Science
An Egyptian fruit bat flies in an abandoned quarry near the village of Mammari, Cyprus, in 2007. Alex Mita/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Pan Pan sniffs a birthday cake made of ice for his 30th birthday, at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda in Dujiangyan, on Sept. 21, 2015. AFP/Getty Images hide caption
How long do Americans, on average, keep a phone before buying a new one? Ariel Zambelich/NPR hide caption
Humans have pointed their telescopes toward the heavens, and in the process they've managed to figure out a few things about the universe. ESO/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org) hide caption
Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher, at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2011 in Los Angeles. Reynolds' death, just one day after her daughter's, has led many to ask whether it's really possible to die of a broken heart. Chris Pizzello/AP hide caption
Your obligatory shot of a clock — with this crucial reminder: The ineluctable march of time will pause just for a second as 2016 ends. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption
African runner peanuts were once a defining flavor of the South, memorialized in songs, peanut fritters, peanut soup and in Charleston's signature candy, the peanut-and-molasses groundnut cake. But by the 1930s the nuts had all but disappeared. Courtesy of Brian Ward hide caption
Astronomers searching for an undiscovered planet in the outer solar system hope to catch a glimpse of it Thursday through the Subaru Telescope located on top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea mountain. Courtesy of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan hide caption
Diseased brain tissue from an Alzheimer's patient showing amyloid plaques (in blue) located in the gray matter of the brain. Dr Cecil H Fox/Science Source/Getty Images hide caption
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, shown in 2013, is President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the EPA. Pruitt's outspoken criticism of climate change and his close ties to the energy industry have raised concerns about his ability to lead the agency. Sue Ogrocki/AP hide caption