Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Musician Will.i.am takes a photograph with his phone before the presidential debate at the University of Denver, Oct. 3. The first debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama takes place tonight, moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer and focuses on domestic issues.
Dolores Ochoa / AP
Actresses wait for their turn to walk on stage during a performance of "Suenos," or "Dreams," at the Casa de la Cultura theater in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 21, 2012.
Dolores Ochoa / AP
Actress Marisol Nunez, left, who is blind, is led to stage ahead of her performance.
Associated Press reports — Not long ago, most of the 80 young cast members of one of Ecuador's most successful musicals were barely seen or heard.
They are blind, autistic, have Down syndrome or other disabilities. But on stage, the actors, singers and dancers of "Suenos," or "Dreams," easily transcend their limitations.
"What I like about this project is that it dignifies the disabled. Above all, the intellectually challenged, who have faced a lot of prejudice," said Marisol Nunez, a young blind woman whose acting and singing has captivated crowds.
Nunez lost her eyesight as a child to a congenital disease and is among the most experienced actors and singers in the cast.
The musical, which premiered three years ago, is based in part on the dreams of young people with disabilities and is presented by the nonprofit foundation El Triangulo.
Those dreams have now been shared with thousands, and not just in Ecuador. Scenes from the musical have also been performed by cast members in the United States and Europe.
EDITOR’S NOTE: These images were made available to NBC News on Oct. 3, 2012.
Dolores Ochoa / AP
Cast members mingle backstage at the Casa de la Cultura theater in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 21.
Dolores Ochoa / AP
Singer Jennyfer Avila, experiencing a bout of stage fright, is comforted by her father prior to her performance in "Suenos," or "Dreams," at the Casa de la Cultura theater in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 21.
Dolores Ochoa / AP
A cast member holds still as her make-up is applied and hair is brushed in preparation for her performance in "Suenos," or "Dreams," at the Casa de la Cultura theater in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 21.
Dolores Ochoa / AP
Cast members wave goodbye to the audience as the curtain closes at the end of their performance of "Suenos," or "Dreams," one of Ecuador's most successful musicals, at the Casa de la Cultura Theater in Quito, Ecuador, Sept. 21.
Christian pilgrims take part in a group baptism in the waters of the Jordan River at Yardenit in northern Israel, Oct. 3, 2012.
Uriel Sinai / Getty Images — An estimated 100,000 Christian worshippers make their pilgrimage to the Holy Land each year. One of the most sacred rituals is being immersed in the biblical river where, according to Christian beliefs, Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
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Christian pilgrims take part in a baptism in the waters of the Jordan River at Yardenit in northern Israel, Oct. 3.
A Christian pilgrim immerses himself in the waters of the Jordan River at Yardenit in northern Israel, Oct. 3.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSC
Layers of gas and dust show up clearly in this color-coded composite picture of the Helix Nebula. Ultraviolet wavelengths, as seen by the GALEX probe, are shown in blue. Infrared wavelengths, as seen by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, are presented in red, yellow and green. The nebula appears magenta in the center, where the two sets of data overlap. A portion of the extended field beyond the nebula is from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.
More than 600 light-years away, the Helix Nebula stares at us like the Eye of God — or like the Eye of Sauron in the "Lord of the Rings" film saga. This new picture combines readings from two space telescopes to fill out our picture of the eye.
The pinkish light you see pouring from the center of the image doesn't show up in visible-light images — but in this view, it's an essential part of the staring-eye effect. That comes from a combination of the infrared emissions spotted by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope; and ultraviolet emissions that were detected by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, or GALEX, which was launched by NASA and is now being lent to Caltech for continuing research.
Here's the story behind the eye: The Helix, also known as NGC 7293, was created when a dying sunlike star started blasting away its outer layers of gas and dust. Radiation has cleared away the area around the star, which is now a dense white dwarf, but the colorful gaseous shells of gas that were thrown off continue to spread outward. GALEX traces the ultraviolet glow of those shells in shades of deep blue. Meanwhile, Spitzer sees the infrared emissions from the nebula's gas and dust. The different infrared wavelengths are shown in red, yellow and green.
You can compare the ultraviolet-plus-infrared view with this infrared view from Spitzer, or with this one from the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope, or with this video that takes you on a 3-D tour through the Hubble Space Telescope's visible-light image. (As a bonus, you get a lesson about the Helix Nebula and other planetary nebulae along with the pretty pictures.)
Scientists believe the blast that caused the Helix Nebula is the same fate that awaits our own sun in 5 billion years or so. We won't have to worry about that for a while, but the "Eye of God" serves as a reminder that even stars sometimes go out with a blaze of glory.
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Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
Members of the public experience the 'Rain Room' art installation by 'Random International' in The Curve at the Barbican Centre on Oct. 3, 2012 in London, England.
Oli Scarff / Getty Images
A man checks his phone as he experiences the 'Rain Room' art installation by 'Random International' in The Curve at the Barbican Centre on Oct. 3, in London, England.
The 'Rain Room' is a 100 square meter field of falling water which visitors are invited to walk into, with sensors detecting where the visitors are standing, preventing them from getting wet. The Guardian's Oliver Wainwright visited the installation and experienced what it was like to "control the elements" and stay completely dry amid a downpour. The installation opens to the public on October 4, 2012 and runs until March 3, 2013.
See more photos of rain in PhotoBlog.
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Constantijn Mennes / Naturalis
An atlas moth shows off its colors during the Sabah Parks / Naturalis expedition to Borneo.
A Dutch-Malaysian expedition to the remote "Heart of Borneo" have turned up more than 160 species previously unknown to science — and perhaps more importantly, enough DNA samples to figure out how more than 1,400 species in one of the world's hottest hot spots for biodiversity are related.
"It has been a successful expedition," the project's leader, Menno Schilthuizen of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, said in a news release from the center, based in the Dutch city of Leiden. Forty researchers from Naturalis and from Sabah Parks, a Malaysian conservation group, journeyed to Borneo's Mount Kinabalu last month to survey the area.
Scientists collected 3,500 DNA samples during the two-week expedition. Back in the lab, Naturalis' biologists will analyze the genetic code to generate family trees for all the collected plants, fungi and animals. A close look at the relationships among the novel species found on Kinabalu, compared with the wider spectrum of species throughout Borneo, could tell researchers whether Kinabalu's species evolved long ago or only recently.
"It's the first time that such an extensive expedition will go to Borneo with evolution as their main focus," Schilthuizen said. "We are following in the footsteps of Alfred Russel Wallace, who formulated a first version of the theory of evolution on Borneo."
Naturalis said spiders and fungi accounted for the largest numbers of new species found on Kinabalu. Other new species included true bugs, beetles, snails, stalk-eyed flies, damselflies, ferns, termites and possibly a frog.
The expedition came across an "El Dorado" for fungi, said József Geml, one of the researchers. "While the plant and animal life of this mountain has been the focus of numerous research projects, Kinabalu has remained terra incognita for scientific studies on fungi," Geml said. "It is difficult not to feel overwhelmed by this task. One of the manifestations of this diversity comes in the endless variety of shapes and colors that sometimes are truly breathtaking."
The researchers expect that the DNA studies will result in a scientific publication about evolution in the Heart of Borneo within a year. In the meantime, feast your eyes on these snapshots from the hot spot:
Joris van Alphen / Naturalis
The expedition to Borneo came across a long-nosed horned frog and other striking species.
Peter Koomen / Naturalis
Researchers came face to face with a jumping spider.
Joris van Alphen / Naturalis
Dutch botanist Frederic Lens collects samples during the expedition to Mount Kinabalu.
Luis Morgado / Naturalis
A striking mushroom known as Entoloma aff. purpurea was found at an altitude of 6,500 feet (2,000 meters).
Luis Morgado / Naturalis
Red mushrooms add a dash of extra color to the forest greenery in the "Heart of Borneo."
More about species:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Juan Medina / Reuters
Edward Hernandez Vivas holds his daughter Ariadne outside their apartment before learning that the family's eviction was suspended in Madrid on Oct. 3.
Edward Hernandez, who came from his native Colombia to Spain in 2001 says he has not been able to keep up the payments on his Deutsche Bank mortgage since 2009. Spain announced a detailed timetable for economic reforms and a tough 2013 budget based primarily on spending cuts on last week in what many see as an effort to pre-empt the likely terms of any international bailout. A quarter of all Spanish workers are unemployed and tens of thousands have been evicted from their homes since a housing bubble burst in 2008 and plummeting consumer and business sentiment tipped the country into a four-year economic slump. The banner reads, "They save banks , they evict families".
Also see: Spain targets London investors for "bad bank"
-- Reuters
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Juan Medina / Reuters
Marisol Solorza, an immigrant from Ecuador (center), her daughter Gema and her granddaughter stand outside their apartment after learning that their family's eviction has been suspended, in Madrid on Oct. 3.
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CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
A view from the control room as presidential candidates Senator John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963) at left, and Vice President Richard M. Nixon (1913 - 1994) center appear on the first-ever televised Presidential debate in Chicago, Illinois, September 26, 1960. Debate host Howard K. Smith sits at a table between them in background.
AP
Richard M. Nixon wipes his face with a handkerchief during the nationally televised debate with John F. Kennedy, in Chicago, Ill., Sept. 26, 1960.
During the first televised presidential debates in 1960, a cool John F. Kennedy went toe-to-toe with a sweaty Vice President Richard M. Nixon. Maybe it was just the hot lights and the fact that he was recovering from a recent hospitalization, or maybe it was more, but viewers certainly seemed to notice.
The effect of the debates on the outcome of the election is often discussed, but never proven. Are you hoping tonight’s debate will help you decide? Will there be a memorable moment between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama that could be the deciding factor? We’ll be watching it too, so join us in the discussion - here’s how.
AP
On Oct. 21, 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, D-Mass., right, and Vice President Richard M. Nixon appeared in the fourth presidential debate from a New York studio.
Ed Clark / Time & Life Pictures, Getty Image
John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon during the 1960 debates.
More photos from the Kennedy - Nixon presidential debates on Life.com
Watch the entire Kennedy-Nixon debate below, and NBC's report on the history of the presidential debates with Chuck Todd.
Sept. 26, 1960: John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon square off in the first-ever televised presidential debate.
The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd takes a "deep dive" into key presidential debates in America's history.
Dar Yasin / AP
Kashmiri Muslim villagers thresh paddy after a harvest in Beerwah, some 24 miles northwest of Srinagar, India, Oct. 3.
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Schalk van Zuydam / AP
A police officer reacts as flames and smoke emerge from a truck after it was set alight by striking truck drivers, on a slipway off a main highway leading out of the city of Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 3. South African truck workers have been on strike for the past two week with sporadic violence reported.
Schalk van Zuydam / AP
A car drives by a truck on fire on a slipway off a main highway leading out of the city of Cape Town, South Africa, Oct. 3.
Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
The coffin of police Constable Nicola Hughes is carried into Manchester Cathedral after processing along the city's Deansgate lined with police officers and members of the public on Oct. 3 in Manchester, England. Police Constables Nicola Hughes, 23, and her police colleague Fiona Bone, 32, were killed as they responded to what they thought was a routine burglary call in Mottram, Greater Manchester and were murdered in a gun and grenade attack. The funeral of Fiona Bone also takes place at the cathedral tomorrow. A local man, Dale Cregan, 29, appeared before Manchester Magistrates last week accused of four murders, including those of PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone on Sept. 18.
Martin Rickett / AFP - Getty Images
A picture of PC Nicola Hughes stands beside her coffin at Manchester Cathedral during her funeral service on Oct. 3. Thousands of police officers from across Britain gathered in a silent tribute to a policewoman killed in a gun and grenade attack.
Nigel Roddis / Reuters
A police officer cries as the coffin of Police Constable Nicola Hughes is carried into Manchester Cathedral for her funeral service in Oct. 3.
Thousands of people paid their respects to Police Constable Nicola Hughes at her funeral in Manchester, England, on Wednesday, according to the BBC. Hughes and another constable Fiona Bone were murdered in a gun and grenade attack when responding to what they thought was a burglary on Sept. 18. Bone's funeral will take place on Thursday, according to Getty Images.
Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
A police woman holds flowers as she lines the route for the funeral cortege of police Constable Nicola Hughes at Manchester Cathedral on Oct. 3.
Andrew Winning / Reuters
Crowds line the streets to watch the coffin of Nicola Hughes as it is driven to Manchester Cathedral for her funeral service on Oct. 3
Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
The hat and gloves of police Constable Nicola Hughes lay on top of her coffin as it is carried out of Manchester Cathedral after her funeral service on Oct. 3.
Andrew Yates / AFP - Getty Images
British police personnel attend the funeral of murdered police colleague Nicola Hughes at Manchester Cathedral on Oct. 3.
Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
Children play as police officers line the streets ahead of the funeral of police Constable Nicola Hughes at Manchester Cathedral on Oct. 3.
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Michael Dalder / Reuters
Bavarian farmers transport their cows on a boat over the picturesque Lake Koenigssee early Oct. 3. Before the winter season approaches, the farmers have to drive their cattle down from their Alpine meadows to a narrow valley that can only be reached by boat.
Matthias Schrader / AP
A Bavarian herdsmen leads his beasts on a path to a boat that carry them across Lake Koenigssee near Berchtesgaden, southern Germany, Oct. 3. The trip by boat is the only way to bring the cattle from their remote summer mountain-pastures back to their homestead.
Matthias Schrader / AP
Bavarian herdsmen drive their cattle onto a boat that carries them across Lake Koenigssee near Berchtesgaden, southern Germany, Oct. 3.
Matthias Schrader / AP
Bavarian mountain farmers pass the chapel of St. Bartholomae on the lake Koenigssee while returning their cattle from summer pastures near Berchtesgaden, southern Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. The trip by boat is the only way to bring the cattle from their remote summer mountain-pastures back to their homestead.
Michael Dalder / Reuters
Bavarian farmers transport their cows on a boat over the picturesque Lake Koenigssee early morning on Oct. 3.
PhotoBlog: Bavarian herders drive their cattle down from Alpine summer pastures
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