Many countries are moving toward eliminating malaria, among them Madagascar, Senegal and Zimbabwe. But a World Health Organization report warns that in other areas, progress has stalled. Malaria cases increased by more than 20 percent from 2015 to 2016 in …
For fans of the yeti, newly published genetic research on purported specimens of the legendary apelike beast said to dwell in the Himalayan region may be too much to bear — literally. Scientists said on Tuesday that genetic analysis of …
The United Nations reports remarkable progress in containing the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS still kills, but in its latest report, UNAIDS said access to treatment has risen significantly. The UN’s goal is to end the pandemic by 2030. VOA’s …
It was a telling setting for a decision on whether post-traumatic stress disorder patients could use medical marijuana. Against the backdrop of the nation’s largest Veterans Day parade, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this month he’d sign legislation making New …
UNICEF’s Middle East director is calling Yemen one of the worst places on Earth to be a child and urging all involved in the fighting to let humanitarian aid keep coming in. Geert Cappelaere told reporters in Amman, Jordan, Sunday …
The United States is suffering through an unprecedented wave of opioid and prescription drug abuse. Every day, an average of 91 Americans die from an opioid-related overdose. A new study comparing two of the top medications for treating addiction found …
Brazil’s President Michel Temer is recovering after undergoing a successful angioplasty in three coronary arteries. The presidential palace said Saturday that at least one stent was implanted in the procedure late Friday. It said Temer was recuperating in a hospital …
Chinese street barber Xiong Gaowu deftly scrapes a straight razor along the inside of his customer’s eyelid. “You should be gentle, very, very gentle,” said Xiong, who performs traditional eyelid shaves at his roadside location in Chengdu, the capital of …
Slowly but steadily, the consciousness about the need to protect and preserve the natural environment is rising all over the world. Grassroots initiatives get more coverage, and those involved in them say it feels good to be a part of …
Mexico’s government has created a marine park the size of Illinois in the Pacific, the largest ocean reserve in North America for the conservation of giant rays, whales and turtles, including dozens of species endemic to the area. Mexico’s President …
The equivalent of one garbage truck full of plastic waste is dumped into the world’s oceans every minute, equal to 8 million tons a year. New research suggests that 90 percent of that waste gets into the oceans through 10 …
The equivalent of one garbage truck full of waste plastic is dumped into the world’s oceans every minute – or 8 million metric tons a year. New research suggests that the vast majority of that waste is transported to the …
The U.S. state of California is experiencing its largest person-to-person outbreak of hepatitis A in the United States since a vaccine to prevent the liver disease became available in 1996. More than 600 cases have been reported in the state …
Scientists in Hungary have measured brain activity in dogs, which they say shows the animals learn while they sleep. The study is part of broader research to understand how dogs’ cognitive ability and memory change with age. As we hear …
This weekend, TV viewers across America will again be watching advertisements sponsored by major tobacco companies, but quite different from the ones pulled from the airwaves nearly 50 years ago. Instead of attractive people enjoying a smoke, these ads will …
Goodbye, Moon. We don’t need you anymore. The Earth’s night skies are getting brighter. A study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, finds the Earth’s artificially lit outdoor areas grew by 2.2 percent per year from 2012 to 2016. …
Sue Brogan’s street is barely above sea level on a good day. During autumn’s “king tides,” when the sun and moon align to create the highest tides of the year, Biscayne Bay backs up through storm drains and flows into …
Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake, which lies in the center of the country, is home to hundreds of species of fish that provide the Southeast Asian nation with up to 60 percent of its protein. But the lake’s rich fishery is …
The European Union’s top court Monday ordered Poland to stop logging in the ancient Bialowieza Forest, or pay an $118,000 daily fine. “Poland must immediately cease its active forest management operations in the Bialowieza Forest, except in exceptional cases where …
A small fly that thrives at an inhospitable California lake east of Yosemite National Park long has perplexed observers who watch as it crawls into the severely salty and alkaline water, snacks on some algae or lays some eggs, then …
Businessman Kyle Graves shot himself in the ankle so emergency room doctors would feed his opioid habit. Ex-trucker Jeff McCoy threatened to blow his brains out if his mother didn’t hand over his fentanyl patches. Bianca Knight resorted to …
Cancer doctors struggling to work out the best way to use modern immunotherapy drugs now have further evidence of the benefits of adding them to chemotherapy, despite earlier skepticism. News that Roche’s immune system-boosting drug Tecentriq delayed lung cancer progression …
Preparing for a century of steadily higher tides is a central challenge for city officials from Boston to Bangkok. The U.S. city of Miami, Florida, and its neighbors are home to nearly 3 million people and billions of dollars of …
Parasitic worms found in a North Korean soldier, critically injured during a desperate defection, highlight nutrition and hygiene problems that experts say have plagued the isolated country for decades. At a briefing Wednesday, lead surgeon Lee Cook-jong displayed photos showing …