The COVID-19 virus changes a little bit each time it’s spread — and scientists will have to keep a close eye on how those changes affect its behavior toward vaccines.

At the 2020 RSA Conference in San Francisco, protecting the upcoming presidential election was a hot topic, from thwarting cyberattacks at polling places to preventing fake headlines from going viral.

At City College of San Francisco, a dozen or so students have formed a community, living off the grid in solar-powered camper vans at the edge of campus, building and maintaining their tiny homes together. Faced with some of the highest rent in the world, some say it’s a financial decision to emerge from school with a small savings, rather...