UK Biobank, based in Manchester, England, is the largest blood-based research project in the world. The research project will involve at least 500,000 people across the U.K., and follow their health for next 30 years or more, providing a resource for scientists battling diseases. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Omar Salim Akhtar of Kashmir protested the clampdown on telephone and Internet communications by Indian authorities at a press conference on Aug. 26. He was later arrested, then released after a few hours. Muzamil Mattoo/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption
Esperance Nabintu, 42, an Ebola survivor, photographed on Aug. 15 in Goma. One of her children also contracted the disease and survived. But her husband, Rene Daniele Fataki, died from the disease. This photo was taken as friends and family gathered at her home to mourn and to celebrate his life. Samantha Reinders for NPR hide caption
A paramedic takes a blood sample from a baby for an HIV test in Larkana, Pakistan, on May 9. The government has been offering screenings in response to an HIV outbreak. Rizwan Tabassum/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Looking for scraps of lead to sell, young people in the town of Kabwe, Zambia, dig through the toxic tailings left behind from 100 years of mining. Courtesy of Pure Earth hide caption
Man Kaur of India celebrates after competing in the 100-meter sprint in the 100+ age category at the World Masters Games in Auckland, New Zealand, in April 2017. Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
First lady Rula Ghani at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Earlier this year, she helped free more than 190 Afghan women and girls imprisoned for failing the virginity test after reproductive rights activist Farhad Javid brought it to her attention in October. Kiana Hayeri/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption
Laborers in the sugar cane fields of Central America are experiencing a rapid and unexplained form of kidney failure. Above: Harvesting sugar cane in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. Jason Beaubien/NPR hide caption
A present-day view of the harbor in Kangeq, which was abandoned by the Danish government. John W. Poole/NPR hide caption
Computer illustration of malignant B-cell lymphocytes seen in Burkitt's lymphoma, the most common childhood cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images hide caption
A corridor of newborns at the San Jose de Maicao Hospital in Maicao, Colombia. Venezuelan migrants have given birth to more than 25,000 infants in Colombia over the past two years. Charlie Cordero/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption
Despite the stress of Ebola, Media Joice Kashamba Emmanuela and her boyfriend, Espoir Kitumaini, dance to rumba music at Ibiza, a dance club in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. Samantha Reinders for NPR hide caption
Locusts swarm over Yemen's capital. Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Hassan Hajjaj, born in Morocco in 1961, is often called the Andy Warhol of Marrakesh for his fusion of glamour and everyday life. Both are evident in his 2017 portrait Cardi B Unity. The rap star, dressed in a high-fashion outfit, sits on utilitarian green plastic cartons against a textured fabric backdrop. The frame consists of tins of green tea, each decorated with a butterfly. Hassan Hajjaj/Courtesy of Third Line Gallery, Dubai, and Yossi Milo Gallery, New York hide caption