The number of cases of Zika, dengue and chikungunya reported in Brazil during the first 6 weeks of the year is nearly 90 percent less than in the same period in 2016, the Health Ministry said Wednesday. The ministry said in an email that 60,124 cases of the three …
your ad hereYoga Pants, Cozy Clothes May Be Key Source of Sea Pollution
Comfortable clothes are emerging as a source of plastic that’s increasingly ending up in the oceans and potentially contaminating seafood, according to Gulf Coast researchers launching a two-year study of microscopic plastics in the waters from south Texas to the Florida Keys. The project , led by the Mississippi-Alabama Sea …
your ad hereRobots Boost Productivity, But Humans Still Needed on the Job, Report Says
The United States has the world’s largest stock of robots, and the number is growing fast. A report published Wednesday by Redwood Software and the Center for Economics and Business Research said investment surged to $86 billion in 2015 as more, better and cheaper robots were deployed. The authors, whose …
your ad hereBrazil Leaders Back Pension Reform Despite Protests, Graft Probe
Brazil’s president and senior lawmakers were unwavering in their support for a major pension reform on Wednesday despite nationwide protests against the proposal and the dramatic expansion of a graft probe threatening the ruling coalition. Moody’s Investors Service added a vote of confidence in the government, citing the ongoing progress …
your ad hereTrump Trade Adviser Backs North American Manufacturing ‘Powerhouse’
One of U.S. President Donald Trump’s most protectionist trade advisers struck a more conciliatory tone with Mexico on Wednesday, saying he wanted the two countries and Canada to form a regional manufacturing “powerhouse” with stricter rules of origin. White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro’s comments on Bloomberg News …
your ad hereHacker Spaces Offer More Than Sum of Their Tools
“Hackers,” whether they’re Wikileaks or malicious computer coders, have a bad reputation. But there are also hackers who are simply trying to create a more user-friendly world. Think of them as New Age do-it-yourselfers. And they have playgrounds where they do their hacking. Hacker Safe Spaces Tinkerers around the world …
your ad hereWhole-body Vibration May Improve Diabetes Control, Study Finds
Researchers have found that a less strenuous form of exercise known as whole-body vibration may work just as well as regular exercise in helping to control diabetes. WBV, as it’s called, could also benefit people who find it difficult to exercise. Scientists say WBV transmits energy through the body …
your ad hereGroup of Republican Congressmen Join Forces to Fight Climate Change
Seventeen Republican U.S. congressmen have introduced a resolution calling on the House of Representatives to seek “economically viable” ways to combat global warming, setting the stage for a potential clash with President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has repeatedly expressed doubt about climate change and at one point said it was …
your ad hereExperts Say Chronic Kidney Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa on Rise
Amid rapid urbanization, the HIV epidemic and increasing rates of non-communicable diseases, people in sub-Saharan Africa are especially vulnerable to kidney disease. Medical experts are meeting in Cameroon to examine ways of reducing the rising incidents of chronic kidney disease. A dialysis machine at the hemodialysis center in Cameroon’s capital …
your ad here‘Vogue’ Launches in the Arab World With Bold Mission, Style
Vogue launched its newest international edition this month, targeting a niche audience in the Middle East that is fashion conscious, style-driven and wealthy. If its debut is anything to go by, the magazine promises to be bold, representative and deferential. The 22nd international edition of Vogue featured on its cover …
your ad hereMcDonald’s Tests Mobile Ordering Before National Rollout
McDonald’s has started testing mobile order-and-pay after acknowledging the ordering process in its restaurants can be “stressful.” The company says it will gather feedback from the test before launching the option nationally toward the end of the year. It says mobile order-and-pay is now available at 29 stores in Monterey …
your ad hereAngelina Jolie to Teach Course at London School of Economics
Angelina Jolie is set to teach a master’s course at the prestigious London School of Economics this fall as a visiting professor. The London Evening Standard reports the 41-year-old actress and filmmaker gave a preview of her class Tuesday with a lecture at the school’s Centre for Women, Peace and …
your ad hereWe Beware ‘Ides of March,’ But Why?
On March 15, it is not uncommon to read or hear the phrase “Beware the Ides of March.” Why? Traditionally, the Ides of March marks the day Roman leader Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of the Roman Senate in 44 B.C. Historical accounts say a psychic warned Caesar, who had …
your ad here2 Popular Messaging Apps Vulnerable to Hackers
Those encrypted messaging apps you may have been using to avoid prying eyes had a major flaw that could have allowed access to hackers, according to a cybersecurity firm. According to Check Point Software Technologies, both Telegram and WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, were vulnerable. The company said it …
your ad hereAffleck Completes Alcohol Rehab
Actor Ben Affleck says he recently checked out of a rehabilitation program for alcohol addiction. The actor most recently known for portraying Batman revealed the news in a Facebook post Tuesday. The actor has a history of alcoholism, having been in rehab in 2001. “I have completed treatment for alcohol …
your ad hereStudy Ties Premature Death to Air Pollution
The Trump administration may be ready to roll back some regulations covered by the Clean Air Act limiting some pollutants that contributed to smog-choked American cities in the 1970s. But new research from China suggests clean air can save millions of lives. More pollution, more deaths Researchers at the Chinese …
your ad hereBetter Crop Monitoring Leads to Higher Yields
With a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, scientists at Purdue University are researching new methods for affordable large-scale monitoring of crucially important traits of industrial crops. VOA’s George Putic reports. …
your ad hereNon-Invasive Procedure Proving Successful in Sinusitis Treatment
Springtime is allergy season, and many people suffer from recurring headaches and congestion. But while medication and nasal sprays provide relief to some patients, those with chronic sinus problems may need complex treatment and sometimes surgery. A breakthrough procedure called balloon sinuplasty is less invasive and has shown to be …
your ad hereHacker Spaces Offer More Than the Sum of Their Tools
Hacking means tinkering, whether with computers, woodworking or really anything. Tinkerers around the world come together at hacker-spaces, to share tools, camaraderie and expertise. Shelley Schlender takes us to a hacker space in Oakland, California, called Ace Monster Toys, where members lend each other a “hacking” hand. …
your ad hereMitch Seavey Becomes Oldest, Fastest Musher to Win Iditarod
Mitch Seavey won his third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, becoming the fastest and oldest champion at age 57 and helping cement his family’s position as mushing royalty. The Seward, Alaska, musher brought his dogs off the frozen Bering Sea and onto Front Street in the Gold Rush …
your ad hereUN Pushes ‘Smart Crops’ as Rice Alternative to Tackle Hunger in Asia
Asia needs to make extra efforts to defeat hunger after progress has slowed in the last five years, including promoting so-called “smart crops” as an alternative to rice, the head of the U.N. food agency in the region said. Kundhavi Kadiresan, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in …
your ad hereA Barrel of Fun: Niagara Falls Touts Thrills in Rebranding
Niagara Falls, whose most famous thrill-seekers have gone over the brink in barrels, wants to be the place the rest of us go for outdoor adventure, too. A new marketing effort launched Tuesday rebrands the American shore of the falls as a natural playground to be explored on foot, …
your ad hereBrazil Prosecutor Aims Graft Probe at Dozens of Politicians
Brazil’s top public prosecutor asked the Supreme Court to open 83 new investigations into senior politicians on Tuesday, reportedly including five ministers and leading lawmakers, in a dramatic escalation of a graft probe threatening the government. Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot also requested that the Court send 211 other requests to …
your ad hereWhite House Claims TV Release of Trump Tax Return Illegal
The White House has issued a statement saying President Donald Trump had more than $150 million in income in 2005, on which he paid $38 million in income taxes, and blasted a television report disclosing his official tax returns as an illegal act. The statement late Tuesday was issued before …
your ad hereSXSW Panelists: Updating NAFTA Could Aid All 3 Signatories
A renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement could benefit the United States, Mexico and Canada, enhancing the continent’s competitiveness in global markets, say several close observers of the trade deal with a keen interest in entrepreneurship. Revising NAFTA with an eye toward increased protection of intellectual property rights would bring …
your ad here