Increasingly, many people in the U.S., like these teens in a Miami grocery story in August, now routinely wear face masks in public to help stop COVID-19's spread. But social distancing and other public health measures have been slower to catch on, especially among young adults, a national survey finds. Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption
Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, Rebecca Wragg Sykes Bloomsbury Sigma hide caption
A box of Twinkies sat in Colin Purrington's basement for eight years, until just a few weeks ago. Two West Virginia University scientists are studying the fungi growing on them. Matt Kasson hide caption
Cars line up Friday at a coronavirus testing site at the University of Texas at El Paso. The area has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks, and a two-week curfew is now in effect in El Paso County. Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
On average, each U.S. nursing home is connected to seven others through shared staff, a study by Yale and UCLA researchers suggests. Rigorous infection control measures can curb the spread of the coronavirus, but many workers say they still don't have sufficient masks and other personal protective equipment. SDI Productions/Getty Images hide caption
Researchers have detected water molecules in Clavius crater, in the moon's southern hemisphere. The large crater is visible from Earth. NASA/Screenshot by NPR hide caption
In Fort Collins, Colorado State University has been running a robust wastewater testing program since the start of the fall semester. Researchers regularly collect samples from 17 sites across campus, including the Westfall Hall dormitory. Elissa Nadworny/NPR hide caption
A "murder" scene could seem creepy, but what is going on inside these crows' minds may be most unsettling. Dragan Todorovic/Getty Images hide caption
An artist's rendering shows NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending toward the asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona hide caption
Ryan and Jennifer Montano search through the remains of their Vacaville, Calif., home, destroyed in the LNU Lightning Complex Fire in August. Lauren Sommer/NPR hide caption
Fall foliage along Riverfront Drive in Reading, PA. MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle/MediaNews Group via Getty Images hide caption
Rural communities across the country, places largely spared during the early days of the pandemic, are now seeing spikes in infections and hospitalizations. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
The remnants of Hurricane Sandy churn up Lake Michigan in Chicago in 2012. Flood risk in the city is increasing as climate change drives more extreme rain, and renters face greater financial peril than homeowners. More than half of Chicagoans are renters, according to 2019 census data. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
Passengers wear face masks at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City on Oct. 12. STR/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin, by Megan Rosenbloom Farrar, Straus and Giroux hide caption
A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection airplane drops fire retardant along a burning hill during the Glass Fire in Calistoga, Calif., in September. California is one of two states to require wildfire risk be disclosed to new homebuyers. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Recruiting patients for medical studies has been challenging during the pandemic, especially older people who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. Getty Images hide caption
Lachlan (left) and Lillian Barilleau play in the backyard of their home in Central, La. They were displaced from the house for months after a flood in 2016. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
In his book How To, Randall Munroe explores whether you could open enough water bottles to fill a swimming pool — using nuclear weapons. Riverhead Books hide caption
Mental health advocates say 988, a simple three-digit number, will be easier for people to remember in the midst of a mental health emergency. T2 Images/Getty Images/Cultura RF hide caption
This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 images collected on Dec. 2, 2018 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles. NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona hide caption
Conceptual artwork of quantum entanglement, one of the consequences of quantum theory. Two particles will appear to be linked across space and time, with changes to one of the particles (such as an observation or measurement) affecting the other one. Mark Garlick/Getty Images/Science Photo Libra hide caption
The Washington State Department of Agriculture team tracked the Asian giant hornet for about an hour earlier this month, before losing her signal in a forest. Courtesy of the Washington State Department of Agriculture hide caption
