LeonardoA RENAISSANCE MAN FOR THE 21ST CENTURYTHE HOT ZONEPREMIERES MONDAY, MAY 27, AT 9/8C, ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC05.2019 FURTHER MAY 2019 Modern Girls, Ancient Rite A village in Spain welcomes spring the same way it has for centuries, by placing a few chosen girls on flowery pedestals. PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIEL OCHOA DE OLZAPROOF EM BARK EXPLORE 8BASIC INSTINCTS Toads’ Sex Life Hinges on Finding the Perfect Pool Their choosiness may endanger them. BY PATRICIA EDMONDS THROUGH THE LENS Finding Dignity in a Dirty Job Bayakou perform an essential service that they hide from other Haitians. BY ANDREA BRUCE ALSO Electric Spiders A Farrier’s Tools Melting Mount RainierOn the Cover The 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death is bringing renewed atten- tion to his notebooks—and the artistry, curiosity, and genius they contain. ILLUSTRATION: RICCARDO VECCHIO IMPRINTSCONTENTS ALSO Astronaut Brains China’s Science BoomWhat’s Keeping Scientists From Vanquishing Ebola? Four reasons that the extremely lethal virus is so hard to fight. BY RICHARD PRESTON17 34THE BIG IDEA The Future of Dying in Style We memorialize the dead with the tools of our times. BY GLENN MCDONALD