How the Smallest Bears ‘Talk’ to Each Other
One of the key components of empathy is what scientists call facial mimicry. It seems complicated, but is as simple as smiling when someone smiles at you, and that conveys
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Attackers Kill Doctor at Hospital in Congo’s Ebola Epicenter
Attackers stormed a hospital at the epicenter of Congo’s Ebola outbreak and killed “a dear colleague,” the head of the World Health Organization said Friday as he condemned the latest
Read MoreHuman Tissue Used to Create 3D Printed Heart
Scientists in Israel have revealed what they say is the world’s first 3D-printed heart using human tissue. It’s hoped the small heart will pave the way for transplants without donors,
Read MoreHospital: Cholera Cases Rise in Kenya’s Capital
The Kenyan capital has experienced a jump in cholera cases, one of the city’s top hospitals said on Tuesday, adding that eight of its own staff had been infected with
Read MoreEbola Is Real, Congo President Tells Skeptical Population
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday implored people in areas hit by the nation’s worst-ever Ebola outbreak to accept the disease is real and trust health workers. Mistrust of first
Read MoreMeasles Cases Have Grown Worldwide This Year
The number of measles cases in the United States has soared to more than 460, the highest number since 1991. More than half of the cases are in New York,
Read MoreOn Saturn’s Moon Titan, Plentiful Lakeside Views, But With Liquid Methane
Scientists on Monday provided the most comprehensive look to date at one of the solar system’s most exotic features: prime lakeside property in the northern polar region of Saturn’s moon
Read MoreUS, Venezuelan Doctors Team Up to Fight a Public Health Crisis
Doctors from the United States and Venezuela are working together to help patients in Venezuela. Dr. Gabriela Blohm lives in Gainesville, Florida and physician Alberto Paniz-Mondolfi lives 2,000 kilometers away
Read MoreWHO: Number of Measles Cases Increasing Sharply Worldwide
The number of measles cases worldwide nearly quadrupled in the first three months of the year compared to last year, the World Health Organization reported Monday. The United Nations agency,
Read MoreOff the Seychelles, a Dive Into a Never-seen Landscape
The submersible dropped from the ocean’s surface faster than I had expected. With a loud “psssssss” the air escaped from the ballast tanks and the small craft suddenly tilted forward.
Read MoreHandwriting Helps Kids with Learning Disabilities Read Better
As recently as a half-century ago, young American students would spend many lessons writing curved loops and diagonal lines, as they learned how to write in cursive. Over the years,
Read MoreUsing Trees to Stop a Lake from Turning into Desert
Just 50 years ago, the Aral Sea, which straddles the nations of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was the fourth largest lake in the world. But today it is mostly desert, and
Read MoreExperts: DRC Ebola Outbreak Does Not Pose Global Threat
Experts meeting in emergency session at the World Health Organization agree the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern.
Read MoreNew York City Turns to Drastic Measure to Curb Measles Outbreak
For months, New York City has been fighting a measles outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community. The mayor finally declared a public health emergency April 9 because measles continue to spread
Read MoreAnti-Vaccine Parents in US Help Fuel Worst Measles Outbreak in 30 Years
New York City has declared a public health emergency amid an alarming spike in the number of measles cases among largely unvaccinated children. VOA’s Carol Pearson looks at why these
Read MoreIsraeli Team Assesses What Went Wrong with Lunar Landing
The team behind the Israeli spacecraft that crashed into the moon moments before touchdown was working Friday to try and piece together what derailed the ambitious mission, which sought to
Read MoreCongo’s Ebola Outbreak Might Be Declared Global Emergency
A top Red Cross official says he’s “more concerned than I have ever been” about the possible regional spread of the Ebola virus in Congo after a recent spike in
Read MoreResearchers Discover New Human Species
As scientists get better at sifting through our past, more and more variations of human beings are turning up in archaeological digs. In the early 2000s there was the discovery
Read MoreIsraeli Moon Mission Ends With Spacecraft’s Crash
An Israeli spacecraft lost contact with Earth moments before it was to land on the moon and crashed late Thursday, failing in an ambitious attempt to make history as the
Read MoreScientists Reveal First Ever Photo Of A Black Hole
Scientists have been monitoring what black holes do to the space around them for decades. Their immense gravity warps time and space in a way that Albert Einstein predicted and
Read MoreLinkedIn: US Midwest Floods Prompting Workers to Migrate to Safer Ground
Deadly floods in the U.S. that bear the fingerprints of climate change are prompting an exodus of workers from the Midwest, the world’s biggest professional social network, LinkedIn, said Wednesday.
Read MoreBones From Philippine Cave Reveal New Human Cousin
Fossil bones and teeth found in the Philippines have revealed a long-lost cousin of modern people, which evidently lived around the time our own species was spreading from Africa to
Read MoreInternational Scientific Teams Unveils First Photo of Black Hole
An international scientific team has unveiled a landmark achievement in astrophysics – the first photo of a black hole News conferences were held in Washington, Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei and
Read MoreUN Population Fund Chief Laments US Funding Cut
The U.N. population agency chief says she regrets the U.S. government’s decision to cut funding for programs that help ensure safe pregnancies worldwide. Dr. Natalia Kanem said Wednesday that more
Read MoreFake Eggs Spying on Whooping Cranes to Boost Survival
Scientists are using fake eggs to spy on whooping cranes in hopes of learning why some chicks die in the egg, while others hatch. Data gathered by the spy eggs
Read MoreNYC Orders Mandatory Vaccines for Some Amid Measles Outbreak
New York City has declared a public health emergency over a measles outbreak and ordered mandatory vaccinations for some people who may have been exposed to the virus. Mayor
Read MoreWinners Outnumber Losers as Massachusetts Goes Green
It’s minus eight degrees Celsius on a late winter morning in western Massachusetts. But electrician Ed Martell is on the job, helping build an 8,000-panel solar farm outside the town
Read MoreDeadly Australian Spider Gives Hope to Stroke Patients
Venom from a dangerous spider could give stroke patients a better chance of survival, according to Australian biochemists. A bite from the Fraser Island funnel-web spider can kill a person
Read MoreUS Measles Tally Hits 465, With Most Illnesses in Kids
U.S. measles cases are continuing to jump, and most of the reported illnesses are in children. Health officials say 465 measles cases have been reported this year, as of last
Read MoreBrain Zaps Boost Memory in People Over 60, Study Finds
Zapping the brains of people over 60 with a mild electrical current improved a form of memory enough that they performed like people in their 20s, a new study found.
Read MoreSwiss Scientists Create First Computer Generated Genome
Ever since Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, the world has been fascinated with the idea of creating life in a lab. But it remained in the realm of fiction…
Read MoreExperts: Venezuela Sees Rise in Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. scientists warn that a growing number of patients in Venezuela are getting vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, diphtheria and polio. One of
Read MoreTens of Thousands Protest Climate Change in Switzerland
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Saturday in several Swiss cities against climate change, the Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS reported. Around 50,000 marched in all, the news agency estimated,
Read MoreBelize Triples Protected Marine Area, Environmental Group Says
Belize approved a plan Friday to set aside 10 percent of its territorial waters as a protected area, tripling the size of existing reserves in the world’s second largest barrier
Read MoreJapan Space Probe Drops Explosive on Asteroid to Make Crater
Japan’s space agency said its Hayabusa2 spacecraft successfully dropped an explosive designed to make a crater on an asteroid and collect its underground samples to find possible clues to the
Read MoreUS Health Officials: Measles Cases This Year Have Exceeded the 2018 Count
U.S. health officials say that between January and March, 387 cases of measles have been reported in 15 states, exceeding the count for all of last year. In 2018, 372
Read MoreUN: Climate Change in Bangladesh Could Rob Future from Millions of Children
The U.N. Children’s Fund says climate change in Bangladesh is threatening the lives and futures of 19 million children or one-third of all children under age 18 in the country.
Read MoreMozambique: International Aid Targets Deadly Cholera
In the wake of Cyclone Idai’s devastation, Mozambique now faces 1,000 cases of cholera. The soaring disease toll follows storm-surge flooding that contaminated wells with sewage. VOA’s Brian Padden reports
Read MoreThe Doctor Won’t See You Now
The day after Tarek Saoud contemplated ending his life, the college student reached out for help on the campus of the university in Ohio he attended. “I called the student
Read MoreStudy: Poor Diet Linked to 1 in 5 Deaths Globally
One in five deaths globally is linked to poor diet, experts said in a study released Thursday, warning that overconsumption of sugar, salt and meat was killing millions of people
Read MoreSpain’s Health Minister Calls for End to Gay ‘Conversion Therapy’
Spain’s health minister called on Wednesday for so-called conversion therapy to be abolished after a report that a branch of the Catholic Church had offered to “cure” gay people. El
Read MoreMore Delays Ahead for Boeing’s New Space Capsule for Astronauts
Boeing’s new space capsule for astronauts faces more launch delays. The Starliner capsule was supposed to make its debut this month, after a series of postponements. But the first test
Read MoreBoeing Software Under Scrutiny as Ethiopia Prepares Crash Report
Boeing anti-stall software forced down the nose of a doomed Ethiopian jet even after pilots had turned it off, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, as investigators scrutinize the role played
Read MoreUS Investigates Seizure Risk With Electronic Cigarettes
U.S. health officials are investigating whether electronic cigarettes may trigger seizures in some people who use the nicotine-vaping devices. The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it is reviewing 35
Read MoreStudy Points to New Antibody Approach to Tackling Ebola, Other Infections
Scientists working on developing vaccines against Ebola have found they can “harvest” antibodies from volunteers vaccinated in research trials and use them to make treatments for the deadly viral infection.
Read MoreStudy: Prostate Cancer Death Rates Stabilizing
Death rates from prostate cancer — the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men — have stabilized or declined in dozens of countries since the turn of the century, the American
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