Insidethegroundbreakingfacetransplantthathasgivenayoungwomanasecondchanceatlife“Iwanttogooutandbeafaceinthecrowdthatnoonelooksat.”KATIESTUBBLEFIELDFACETRANSPLANTRECIPIENT09.2018THESTORYOFAFACEtoyota.com/camryNATIONALGEOGRAPHICTHEBIGIDEABacteriaStrikeBackAntibioticresistanceisontherise,thankstoanevolutionarytrick.BYDAVIDQUAMMENDATASHEETNewSilentSpringBirdsaredisappearingfromFrenchfarmlands.BYDAISYCHUNGANDMICHAELGRESHKOALSORocketsforRegularFolksEachyearintheNevadadesert,hobbyistsgathertolaunchhigh-poweredprojectilesthousandsoffeetintothesky.PHOTOGRAPHSBYROBERTORMERODPROOFEMBARKEXPLORE17826DECODERLifeonCheeseThebacteriaandfungithatliveincheeserindsaretiny—butmayleadtosolutionsforsomebigworldproblems.BYDANIELSTONETHROUGHTHELENSThisLookCouldHaveKilledInacaveteemingwithbatsandsnakes,aphotographerthoughtheknewthedangers.BYJOELSARTOREALSOAlpineHighlineRedPandaPassionOntheCoverBeforeKatieStubblefieldhadafacetransplant,sheposedforthisportrait.Itshowsherseverelyinjuredface—butphotogra-pherMaggieSteberalsowantedtocapture“herinnerbeautyandherprideanddetermination.”MAGGIESTEBERCONTENTSWhaleTrackingFishnetBenefitSEPTEMBER2018FEATURESKatie’sNewFaceIdentity.Experience.Emotion.Thehumanfaceexpressesallthisandmuchmore.Asaresultofoneimpul-siveact,ateenagerlostherface.Incrediblemedicaladvancesandskilledsurgeonsmadeitpossibleforhertogetanewone.BYJOANNACONNORSPHOTOGRAPHSBYMAGGIESTEBERANDLYNNJOHNSON......................................P.40BuildingaNewAmericanDreamExpandingontheirimmigrantparents’successes,second-generationSouthAsianAmericansareincreas-inglyvisible.Andsomeareleavingtheirfore-bears’careerpathstotakeonnewroles:politician,astronaut,stand-upcomedian.BYYUDHIJITBHATTACHARJEEPHOTOGRAPHSBYISMAILFERDOUS......P.128PassagetoAnotherTimeWalkingamongthepeaksofCentralAsia.BYPAULSALOPEKPHOTOGRAPHSBYMATTHIEUPALEY......................................P.96HelmetedHornbillsStruggletoSurviveTheheadsoftheserarebirdshavebecomeatargetfortraffickers.BYRACHAELBALEPHOTOGRAPHSBYTIMLAMAN......