Hundreds of volunteers are patrolling beaches on the West Coast of the United States to monitor the number of dead birds that wash ashore. The multi-state monitoring program helps tell a larger story about seabird deaths and the health of …
The chances of a hurricane flooding parts of Texas, like Harvey did, have soared sixfold in just 25 years because of global warming and will likely triple once again before the end of the century, a new study says. …
Oenophiles take note: 5980 BC was a very good year for wine. Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of the oldest-known evidence for winemaking, detecting telltale chemical signs of the fermented alcoholic beverage made from grapes in fragments of nearly …
The number of people living with diabetes has tripled since 2000, pushing the global cost of the disease to $850 billion a year, medical experts said Tuesday. The majority of those affected have type 2 diabetes, which is linked to …
The United States is participating in the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP-23) of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, despite President Donald Trump’s announcement it will be leaving the Paris Climate Accords. The State Department says a U.S. …
Afghanistan and Pakistan officially are now the only two nations across the globe to have reported wild polio virus cases so far this year, though the numbers of cases have declined to historic lows. Armed conflicts, deadly attacks on polio …
While climate change is being discussed this week in Germany, it’s being felt by farmers and ranchers around the world. But it’s hitting subsistence farmers in places like Uganda particularly hard. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
Standing in a stately Mayo Clinic library, Lilly Ross reached out and touched the face of a stranger, prodding the rosy cheeks and eyeing the hairless gap in a chin she once had known so well. “That’s why he always …
Thanks to a new law, California residents who do not identify as either male or female can choose a third option on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates. VOA’s Genia Dulot spoke with a Berkeley resident who is that third …
Disneyland has shut down and decontaminated two cooling towers following an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that sickened 12 people, nine of them guests or employees at the theme park in Anaheim, county health officials said Saturday. One of the three …
An outbreak of cholera in Tanzania has left 18 dead in two months, the Health Ministry said Saturday, warning that the situation could worsen as the rainy season continues. The ministry said the outbreak had left “18 dead out of …
Pneumonic plague continues to decline in Madagascar, according to the World Health Organization, whose latest figures put the number of suspected cases at 1,947, including 143 deaths. The latest reported cases of pneumonic plague, based on the number of people …
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration plans to ban all illicit versions of fentanyl, the highly addictive opioid painkiller responsible for tens of thousands of deadly drug overdoses in the United States in recent years. The DEA, an arm of the …
The cancer caseload is growing in Africa, but quality treatment options remain limited. By 2030, WHO estimates that for every four deaths from HIV/AIDS on the continent, there will be three deaths from cancer. To address the emerging public health crisis, two …
Rohingya children in Myanmar and Bangladesh face a tenfold increase in malnutrition compared to last year and require immediate attention, the International Rescue Committee said in a statement Friday. A recent survey conducted by humanitarian agencies led by International Rescue …
Death definitely becomes this star. Astronomers reported Wednesday on a massive, distant star that exploded in 2014 — and also, apparently back in 1954. This is one supernova that refuses to bite the cosmic dust, confounding scientists who thought they …
Researchers studying a hospital emergency room report a cocktail of simple drug store pain relievers work just as well or sometimes better than prescribed opioids. The study appears in the latest issue of The Journal of the America Medical Association …
Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans Tuesday to further California’s cooperation with the European Union and China on fighting climate change. California and the EU will begin hosting regular meetings, also working with China, on improving carbon markets, which aim to …
The Trump administration is unique in that some officials continue to ask for more evidence that humans are contributing to a warming planet. This, despite a government report issued last week that concludes that human activity is the primary cause …
Scientists are calling for renewed efforts to develop a vaccine for one of the biggest causes of stillbirths and infant deaths worldwide. An estimated one in five pregnant women around the world carry Group B Streptococcus bacteria, and most show …
When Koutu Saimon’s son, Wheener, was born almost four months premature and “as small as a mouse,” friends and relatives in Chad turned to the new mother and, with sidelong glances and in hushed voices, whispered to her to get …
Two children, backed by the Clean Air Council environmental group, sued U.S. President Donald Trump and two of his Cabinet members on Monday to try to stop them from scrapping a package of pollution-reduction rules known as the Clean Power …
From Aztec pigweed to dragon beans – several ancient, often forgotten foods are making their way to the dinner table in an effort to diversify the diet of a growing global population. In an initiative to cut the world’s dependency …
Artificial respiration can save lives, but it is an imperfect science. It can be difficult for doctors to tell if their patients are getting enough oxygen, or too much. Some new technology called Electrical Impedance Tomography, or EIT, may solve …