A SpaceX rocket is getting prepared for another attempt to liftoff at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fl., on Sept. 9, 2024. The Elon Musk-controlled company is preparing to go public in what's expected to be the biggest listing in history. Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America hide caption
Bees in a hive in San Diego, Calif. Beekeeping has been a practice for thousands of years. Alan Nakkash for NPR hide caption
A Colossal Biosciences worker performs a wellness check on an artificial egg. Colossal Biosciences hide caption
Many plants, including many species of bananas, have more than two sets of chromosomes. This can make the species more resilient to major environmental catastrophe, researchers find. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/Getty Images hide caption
California's Central Valley is the country's single biggest source of many foods, including almonds, pistachios, walnuts and peaches. Hal Bergman/Getty Images hide caption
Wade Hanicker poses for a portrait at his home in Brooksville, Fla., on March 23. Hanicker was diagnosed with silicosis after years of cutting quartz countertops. Tina Russell for NPR hide caption
Rex, the tortoise, at Brian and Sara Westfall's home, who fostered him while they searched for his owner, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Adriana Zehbrauskas for NPR/57999420m hide caption
Dreams and nightmares may be important for processing emotional, even stressful, memories. OsakaWayne Studios/Getty Images hide caption
Ambulances are parked outside a hospital in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, May 16, 2026. Constant Same Bagalwa/AP hide caption
Fish and coral reefs have a built-in sunscreen molecule. Could it inspire the next sunscreen for people? Oscar Wong/Getty Images hide caption
An artistic illustration of the Nagatitan, the largest dinosaur discovered in Southeast Asia. Patchanop Boonsai hide caption
Scientists say they've developed brain-decoding technology that could help people who use hearing assistance devices pick out one voice in a crowded room — a longstanding challenge for hearing aids. Matteo Farinella/Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute hide caption
Several views of the molar tooth archeologists discovered in Chagyrskaya Cave. Zubova et al./PLOS One hide caption
Over 90% of people in the US don't get enough fiber in their diet. Does that include you? fcafotodigital/Getty Images hide caption
Teammates Otys Train, 16, (left), Zade Pacetti, 16, and Jack Trojan, 17, look through a scope and binoculars as they aim to identify as many bird species as possible during the World Series of Birding at Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area in New Jersey. Mohamed Sadek for NPR hide caption
Adult salmon leaping up a waterfall at Shin Falls, Sutherland, Scotland. Catherine Braid/Getty Images hide caption
In 1998, Mel Mann was told he had chronic myeloid leukemia and that he had three years to live. He's still healthy ... and training for his next marathon. Mel Mann hide caption
A Florida Forest Service firefighter's helicopter prepares to dump a bucket load of water on a wildfire on April 14, 2026, in Naples, Florida. Conditions in the area are conducive to wildfires due to the lack of rain, causing drought conditions. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
An image recorded on the Moon during the Apollo 12 mission in 1969 shows the shadows of astronauts, along with a highlighted area above the horizon showing "unidentified phenomena," according to the Defense Department. NASA/via Defense Department hide caption
In Silent Friend, Hannes (Enzo Brumm) is profoundly transformed while caring for a plant. Lena Kettner/Pandora Film hide caption
Sir David Attenborough at the Beijing Museum of Natural History with fossil of Juramaia, as featured in the Smithsonian Channel series Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates. Courtesy Smithsonian Channel hide caption
At least three people have died and more have fallen ill from an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius. Experts have confirmed the cause is a rare but deadly form of hantavirus that can spread human-to-human. AFP/Getty Images hide caption
June Ward (right) — pictured with her sisters Susie Gilliam (center) and Karen Douthitt (left) — carries a rare gene mutation that virtually guarantees she will get Alzheimer's in the next few years. She is part of a network of more than 200 families with these kinds of gene mutations who have volunteered as research subjects over the past two decades. Juan Diego Reyes for NPR hide caption