After the Moon in 2024, NASA Wants to Reach Mars by 2033
NASA has made it clear they want astronauts back on the Moon in 2024, and now, they are zeroing in on the Red Planet – the US space agency confirmed
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Meatless Burgers Go Mainstream
Vegetarian patties have long been available to Americans seeking healthier alternatives to hamburgers. Mainstream fast food chains also have been looking for healthier alternatives that would not compromise on flavor.
Read MoreNew York City’s Congestion Pricing Plan a First for US
New York will become the first U.S. city to impose congestion pricing, seen as a key weapon against global warming, following lawmakers’ approval on Monday of a state budget to
Read MoreRockefeller Foundation Moves Beyond Cities in Broader Resilience Push
The Rockefeller Foundation is changing the focus of its funding of projects to strengthen societies against modern pressures such as climate change, shifting away from preparing cities to a broader
Read MoreChina: Fentanyl-Related Drugs to be Added to Controlled Substances List
China said Monday it is adding all fentanyl-related compounds to its list of controlled substances, beginning May 1. U.S. officials have long campaigned for the move. Fentanyl, and compounds that
Read MoreCameroon NGO Struggles to Protect Waters from Invasive Plants
The spread of invasive water hyacinths in and around Cameroon’s port city of Douala is causing problems for residents. The hyacinths’ stubborn growth hampers shipping, reduces fish catches, blocks streams
Read MoreStar Wars Fans March with Glowing Lightsabers for Earth Hour
Twelve years after the inaugural Earth Hour observance in Australia, countries around the world continue joining the grassroots gesture against manmade CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. This year in the Philippines,
Read MoreSome Conservative States Easing Access to Birth Control
Several Republican-led state legislatures are advocating for women to gain over-the-counter access to birth control in what they say is an effort to reduce unplanned pregnancies and abortions. State legislatures
Read MoreNeonatal Cuddlers Help Babies Get a Good Start
The environment in a neonatal intensive care unit can be overwhelming, as staff care for infants who are ill or were born premature. Many exhausted parents and loved ones can’t
Read MoreEbola Treatment Center in Congo Reopens After Attack
An Ebola treatment center located at the epicenter of the current outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has resumed operations after it was attacked last month, the country’s health ministry said Saturday. The center
Read MoreUS Seniors Use Marijuana to Ease Pain, Fight Sleeplessness
Once stigmatized and banned across the United States, marijuana is now legalized in many parts of the country, primarily for medicinal use, but increasingly also for recreation. As cannabis becomes
Read MoreSurgeons Perform First HIV-to-HIV Kidney Transplant
For the first time, a person living with HIV has donated a kidney to a transplant recipient also living with HIV. A team from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore performed
Read MoreUN Chief Urges ‘Greater Ambition’ in Tackling Climate Change
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned Thursday that climate change was moving faster than international efforts to mitigate it. “It is important that we tackle climate change with much greater ambition,”
Read MoreNY County Declares Emergency Over Measles Outbreak
So far this year, more than 300 people have contracted measles in 15 states in the U.S. Almost half of those cases occurred in Rockland County, just north of New
Read MoreNew York County Declares Emergency Over Measles Outbreak
So far this year, more than 300 people have had measles in 15 states in the U.S. Almost half have occurred in Rockland County just north of New York City.
Read MoreRepublicans, Democrats Back to Battle Over US Health Care Law
Health care has re-emerged as a major focus of U.S. political parties with the Trump administration advocating striking down the entire Affordable Care Act and Democrats introducing legislation to strengthen
Read MoreRepublican-led US Senate Rejects Green New Deal
The Republican-led Senate Tuesday night voted against consideration of the Democratically-supported New Green Deal — the outline of an ambitious plan to get the U.S. off climate-changing fossil fuels. The
Read MoreMaker of OxyContin Agrees to $270M Settlement in Oklahoma
The maker of OxyContin and the company’s controlling family agreed Tuesday to pay a groundbreaking $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the nation’s deadly opioid crisis
Read MoreUnvaccinated Children Face Public Space Ban in New York Measles Outbreak
A New York suburb has banned children not vaccinated against measles from public spaces, such as schools and shopping malls, as it fights the state’s worst outbreak in decades of
Read MoreNASA Cancels First All-Women Spacewalk Due to Lack of Small Spacesuits
What should have been a giant leap for womankind has turned into a stumble on the path to equality after U.S. space agency NASA canceled the first all-female spacewalk due
Read MoreUN Officials: 13 Million in Congo Need Aid in Major Increase
The number of people needing humanitarian aid in Congo has increased dramatically in the past year to 13 million and “hunger and malnutrition have reached the highest level on record,”
Read MoreBig U-Turn: Key Melting Greenland Glacier Growing Again
A major Greenland glacier that was one of the fastest shrinking ice and snow masses on Earth is growing again, a new NASA study finds. The Jakobshavn (YA-cob-shawv-en) glacier around
Read MoreLab Test Appears To Diagnose Fibromyalgia for the First Time
Millions of people live with the constant pain of fibromyalgia. It’s a disorder that’s often misdiagnosed. And while lab tests can help identify a lot of diseases, until recently there
Read MoreHuman Impact on Planet Focus of Environmental Film Festival
At the 27th annual Environmental Film Festival in the nation’s capital, over 100 hundred films were showcased in 25 locations around the city. Many of them focused on the human
Read MoreYemeni Children Victimized by ‘World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis’
March 26 will mark the fourth anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition campaign to oust the Houthi rebels from parts of Yemen they had occupied. The fighting has caused what the
Read MoreDRC, Madagascar Struggle With Ebola, Measles Outbreaks
Efforts to control the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak are hitting a roadblock, says Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The medical charity group says security forces and a climate of
Read MoreOcean Heatwaves Become More Frequent
Parts of our oceans routinely go through temperature swings. The El Nino and La Nina effects in the Pacific are perhaps the best known. But new research in Britain suggests
Read MoreIndia, Southeast Asia to Mark Five Years of Being Polio-free
The World Health Organization says that on March 27, India’s 1.3 billion people and the entire WHO Southeast Asia region will celebrate five years of being polio-free. Twelve years ago,
Read MoreSouth Africa’s Liberal Abortion Laws Hampered by Widespread Stigma
Twenty-six-year-old Precious, as she has asked us to call her to protect her identity, is 16 weeks pregnant. And so is her best friend, also by Precious’ boyfriend. That event
Read MoreFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley Walks into Twitter Feud with Finland
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley found herself in a Twitter feud with the people of Finland on Thursday, after she commented unfavorably on their health care system. Haley, a savvy
Read MoreEU Parliament Urged to Strip ExxonMobil Lobbyists of Access Badges
The European Parliament faced calls Thursday to strip ExxonMobil lobbyists of their access badges after the US oil giant missed the assembly’s first hearing into claims it knowingly misled the
Read MoreWorld Water Day 2019: Leaving No One Behind
March 22 is the annual observance of World Water Day. This year’s theme is “No One Left Behind.” But according to a report from UNICEF and the World Health Organization,
Read MoreUS Meteorologists Retire Hurricane Names Florence, Michael
Hurricanes Florence and Michael, which caused widespread death and destruction in the United States last year, have earned the dubious distinction of having their names retired. The National Oceanic and
Read MoreWHO: New Oral Treatment More Effective in Combating Multidrug-Resistant TB
Tuberculosis has plagued humans for thousands of years and continues to do so. In advance of this year’s World TB Day, March 24, the World Health Organization is issuing a
Read MoreNASA’s Plan to Scoop Up Dirt from Asteroid Hits Snag
NASA’s plan to scoop up dirt and gravel from an asteroid has hit a snag, but scientists say they can overcome it. The asteroid Bennu was thought to have wide,
Read MoreWHO Panel Calls for Registry of All Human Gene-Editing Research
It would be irresponsible for any scientist to conduct human gene-editing studies in people, and a central registry of research plans should be set up to ensure transparency, World Health
Read MoreChinese Supplements Supplier Sentenced for Fraud
A Chinese national has been sentenced to 18 months in a U.S. prison in connection with a scheme to sell mislabeled dietary supplements to U.S. companies. Xu Jia Bao, an
Read MoreHigh-Stakes Boeing Inquiry Hinges on Ethiopia Black Box Secrets
The investigation into the final minutes of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 turned on Tuesday to the secrets in the cockpit voice recorder as Boeing and a shaken global aviation industry
Read MoreNY Mulls Medication-assisted Opioid Treatment in all Lockups
Laura Levine says she never smoked a cigarette or touched a drink until age 35. Then the mother of five tried heroin, and she was hooked. After some brushes with
Read MoreHawaii Weighs First-in-Nation Plastic Bans at Restaurants
Hawaii would be the first state in the U.S. to ban most plastics used at restaurants under legislation that aims to cut down on waste that pollutes the ocean Hawaii
Read MoreMental Health ‘Epidemic’ Hits Generation Z
Nineteen-year-old college student Margaret Pisacano can usually feel a panic attack coming on; her thoughts start to spiral, her breathing speeds up, and her heart races. “It’s as if a
Read MoreJapan to Make Crater on Asteroid to Get Underground Samples
Japan’s space agency said Monday that its Hayabusa2 spacecraft will follow up last month’s touchdown on a distant asteroid with another risky mission — to drop an explosive to make
Read MoreTens of Thousands Join Climate ‘March of the Century’ in Paris
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Paris over the weekend to demand action on climate change. The initiative started with a 16-year-old Swedish girl and ballooned to what environmental
Read MorePreeclampsia Test Can Identify Dangerous Condition Quickly, at Home
A new test can quickly identify preeclampsia, a common and dangerous condition during pregnancy and help keep mothers and babies healthy and safe. When Jessi Prizinsky was pregnant with her
Read MoreNew Test Can Identify Dangerous Condition in Pregnancy
A new test can quickly identify a common and dangerous condition during pregnancy and help keep mothers and babies healthy and safe. VOA’s Carol Pearson has more. …
Read MoreLow-Level Flooding Dampening Tourists’ Enthusiasm
As climate change heats up, we can expect more extreme weather events, more hurricanes and droughts over time. But small flooding events will also become more common, and while not
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