When Angela was born without lower legs, her father believed she was an evil spirit and should be taken to a “concoction man” — a traditional herbalist who would kill the baby and bury her. But Angela survived after a …
The most comprehensive elephant genome study ever conducted, covering seven living and extinct species, is offering some surprises about the family tree of the world’s largest land animal while also settling a debate about Africa’s elephants. Researchers said on Monday …
The World Health Organization warned on Monday that a cholera epidemic in Yemen that killed more than 2,000 people could flare up again in the rainy season. WHO Deputy Director General for Emergency Preparedness and Response Peter Salama said the …
About 1-in-3 people in the world eats food that fills them up but doesn’t have enough protein, vitamins and minerals. Known as “hidden hunger,” the situation can lead to a weakened immune system, stunted growth and impaired intelligence. …
Around the world, one in three people suffer from something known as “hidden hunger.” Their bellies may be full, but the food they are eating is not nutritious. A San Francisco food technology firm is working in Liberia to see …
A new super-material — stronger, lighter and cheaper than steel — has emerged from scientists’ labs. It’s not a high-tech nano-polymer or some new alloy. It’s wood. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …
The majority of people believe cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is successful more often than it tends to be in reality, according to a small U.S. study. This overly optimistic view, which may partly stem from seeing happy outcomes in television medical …
There is no clear and easy way to tell when a person’s thinking process has peaked, but most scientists agree that intelligence starts slowly deteriorating somewhere around age 70. However, some individuals’ minds stay sharp well beyond that age and …
Some diabetics with plaque buildup in their arteries might have less debris in these blood vessels after adding wine to their diets, a recent study suggests. For the study, researchers examined data on 224 people with type 2 diabetes who …
Australian scientists, inspired by NASA space experiments, have pioneered a new method of growing crops, known as “speed breeding,” which has the potential to help feed the world’s growing population. Faith Lapidus reports. …
Retired Marine Corps Sgt. John Peck lost all four of his limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2010, but unlike many people who suffer such losses, Peck does not have to rely on prosthetic arms. Doctors performed a successful …
It’s pretty extraordinary for people in their 80s and 90s to keep the same sharp memory as someone several decades younger, and now scientists are peeking into the brains of these “superagers” to uncover their secret. The work is the …
Under the bright sun of a remote desert in Oman, a group of astronauts and scientists is simulating Life on Mars. They hope their experiments today will pave the way for an actual trip to Mars, the red planet, within …
Cigarettes are not the only type of tobacco products that can lead to premature death or fatalities from smoking-related cancers, a U.S. study confirms. While people who exclusively smoke cigarettes have twice the risk of premature death from all causes compared to people …
A European space probe has swung into position around Mars in preparation to analyze its atmosphere for possible signs of life. The European Space Agency said Wednesday its Trace Gas Orbiter successfully performed a delicate maneuver known as aerobraking that …
A federal advisory panel is recommending a new vaccine against hepatitis B. The vaccine called Heplisav-B was licensed in November and is the first new hepatitis B vaccine in 25 years. Hepatitis B vaccines have been in childhood …
Vice President Mike Pence has brought a newly revived advisory group to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center for a rundown on how best to get Americans back to the moon, a half-century after NASA’s Apollo heydays. Pence convened the meeting Wednesday …
A group of scientists aboard a research vessel at the “bottom of the world” are examining the effects of climate change in Antarctica. The nonprofit, environmental watchdog group Greenpeace sent the team to gather data to help build international support …
Yasmira Castano felt she had a fresh chance at life when she received a kidney transplant almost two decades ago. The young Venezuelan was able to finish high school and went on to work as a manicurist. But late last …
Sea levels will rise between 0.7 and 1.2 meters (27-47 inches) in the next two centuries even if governments end the fossil fuel era as promised under the Paris climate agreement, scientists said Tuesday. Early action to cut greenhouse gas …
More than 100,000 malaria cases went untreated when Liberia’s health care system buckled under the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, shows how the toll of the Ebola outbreak goes beyond the …
A precision nutrition approach to weight loss didn’t hold up in a study testing low fat versus low carb depending on dieters’ DNA profiles. Previous research has suggested that a person’s insulin levels or certain genes could interact with different …
The United Nations children’s agency has declared Pakistan as the riskiest country for newborns, saying that out of every 1,000 babies born in Pakistan, 46 die before the end of their first month. UNICEF released the findings Tuesday as part of …
Items discovered underwater caverns in eastern Mexico to reveal what is believed to be the biggest flooded cave on the planet Archaeologists exploring the world’s biggest flooded cave in Mexico have discovered ancient human remains at least 9,000 years old …