The U.S. government is proposing cutting the nicotine level in cigarettes for the first time in its history. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it has directed the agency’s staff to develop new regulations to make cigarettes …
A new crew arrived at the International Space Station on Friday, giving NASA for the first time four astronauts to boost U.S. research projects aboard the orbiting laboratory. A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three spaceflight veterans slipped into a docking …
A United Nations-led polio immunization campaign to stem an outbreak of this crippling disease is under way in Syria’s Deir Ezzor Governorate. The campaign, headed by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund, started on July 22. The …
An estimated 47 million people around the world have dementia, a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to interfere with daily life. The most common form of the condition is Alzheimer’s disease. Now, research shows the way …
Jabulani Zilawe lost all 11 of his children to AIDS. Now he is the only one left to care for their orphans. “This has become my life — with my grandchildren. All their parents died. AIDS killed them. I had …
Scientists have developed an experimental surgical glue inspired by the mucus secreted by slugs that could offer an alternative to sutures and staples for closing wounds. While some medical glues already exist, they often adhere weakly, are not particularly flexible …
Projected increases in rain from global warming could further choke U.S. waterways with fertilizer runoff that trigger dead zones and massive algae blooms, a new study said. If greenhouse gas emissions keep rising, more and heavier rain will increase …
Scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University say they have successfully edited genes of human embryos in the first such attempt in the United States. Previously, similar experiments have been reported only by scientists in China. Engineering human genes …
On the eve of World Hepatitis Day, the World Health Organization is calling for stepped up action to eliminate Hepatitis B and C by 2030. It says the goal can be reached by scaling up diagnosis, treatment and prevention of …
Every second, millions of tons of various gases rise from the surface of the earth into the atmosphere. Many of them are man-made and harmful, contributing massively to pollution and consequently to global warming. The European Space Agency, ESA, is …
As the world’s AIDS experts meet at a conference this week in Paris, health workers in Cameroon still struggle to identify and treat HIV-positive mothers and babies. Myriam Anang lost her husband and three-month-old baby two years ago to HIV. …
Forty-eight years ago this month (July), U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. That image transfixed a little Costa Rican girl as she watched on a neighbor’s TV. VOA Vero Balderas explains how …
Tests on deceased former professional American football players showed nearly all of them had a chronic traumatic brain disease, according to scientific research published Tuesday in the JAMA medical journal. The disease, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), is believed to …
German automaker Daimler’s profits barely rose and were short of market expectations as its Mercedes-Benz luxury car division boomed while earnings lagged at its truck, van and bus businesses. The second-quarter results were overshadowed by the growing controversy over …
Science seems to be finally starting to win in the war against the human immunodeficiency virus HIV that causes AIDS. But experts gathered at the Paris conference on the deadly disease say proposed cuts in global funding may delay the …
Dozens of teen pregnancy prevention programs deemed ineffective by President Donald Trump’s administration will lose more than $200 million in funding following a surprise decision to end five-year grants after only three years. The administration’s assessment is in sharp contrast …
A pesticide banned by international treaty in 2011 could be responsible for the deaths of young children in South Asia, according to new findings. In June 2012, 14 children were brought to the Dinajpur Medical College Hospital in northern Bangladesh …
Al Gore admits he was frustrated upon hearing the news last month that President Donald Trump was pulling out of the Paris climate accord, but since then he’s become more optimistic. Gore worried that a U.S. withdrawal from the treaty …
Countries with few health-management resources are prone to periodic outbreaks of insect-borne diseases affecting both people and livestock. One of the best ways to reduce the impact is timely vaccination and eradication of insects. But how to tell when an …
New technology allows scientists working on new vaccines to combat infectious diseases to test their products’ effectiveness on a model immune system in a laboratory, without putting the upgraded vaccine into humans. Researchers have begun building model immune systems using …
The worst-ever outbreak of dengue fever in Sri Lanka has killed nearly 300 people, with the number of cases rising rapidly. Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health reports that the number of dengue infections has climbed above 103,000 since the start …
Islanders in the Philippines have stayed in their homes even after an earthquake caused subsidence and floods, according to a study on Monday that questions how far global warming will trigger mass migration as sea levels rise. Ice is thawing …
The U.S. government says the HIV epidemic is “coming under control” in Swaziland, the country with the world’s highest prevalence of the virus. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) said Monday that new infections among adults in …
On August 21, 2017 people in many parts of United States will be able to enjoy a rare visual spectacle – a total eclipse of the sun. Although the moon passes between the sun and our planet relatively often, a …