Scientists have a mystery on their hands after the discovery of 330 stone tools about 2.9 million years old at a site in Kenya, along Lake Victoria’s shores, that were used to butcher animals, including hippos, and pound plant material for food. Which of our prehistoric relatives that were walking …
your ad hereSpaceX Ignites Giant Starship Rocket in Crucial Pad Test
SpaceX is a big step closer to sending its giant Starship spacecraft into orbit, completing an engine-firing test at the launch pad on Thursday. Thirty-one of the 33 first-stage booster engines ignited simultaneously for about 10 seconds in south Texas. The team turned off one engine before sending the firing …
your ad hereYoung People Drive Nairobi’s Graffiti Industry
Nairobi’s public buses and vans, called “matatus,” and their custom graffiti brighten the busy streets of Nairobi. The idea is the glitzier the vehicle’s design, the more customers it will attract. Hubbah Abdi has this report from the Kenyan capital. Narrated by Michele Joseph. (Camera: Joseph Ochieng) …
your ad hereBurt Bacharach, Legendary Composer of Pop Songs, Dies at 94
Burt Bacharach, the singularly gifted and popular composer who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and dozens of other hits, has died at 94. The Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning Bacharach died Wednesday at home in …
your ad hereSeveral US Universities to Experiment With Micro Nuclear Power
If your image of nuclear power is giant, cylindrical concrete cooling towers pouring out steam on a site that takes up hundreds of acres of land, soon there will be an alternative: tiny nuclear reactors that produce only one-hundredth the electricity and can even be delivered on a truck. Small …
your ad hereAustralian Defense Department to Remove Chinese-Made Cameras
Australia’s Defense Department will remove surveillance cameras made by Chinese Communist Party-linked companies from its buildings, the government said Thursday after the U.S. and Britain made similar moves. The Australian newspaper reported Thursday that at least 913 cameras, intercoms, electronic entry systems and video recorders developed and manufactured by Chinese …
your ad hereNASCAR Driving Toward Diversity
NASCAR, the American stock car racing company, is celebrating its 75th anniversary and striving to bring diversity to the sport. Genia Dulot visited a preseason NASCAR race in Los Angeles and spoke to Daniel Suarez, the first Mexican-born racing driver to win a NASCAR cup series. Camera: Genia Dulot …
your ad hereSudan’s Tropical Disease Spike Reflects Poor Health System
The two Sudanese women thought they had malaria and were taking their medication, but things took a dire turn. Both complained of a splitting headache and fever that didn’t respond to the antimalaria treatment. By the time she was diagnosed with dengue fever, Raqiya Abdsalam was unconscious. “Soon after they …
your ad hereUS Students’ ‘Big Idea’ Could Help NASA Explore the Moon
Last November, Northeastern University student Andre Neto Caetano watched the live, late-night launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a cellphone placed on top of a piano in the lobby of the hotel where he was staying in California. “I had, not a flashback, but …
your ad hereAustralia to Review Chinese-Made Cameras in Defense Offices
The Australian government will examine surveillance technology used in offices of the defense department, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday, amid reports the Chinese-made cameras installed there raised security risks. The move comes after Britain in November asked its departments to stop installing Chinese-linked surveillance cameras at sensitive buildings. Some …
your ad hereCOVID Treatment Shows Encouraging Results in Trial, Study Says
A single-injection antiviral treatment for newly infected COVID-19 patients reduced the risk of hospitalization by half in a large-scale clinical trial, a study published Wednesday said. Stanford University professor Jeffrey Glenn, co-author of the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, said the new drug “showed profound benefits …
your ad hereCould a Sprinkle of Moon Dust Keep Earth Cool?
Whether out-of-the-box thinking or a sign of desperation, scientists on Wednesday proposed the regular transport of moon dust to a point between Earth and Sun to temper the ravages of global warming. Ideas for filtering solar radiation to keep Earth from overheating have been kicking around for decades, ranging from …
your ad hereEx-Twitter Execs Deny Pressure to Block Hunter Biden Story
Former Twitter executives conceded Wednesday they made a mistake by blocking a story about Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, from the social media platform in the run-up to the 2020 election, but adamantly denied Republican assertions they were pressured by Democrats and law enforcement to suppress …
your ad hereAstronomers Astonished by Ring Around Frigid Distant World Quaoar
The small distant world called Quaoar, named after a god of creation in Native American mythology, is producing some surprises for astronomers as it orbits beyond Pluto in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system. Researchers said Wednesday they have detected a ring encircling Quaoar akin to the one …
your ad hereUS Students’ ‘Big Idea’ Could Help NASA Explore Moon
A serpentlike robot designed by students from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, could revolutionize how NASA astronauts explore the lunar surface. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more …
your ad hereLeBron James Becomes US Pro-Basketball’s All-Time Scoring Leader
U.S. basketball star LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer Tuesday. James hit a two-point basket late in the third quarter in the game against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to surpass the 38,387 career points held by Lakers’ legend and Hall-of-Famer …
your ad hereUS State Court System, US, EU Universities Hit by Ransomware Outbreak
A global ransomware outbreak has scrambled servers belonging to the U.S. state of Florida’s Supreme Court and several universities in the United States and Central Europe, according to a Reuters analysis of ransom notes posted online to stricken servers. Those organizations are among more than 3,800 victims of a fast-spreading …
your ad hereDoctor Accused of Spreading Deadly Meningitis Arrested in Mexico
Mexican police detained a medical doctor accused of using infected medicines that may have caused a mysterious meningitis outbreak in northern Durango state, after the disease killed at least 35 women in recent months. Another 79 people have been hospitalized with signs of infection. Police arrested the doctor who specializes …
your ad hereEx-Twitter Executives to Testify About Hunter Biden Story Before House Panel
Former Twitter employees are expected to testify next week before the House Oversight Committee about the social media platform’s handling of reporting on President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The scheduled testimony, confirmed by the committee Monday, will be the first time the three former executives will appear before Congress …
your ad hereMicrosoft bakes ChatGPT-Like Tech into Search Engine Bing
Microsoft is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing, transforming an internet service that now trails far behind Google into a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence. The revamping of Microsoft’s second-place search engine could give the software giant a head start against other tech companies in capitalizing …
your ad hereNew York-Based Railway Fans Help Fan Awareness of Trains
There are fans for all kinds of things, from sports to birds to stamps. This is true for trains as well. VOA’s Aunshuman Apte reports. …
your ad hereUkraine’s Blackouts Force It to Embrace Greener Energy
As Russia’s targeted attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure continue, Ukraine is forced to rethink its energy future. While inventing ways to quickly restore and improve the resilience of its energy system, Ukraine is also looking for green energy solutions. Anna Chernikova has the story from Irpin, one of the …
your ad hereGoogle Hopes ‘Bard’ Will Outsmart ChatGPT, Microsoft in AI
Google is girding for a battle of wits in the field of artificial intelligence with “Bard,” a conversational service aimed at countering the popularity of the ChatGPT tool backed by Microsoft. Bard initially will be available exclusively to a group of “trusted testers” before being widely released later this year, …
your ad hereBlacks, Hispanics on Dialysis Get More Staph Infections Than Whites, CDC Says
Black and Hispanic adults on dialysis experience more staph bloodstream infections than white patients receiving the treatment for kidney failure, U.S. health officials said Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing 2017-2020 data, said adults on dialysis for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were 100 times more …
your ad hereRushdie Says ‘Very Difficult’ to Write After Stabbing
British author Salman Rushdie said he finds it “very difficult” to write after being stabbed last year, in an interview published Monday ahead of the release of his new novel Victory City. Rushdie, whose “epic tale” of a 14th-century woman who defies a patriarchal world to rule a city hits …
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