Astronaut Wendy B. Lawrence was aboard the the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-67/ASTRO-2 mission when it launched March 2nd, 1995. NASA hide caption
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An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended that the federal agency approve Alzheimer's drug donanemab. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
This adult elephant in Kenya was named "Desert Rose" by researchers, but does she have her own elephant name? George Wittemyer hide caption
Catastrophic flash floods killed dozens of people in eastern Kentucky in July 2022. Here, homes in Jackson, Ky., are flooded with water. Arden S. Barnes/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption
Climate change is deadly. Exactly how deadly? Depends who's counting
The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Live animals that are caught, like this box turtle, need immediate and long-term care at facilities like The Turtle Conservancy. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
Illegal wildlife trade is booming. What does that mean for the confiscated animals?
A trash can overflows as people sit outside of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
Your future's in the trash can: How the plastic industry promoted waste to make money
FWS Inspector Mac Elliot looks over a legal shipment while Braxton, a dog trained to smell heavily trafficked wildlife like reptiles and animal parts like ivory, enthusiastically does his job. Wildlife trafficking is one of the largest and most profitable crime sectors in the world. Estimates of its value range from $7-23 billion annually. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
Kyne wearing her hyperbolic plane dress. Author photo by Fabian Di Corcia. Fabian Di Corcia/Fabian Di Corcia hide caption
Drag queen Kyne Santos explores how math is 'beautiful' in new book 'Math in Drag'
Cicadas from brood XIX are seen on a tree in Angelville, Ga., in May. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A HeatRisk map shows color-coded risk categories for people confronted by heat that can pose health problems. Excessive heat warnings were issued for more than 20 million Americans late Wednesday, as a heat dome raised temperatures.
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/ESRI/ National Weather Service
A Joro spider is seen in Johns Creek, Ga., on Oct. 24, 2021. Populations of the species, native to East Asia, have been growing in parts of the South and East Coast for years and many researchers think it's only a matter of time before they spread to much of the continental U.S. Alex Sanz/AP hide caption
The Hubble Space Telescope in orbit in 1999, just after a servicing mission by astronauts. NASA hide caption
Hubble will change how it points, but NASA says 'great science' will continue
Sizzling summer temperatures are expected to drive electric bills higher this year. Nearly one in six families are already behind on their utility bills. Brendan Smialowski/AFP hide caption
An aquarium said in February that Charlotte, a round stingray, was pregnant, drawing international headlines. But the facility near Asheville, N.C., now says the ray is sick, not pregnant. In this image from an April video update by the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO, the ray has a noticeable bulge on her back. Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO / Screenshot by NPR hide caption
A fluorescent image of a human body louse with Yersinia pestis infection — that's the cause of the plague — depicted in orange/red in the glands.
plague/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
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Artist Scott Kildall waves his microcontroller over a Joshua tree, recording wavelengths of light that are not perceptible by humans. Carlos Jaramillo for NPR hide caption
Amy Wilson, a conductor and artistic director of the Atlanta Philharmonic, suffered from brain cancer but isn't able to get Medicaid which makes it difficult to pay her hospital bills. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
Maria Fabrizio hide caption
Later this year, the FDA plans to decide whether MDMA can be used to treat PTSD Eva Almqvist/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. David Morens, a former top adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci, appears during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing on Capitol Hill. Andrew Harnik/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption
House committee grills former NIH advisor over his conversations about COVID origins
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft aboard is rolled to the launch pad on Thursday ahead of the NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test. NASA/Getty Images hide caption
The sun has gone through a rotation, and the active region that triggered a huge amount of aurora activity is once again pointing toward Earth — but not directly at it. GOES 16/Space Weather Prediction Center hide caption