This October 2008 photo shows Mercury during the Messenger spacecraft's second flyby of the planet. The European Space Agency's BepiColombo will take seven years to reach the innermost planet in our solar system. NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington via AP hide caption

The Ross Ice Shelf, photographed in 2003. Researchers found that by monitoring the seismic effects of wind on the surface of a shelf, they could gain insight into its structural integrity. De Agostini Picture Library/De Agostini/Getty Images hide caption

University of Oregon scientists used real dust from inside homes around Portland to test the effects of sunlight, UV light and darkness on bacteria found in the dust. Dave G Kelly/Getty Images hide caption

The barley used to make beer as we know it may take a hit under climate change, but growers say they are already preparing by planting it farther north in colder locations. Dean Hutton/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

In this June 3, 2017, file photo, the coal-fired Plant Scherer stands in the distance in Juliette, Ga. Branden Camp/AP hide caption

Cottonseed is full of protein but toxic to humans and most animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week approved a genetically engineered cotton with edible seeds. They could eventually feed chickens, fish — or even people. Courtesy of Lacey Roberts/Texas A&M University hide caption

A new analysis of what were initially thought to be microbial fossils in Greenland suggests they might instead just be mineral structures created when ancient tectonic forces squeezed stone. While most of the structures point in one direction, the red arrow shows that some point in the other direction. Courtesy of Abigail Allwood hide caption

Black men are twice as likely as whites to die from prostate cancer, one of the deadliest cancers that affect males. Tetra Images/Getty Images/Tetra images RF hide caption

The authors of a new study on veterinarians and mental health say vet school should include more training on how to cope with the moral distress vets face when asked by pet owners to do things that are against their medical judgment. Anya Semenoff/Denver Post via Getty Images hide caption

The Great Synagogue in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, was built in the 17th century. Vilnius served as a center of Jewish life in Eastern Europe before World War II. Collection of Zusya Efron, Center for Jewish Art, Hebrew University of Jerusalem hide caption

"We have only begun to scratch the surface of the complex problems inherent in figuring out ... the brain's inner workings," said Paul Allen in 2012. Kum Kulish/Corbis/Getty Images hide caption

The cost of a pint of beer could rise sharply in the U.S. and other countries because of increased risks from heat and drought, according to a new study that looks at climate change's possible effects on barley crops. Peter Nicholls/Reuters hide caption

Physicist Stephen Hawking on Oct. 10, 1979, in Princeton, New Jersey. Santi Visalli/Getty Images hide caption

Leaves infected with coffee rust on Finca El Valle, outside Antigua, Guatemala. Jeff Koehler for NPR hide caption