This is what a team of NPR reporters saw in one town in Ukraine after Russian troops withdrew. Burned-out cars. Apartment buildings blackened from flames. Shattered storefronts. An artist swaddling a statue with symbolic medical gauze. Many residents here, in the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, are confronting the startling wreckage wrought by the Russians — and are waiting grievously for the remains of loved ones to be uncovered from the ashes. Our science correspondent’s child was exposed to COVID — but never caught it. Why? Michaeleen Doucleff’s 6-year-old daughter, Rosy, has been exposed to the coronavirus at least four times over the course of the pandemic, but every time, she seems to have escaped an infection. Many people fall into that category — maybe even you. New research offers a tantalizing hint as to why. It all boils down to two key tools: cells originally made to fight another coronavirus, and a little-talked-about arm of the immune system called the RIG-I pathway. A newly arrived bird flu is ravaging wild bird populations in the U.S. — spelling trouble for poultry farmers who are trying to shield their flocks. And this outbreak isn’t likely to burn itself out like past ones. More than 40 wild bird species in 30 states have already tested positive for the virus, with some succumbing to mass die-offs. So far, the risk to humans seems low — but one expert at the CDC says the agency is watching intently.
How do you have real fun, even when life’s got you down? When we have true fun, we stave off loneliness and come away with energy that buoys us. One author shares a handy acronym that might just help spark some playfulness in your life. | 
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