Science

For women who carry certain genes, getting a double mastectomy before anything shows up on a mammogram may reduce breast and ovarian cancer risk. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

Eggs themselves are remarkably resistant to germs like salmonella. The shell and proteins in the egg white normally do a good job of fending off pathogens. But eggs laid by a bird infected with salmonella will likely be infected, too. Courtesy of John Ingraham hide caption

Shaun Parker moved from Menasha, Wis., to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film nearly 20 years after his initial plans were derailed by an illness in the family, but he never lost the determination to craft his own life story. At the end of his life, Parker says, he wants to be able to say, "I was part of something that moved you." Katie Falkenberg for NPR hide caption

Through the lens of evolution, a belief in God serves a very important purpose: Religious belief set us on the path to modern life by stopping cheaters and promoting the social good. iStockphoto.com hide caption

Leonid Burmistrov, a researcher at the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, stands amid orange "sorbus" or "mountain ash." This fruit and others could be destroyed if the Russian government sells the land in the village of Pavlovsk. David Greene/NPR hide caption

Natural-Born Storyteller? Shaun Parker moved from Menasha, Wis., to Los Angeles nearly 20 years after an illness in his family put his adolescent dreams on hold. "I liked the idea that I was meant to be something more," Parker says. "I always said that we're kind of the sum total of the decisions we make in life, and I just felt like I could very easily make the decisions that lead me away from that path of being more, whatever it is." Katie Falkenberg for NPR hide caption

When The Levees Broke: The rate of suicide in 2008 and 2009 in Orleans Parish was about twice as high as it was the two years before the levees broke.  Above, the 17th Street Canal Levee. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

In the future, physician assistants like Jim Love could could be playing a bigger role in primary care. Julie Rovner/NPR hide caption