wound up in a muddy field last year

in Colorado, gridlocked and stuck.
One of them, Connie Monsees, said she was stuck in traffic on
the way to pick up her husband at the airport. “So I pulled out my
Google Maps to see if there is a better way to go, and it told me to
take the next exit and it would be about half the time,” Monsees
told the media. “I’m following this line of cars and my thought
was, Well, there’s so many other people going, it must be OK,”
Monsees said. Days of rain had created a “muddy mess of a field,”

she added. Car after car drove in and got stuck in the field
or crashed into ditches.

npr; apnews.com

123

ONLINE PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK

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Your local RD website

MONEY + TIPS

38 ways to make
more money in 2020

From selling things you no longer
wear to carpooling we’ve rounded up
a wide assortment of great tips for all
aspects of your financial life.

SMART ANIMALS + PETS

10 noises your
dog makes – and

what they mean

A handy guide to translating
the yips, yaps, yowls and

whimpers every dog makes.

31 RELATIONSHIPS
RELATIONSHIP HABITS
YOU THINK ARE LOVING, BUT
ARE ACTUALLY DANGEROUS

Such as trying to make someone
jealous, plus expert tips on what may
be poisoning your relationships.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!

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124 february 2020

RD ECOMMENDS

Movies

The Call of the Wild Adventure/Visual Effects

C  larke Gable starred in the animation technology to render
1935 film, and Charlton the animals in the film fully
Heston in the 1972 photorealistic – and emotionally
version. Like these two authentic – characters. Set in
previous incarnations, the 2020 the 1890s and starring Harrison
The Call of the Wild is based on Ford as John Thornton, the story
the 1903 Jack London novel. follows Thornton, a prospector
Unlike the previous films, this in search of gold in Alaska,
year’s big screen bonanza uses and a team of sled dogs that
cutting-edge visual effects and struggle for survival.

COMPILED BY DIANE GODLEY

125

READER’S DIGEST A Guide to Second Date Sex

The King’s Man EComedy
motionally destroyed by
Action/Comedy previous relationships,
Laura (Alexandra Roach)
Led by Rasputin, the world’s and Ryan (George MacKay) are
vilest tyrants and criminal understandably nervous about their
masterminds have joined second date together. Pretending
forces and are plotting to wipe to be much cooler people than
out millions. On the brink of war, they actually are, they have no idea
the world’s first independent what they are supposed to do on a
intelligence agency is formed second date, but hope to get it right.
to preserve peace and protect However, Laura and Ryan are about
life. Former army officer (Ralph to find out how bad a second date
Fiennes) introduces young can actually turn out in this crowd-
recruit (Harris Dickinson) to the pleasing British comedy.
clandestine espionage network
and explains there are better ways
to do his duty than to fight. Firstly,
he says, “you’re going to need a
suit”. An action-packed British spy
film with plenty of light relief, The
King’s Man is loosely based on the
comic book series Kingsman.

Dark Waters

WDrama
hen a farmer’s cattle
start dying by the
dozens, he turns to a
defence lawyer for a chemical
conglomerate for help. Although
encouraged to drop the case, the
tenacious attorney (Mark Ruffalo)
uncovers the dark secrets that

RD Recommends

Brabham SSeberg Thriller
tar of the 1960s French film
Documentary  Breathless, US actor Jean Seberg
became a darling of the French
B rabham is the biopic of Sir Jack New Wave. However, her political and
Brabham who, having won romantic involvement with civil rights
the Grand Prix three times – in activist and Black Panther member
1959, 1960 and 1966 – is Australia’s Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie) in the
most successful Formula One racing late ’60s made her a target for the
car driver. Incorporating archival FBI. Using illegal surveillance, the FBI
footage of Brabham’s racing career monitored Seberg’s (Kristen Stewart)
and interviews with other racing movements in order to disrupt,
greats, such as Sir Jackie Stewart and discredit and expose the Black Panther
Sir Stirling Moss, the documentary movement. Inspired by true events,
gives audiences an insight into this Seberg is a political thriller that will
man’s single-minded determination keep you on the edge of your seats.
and the effect that had on his life and
family relationships.

connect the growing number of
unexplained deaths. But to expose
the truth he risks his career, his
family, and even his own life. Based
on real events, Dark Waters is the
shocking story of an unsuspecting
community whose drinking water
is being poisoned by a powerful
chemical company. Also starring
Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins.

127

Tall Tales and Wee Stories Riptides

Billy Connolly HACHETTE Kirsten Alexander

If you’ve ever wanted to laugh along with PENGUIN
Billy Connolly but found his thick Scottish
accent a barrier to his jokes, here’s your RANDOM HOUSE
chance to get through his dialogues till
the punchline. A comedian for more than A wet night. A dark
50 years, Billy retired in 2018 but has brought road. A micro-sleep.
his belly laughs, energy and outrage to the Brother Charlie and
pages of Tall Tales and Wee Stories, including sister Abby are driving
some of his most famous routines – The Last on a country road when
Supper, Jojoba Shampoo, Incontinence Pants they swerve into the
and Shouting at Wildebeest. This book is your path of an on-coming
chance to hoot and holler at one of the most car. The pregnant
exciting comedians of his generation driver, who is killed
(without an interpreter). instantly, is wearing
the siblings’ mother’s
128 february 2020 ring. In a moment of
panic, they flee the
scene. But when they
realise who the woman
was, they become
further embroiled
in the crime. A taut
psychological thriller
set in 1970s suburbia,
Riptides offers insight
into human grief and
impulse decisions.

RD Recommends

Podcasts

Feel Better, Desert Island Discs Rd Talks:
Live More Nightmare on
with Kirsty Young a Dark Ocean
This podcast will
empower you to The legendary British Caroline had told
make more informed Radio 4 show, where Steve many times
health decisions. GP, ‘castaways’ share about the fear that
TV star and author soundtracks, has been haunted her. But now
Dr Chatterjee speaks running since 1942 – it was for real. Listen to
to leading medical and the entire archive, our RD Talks podcast
experts about topics plus new episodes, to hear of a couple’s
from childhood is now available as desperate fight for
obesity to sleep and podcasts. Gems include life after their ferry
mental health. Stephen Hawking and capsized off Sumatra.
David Attenborough.

HOW TO GET PODCASTS To listen on the web: Google the website for ‘Feel
Better, Live More’, for example, and click on the play button. To download: Download
an app such as Podcatchers or iTunes on your phone or tablet and simply search by title.

TO LISTEN TO RD TALKS GO TO www.readersdigest.com.au/podcasts or
www.readersdigest.co.nz/podcasts or www.rdasia.com/podcasts and click on
the play button.

Puzzle Answers See page 134 SUDOKU 865219473
724835169
SPYMASTER EXPAND AND 913674852
1385. CONQUER 372461985
641958327
THE SOCK-EATING 87, 56, 30, 0. Multiply 589723641
DRYER the two digits in a 198542736
Six cycles. number to get the 457396218
next number. 236187594

readersdigest.com.au 129

READER’S DIGEST

THE
GENIUS
SECTION

Sharpen Your
Mind

130 february 2020

The Genius Section

5 EASY
MEMORY TRICKS

You know that eating healthy, staying active,
and solving a few brain games can help keep you sharp.

But these lesser-known habits work wonders, too

BY Andrea Au Levitt

1Sit Tall two different days and after two
When we are sad or afraid, we different kinds of workouts. On one
naturally collapse or cower. Stud- day, they pedalled a stationary bike
ies show that the converse is also true: for 20 minutes at a pace that was in-
when we slouch, this defeated posi- tense enough to make them breathe
tion actually causes us to feel anxious heavily but still be able to talk. On
or depressed – which makes it harder the other day, they simply sat for
to think clearly and remember things. 20 minutes on a self-pedalling bike.
In a study of 125 university students,
56 per cent found it easier to do maths On average, people remembered
problems when they sat up straight the faces better after the intense
than when they slumped down. exercise. W hat’s more, the mem-
ory gains after a single workout
Erect posture apparently improves were similar to the gains after three
memory because it boosts blood and months of regular exercise.
oxygen flow to the brain – by up to
40 per cent, according to one estimate. 3Limit TV
Every parent and grandparent
2Exercise – Once has heard that too much screen
Having trouble remembering time can hurt a child’s cognitive
faces? Break a sweat. In a small development. But what about those
study, researchers at the University at the other end of their life span?
of Iowa showed pictures of faces to
older people (average age: 67) on To find out, researchers at Univer-
sity College London analysed data

131

READER’S DIGEST

from more than 3500 participants IF YOU’RE TRYING TO PREVIOUS SPREAD AND THIS PAGE: NEOSIAM32896395 (TV), VL ADYSLAV STAROZHYLOV
in a long-term study who were age RECALL SOMETHING, (BICYCLE), YEAMAKE (CHAIR), TANACH (SHOES) (ALL SHUTTERSTOCK)
50 or older and did not have demen- DON’T JUST THINK BACK
tia at their initial assessment. Con- – WALK BACKWARDS
trolling for physical activity, health
conditions, and demographic factors 5Walk Backwards
such as education, they found that Next time you’re trying to recall
people who watched more than three something, don’t just think back
and a half hours of TV a day for six – walk backwards. In a series of exper-
years experienced a greater drop in iments, participants viewed a video of
verbal memory test scores (an aver- a staged crime, a word list or a set of
age decrease of 8–10 per cent) than pictures. Then they imagined walk-
those who watched less (an average ing forwards or backwards, watched
decrease of 4–5 per cent). a video that simulated forward or
backward motion, or actually walked
On a related note: another study forwards or backwards. Some people
found that watching violent pro- also sat still.
gramming elevates stress hormones,
which impairs memory. Backward motion – whether real,
imagined, or watched – helped peo-
4Doodle ple remember the information better
Researchers at the University of than sitting still and, in most instanc-
Waterloo recruited a group of es, better than forward motion. It
younger adults and a group of older may be that moving backwards in
adults, gave them a series of 30 words, space mentally helps us move back in
and asked them to either draw or write time to the moment we learned
them out. After a short break, both something.
groups were asked to recall as many
words as they could. In both age-
groups, those who drew the words
remembered the most. The effect was
actually greater in the older adults.

According to one of the study’s
authors, this happens because while
some parts of the brain involved in
memory retrieval deteriorate with age,
the visual-processing regions usual-
ly don’t. Hence, sketching can help
adults of any age keep their memory
as sharp as a university student’s.

132 February 2020

The Genius Section

FAMILY FUN

Spot the Difference

There are eight differences. Can you find them?

Tracks

Which of these footprints is not one of a matching pair?

Check your answers for Family Fun on page 138.

133

READER’S DIGEST

PUZZLES

Challenge yourself by solving these puzzles and mind
stretchers, then check your answers on page 129.

35, 15, 5 Expand and Conquer
68, 48, 32, 6 Moderately difficult
79, 63, 18, 8
87 ... Each of these sequences has
the same rule. And each one
continues until it resolves to a
number less than ten, at
which point it naturally
comes to a stop. How should
the sequence starting with
87 continue?

Spymaster Difficult 5178

Deduce a secret number

made up of four different

digits from 1 through 9. The 1396
chart shows four guesses at

the number and a score for 9164
each guess, represented by

marbles. Any digit that

appears in the secret number 6825
in the same position as in the

guess is scored with a black

marble. Any digit that appears in the secret number in a different position than in the

guess is scored with a white marble. Any digit that does not appear in the secret

number does not get a marble. What’s the secret number?

134 february 2020

(THE SOCK-E ATING DRYER) SUE DOHRIN; (EXPAND AND CONQUER) DARREN RIGBY; (SOCKS) ISTOCK.COM/ANIMICSGO 8 47 BRAIN POWER
136 9
72 brought to you by
85
9 95 JUICE UP
59 8
64
98 273
4 6

36

Sudoku To Solve This Puzzle

Put a number from 1 to 9 in each empty square so
that: every horizontal row and vertical column
contains all nine numbers (1-9) without repeating
any of them; each of the outlined 3 x 3 boxes has all
nine numbers, none repeated.

The Sock-Eating Dryer
Easy

You bought a new clothes
dryer, and the first time you
used it, a sock mysteriously
disappeared from your laundry.
The next time, two socks
vanished. Each time after that,
the number of socks that went
missing during the drying cycle
doubled compared to the
previous time. In total, how many cycles did it take
before all of your 25 pairs of socks were gone?

READER’S DIGEST

TRIVIA

TEST YOUR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

1. Who published an autobiography 7. Britain’s poet laureate, Carol Ann

called I Am Not Spock in 1975 Duffy, wrote a poem called ‘Achilles’

and a second one in 1995 called and dedicated it to what soccer star

I Am Spock? 1 point who’d injured his heel? 1 point

2. Beyoncé sampled Chimamanda 8. Apple’s original logo portrayed

Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk on what famous mathematician sitting

feminism for her song ‘Flawless’. under a tree? 1 point

Which country is the speaker and 9. Home to three striking

author from? 2 points skyscrapers symbolising the area’s

3. Ahmed Fouad II reigned as history of fire worship, Azerbaijan’s

king of which country until capital is called what? 2 points

he was exiled while still an 10. The opera composer

infant in 1953? 2 points Gioachino Rossini, rap

4. The coats of arms composer Ja Rule and

of Mauritius and Australian cricketer

Tasmania each Sean Anthony Abbott

feature an extinct share what unusual

animal. Which ones? birthday? 2 points

2 points 11. What modern

5. What elusive and language is most like

iconic actress is on the the Old Norse spoken

100-kronor banknote by the Vikings? 2 points

in Sweden? 1 point 13. Has Ian McKellen 12. The giant
6. How many rings panda’s diet is almost
make up the symbol of appeared in more films entirely made up
as the wizard Gandalf or

the Olympic Games? the mutant Magneto? of which plant? PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

1 point 2 points 1 point

16-20 Gold medal 11-15 Silver medal 6-10 Bronze medal 0-5 Wooden spoon

ANSWERS: 1. Leonard Nimoy. 2. Nigeria. 3. Egypt. 4. The dodo (Mauritius) and the Tasmanian
tiger (Tasmania). 5. Greta Garbo. 6. Five. 7. David Beckham. 8. Isaac Newton. 9. Baku.
10. February 29 (Leap Day) 11. Icelandic. 12. Bamboo. 13. Gandalf.

136 february 2020

The Genius Section

WORD POWER

THEATRE SPORTS

“All the world’s a stage,” said William Shakespeare.
Entertain yourself with these theatrical words

BY Beth Shillibeer

1. green room – A: box office. backdrop. C: slang for a non-
B: backstage room for actors to speaking role.
relax in. C: storage area for scenery
foliage. 9. swan-slinger – A: play with
animal characters. B: device that
2. blocking – A: set construction. makes objects glide across the stage.
B: derogatory term for bad acting. C: Shakespearean actor.
C: positioning of performers on
stage. 10. cue – A: signal to perform an
action or line. B: instruction from
3. entr’acte – A: actor’s entrance. the director. C: casting-agency role
B: intermission. C: opening night. description.

4. claque – A: group paid to applaud 11. bunraku – A: Chinese opera.
a performance. B: curtain pulley. B: wig-storage rack. C: Japanese
C: costume closet. puppet theatre.

5. soliloquy – A: dance interlude. 12. farce – A: satirical comedy with
B: love scene. C: speaking to oneself. an improbable plot. B: makeup that
renders facial expressions visible
6. corpsing – A: reviewing a play so from afar. C: fantastical play, often
badly that it stops running. for children.
B: having an uncontrollable giggling
fit during a performance. 13. gobo – A: tech-crew slang for
C: dismantling the set. ‘ready’. B: sound engineer’s headset.
C: plate affixed to a spotlight that
7. histrionic – A: overly dramatic. projects patterns.
B: treating a historical subject.
C: monotonous. 14. underscoring – A: cadence of
an actor’s speech. B: music playing
8. fourth wall – A: perceived during dialogue. C: financial
separation between the audience sponsorship.
and performers. B: painted
137

READER’S DIGEST slinger when she joined the
Stratford Festival as Lady Macbeth.
Answers
10. cue – A: signal to perform an
1. green room – B: backstage room action or line. Mikhail’s dying gasp
for actors to relax in. Shortly before was the cue to fade the lights.
curtain time, most of the cast was
drinking water and stretching in 11. bunraku – C: Japanese puppet
the green room. theatre. Bunraku requires three
puppeteers per character, and Kiko
2. blocking – C: positioning of was assigned control of the legs.
performers on stage. Marnie found
the blocking directions difficult to 12. farce – A: satirical comedy with
decipher and wound up standing an improbable plot. Oscar Wilde’s
in the wrong place. The Importance of Being Earnest is
one of his most popular farces.
3. entr’acte – B: intermission. Zak
spent the entr’acte having a drink 13. gobo – C: plate affixed to a
in the lobby. spotlight that projects patterns.
Imani used rotating gobos to
4. claque – A: group paid to applaud simulate twinkling stars.
a performance. Hiring a claque
can influence the opinion of the 14. underscoring – B: music playing
audience. during dialogue. Right on cue,
Ramira pressed play on the romantic
5. soliloquy – C: speaking to oneself. underscoring for the love scene.
A skilfully delivered soliloquy
provides a fascinating view of VOCABULARY RATINGS
a character’s inner turmoil. 5-8: Fair, 9–10: Good, 11–14: Word

6. corpsing – B: having an Power Wizard
uncontrollable giggling fit during a
performance. Susie’s corpsing Family Fun Answers
ruined the scene.
See Page 133
7. histrionic – A: overly dramatic.
Joey’s director disliked his histrionic SPOT THE
portrayal and asked him to tone it DIFFERENCE
down.
TRACKS :
8. fourth wall – A: perceived
separation between the audience The paw below
and performers. In order to preserve is the only one
the fourth wall, actors rarely look at without a partner.
the public.

9. swan-slinger – C: Shakespearean
actor. Olivia first became a swan-

138 February 2020

Explore, Interact, Inspire

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