Lady Mary Wortley Montagu learned of a way to stop smallpox from women in the Ottoman Empire. Trying to persuade her country to do the same proved tricky. Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty hide caption
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The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race, Walter Isaacson Simon & Schuster hide caption
Rainelle, W.Va., flooded in June 2016. Research has found that disasters can erode family stability and exacerbate mental and physical ailments when people don't have the money they need to repair their homes. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption
A cuttlefish swims in an aquarium at the Scientific Center of Kuwait in 2016. Cuttlefish showed impressive self-control in an adaptation of the classic "marshmallow test." Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Agnes Boisvert, an ICU nurse at St. Luke's hospital in downtown Boise, Idaho, spends every day trying to navigate between two worlds. One is a swirl of beeping monitors, masked emotion and death; the other, she says, seems oblivious to the horrors occurring every hour of every day. Isabel Seliger for NPR hide caption
Disneyland, Anaheim, Calif., September 2020. California announced theme parks, sports arenas and stadiums will be allowed to open on April 1 if they meet health requirements at the county level. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Wisdom, a mōlī or Laysan albatross, and the world's oldest known banded wild bird, hatched a new chick at Midway Atoll on Feb. 1. Jon Brack/Friends of Midway Atoll hide caption
In early September 2020, Seattle, Wash., had some of the worst air quality in the world because of wildfire smoke. The city was among the first to create smoke shelters for the most vulnerable. Nathan Rott/NPR hide caption
Human egg cell, computer illustration. Kateryna Kon/Getty Images/Science Photo Libra hide caption
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in an interview with NPR on Wednesday that the nation is fighting headwinds in the effort to end the pandemic from new variants of the virus and state rollbacks of coronavirus restrictions. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption
Pandemic Inflection Point: Drop In Cases Stalls, States Loosen Public Health Measures
Kevin Chen, an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, envisions a time when his insect-sized drone could be used as a search and rescue robot — to find survivors in disaster debris that bigger drones couldn't reach. Kevin Yufeng Chen hide caption
First lady Jill Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona tour Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Meriden, Conn. Mandel Ngan/AP hide caption
New Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Wants Schools Open 'As Soon As Possible'
A gas ring on a household stove powered by natural gas is seen alight. In many states across the US, efforts to limit natural gas are being stymied by legislation. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption
A nurse in the emergency department of MedStar St. Mary's Hospital dons personal protective equipment before entering the room of a patient suspected of having coronavirus in Leonardtown, Maryland. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
Utahraptor skull reconstruction by Rob Gaston of Gaston Design incorporating some material from the Utahraptor megablock. Utah Geological Survey hide caption
A computer-generated unfolding sequence of sealed letter DB-1538. New research describes how "virtual unfolding" was used to read the contents of sealed letter packets from 17th century Europe without physically opening them. Unlocking History Research Group hide caption
Reading A Letter That's Been Sealed For More Than 300 Years — Without Opening It
A nurse administers the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at Kedren Community Health Center, in South Central Los Angeles, California on February 16, 2021. APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Students attending school in Santa Clarita, Calif., last week. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that schools that offer in-person learning by the end of March will be eligible for a portion of funds totaling $2 billion. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP hide caption
Shipping workers recorded the tide levels beginning in 1854 at St. George's Dock in Liverpool, England, creating valuable records for future scientists. Heritage Images/Getty Images hide caption
How Fast Are Oceans Rising? The Answer May Be In Century-Old Shipping Logs
Before conducting the nasal swab test for COVID-19 at the Rantoul, Ill., clinic, researchers go out to greet each visitor and ask for basic identification and health information. Christine Herman/Illinois Public Media hide caption