Experts warn that climate change is speeding up melting on Earth’s frozen peaks, threatening the planet’s long-term water supply. The more than 150 global mountain experts attending the first High Mountain Summit warn time is running out for the world’s glaciers. They say climate change is causing temperatures to rise in …

NASA will send a golf-cart-sized robot to the moon in 2022 to search for deposits of water below the surface, an effort to evaluate the vital resource ahead of a planned human return to the moon in 2024 to possibly use it for astronauts to drink and to make rocket …

Governments have pledged nearly $10 billion toward an international fund meant to help poor nations tackle climate change, France’s finance minister said Friday.Bruno Le Maire, speaking at a conference in Paris set to replenish the Green Climate Fund, said “it’s a great success” that he attributed largely to European countries, …

Climate change continues leaving its mark on the world’s oceans.  Water levels are rising along with temperatures.  Warmer waters supercharge some marine life’s reproduction rates, putting other species’ very survival at risk. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi takes us under the sea. …

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday proposed a $454 billion plan over 10 years to help shift the United States away from gasoline-powered cars and trucks by offering cash vouchers to help Americans buy cleaner vehicles.    The New York Democrat said in a statement that his plan, which would provide rebates of $3,000 or …

When Nanticha “Lynn” Ocharoenchai organized Thailand’s first climate strike in March, more than half of the 50 people who showed up at the rally in Bangkok were students at international schools and expatriates.    The same day, Ralyn “Lilly” Satidtanasarn, then age 11, and a group of fellow pupils submitted an open letter to the prime minister, …

For a strange little lemur native to Madagascar that boasts one of the most unusual hands in the animal kingdom, a “high five” is more like a “trick six.”Scientists have discovered that this nocturnal tree dweller, called an aye-aye, possesses an anatomical structure that serves as an extra thumb to …

The World Health Organization welcomed an “historic step” towards a polio-free world on Thursday as an expert panel certified that the second of three types of the crippling virus has been eradicated globally.The announcement by the Global Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication means that only wild polio virus …

Ending polio has been a long haul. The global campaign to eradicate the virus has been going on since 1988, and while it’s close, it’s not over. Sometime in 2020, Africa may be declared polio-free. But the disease is hanging on stubbornly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and as long as …

The Green Climate Fund, one of the main sources of finance for developing nations to tackle climate change, is hoping wealthy countries will pledge between $9 billion and $10 billion to refill its coffers at a conference in Paris Friday.Climate finance analysts said the outcome would be key to building …

The U.S. government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged Wednesday to jointly invest $200 million over the next four years to achieve affordable gene therapy-based cures for sickle cell disease (SCD) and HIV.The administration of President Donald Trump announced earlier this year its intention to end the HIV …

Melania Trump is marking the one-year anniversary of a federal law that that increases access to treatment for people addicted to opioids.The first lady made her only solo trip to Capitol Hill so far to thank Congress for passing the bipartisan SUPPORT Act her husband signed into law a year …

U.S. health officials want women getting breast implants to receive stronger warnings about the possible risks and complications.   The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that manufacturers should add a boxed warning – the most serious type – to information used to market and prepare patients for implants.  The …

Ten years ago, Nigeria accounted for half of the world’s polio cases, but following an aggressive vaccination program, the African nation is on the verge of being declared polio-free. Despite the milestone, Nigeria’s many polio survivors are left to struggle with their disabilities, although one survivor has found a way …

In the age of climate change hurricanes are becoming more numerous and stronger. To understand what that means the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel, at the University of Maryland is coming in handy. Voice of America reporter Iacopo Luzi, went there to experience hurricane force winds.  …

The South Pole’s ozone hole is currently the smallest on record since it was first detected in the 1980s, according to NASA.NASA reported the hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer averaged only 3.6 million square miles. Normally, the ozone hole grows to a maximum area of about 8 million square …

For the first time, U.S. health regulators have judged a type of smokeless tobacco to be less harmful than cigarettes, a decision that could open the door to other less risky options for smokers.The milestone announcement on Tuesday makes Swedish Match tobacco pouches the first so-called reduced-risk tobacco product ever …

The ozone hole near the south pole this year is the smallest since it was discovered, but it is more due to freakish Antarctic weather than efforts to cut down on pollution, NASA reported .   This fall, the average hole in Earth’s protective ozone layer is 3.6 million square …

There’s a familiar trend of fast food chains like KFC and Burger King entering developing countries, where citizens start to see obesity rates increase amid all the new junk food options.This is not that story, at least in Vietnam. The junk food trend has certainly come to Vietnam already, but …

Thousands of satellites orbit the Earth for a multitude of purposes. Some circle the planet to check on the health of the swirling blue orb below.  Reaching the perfect place to collect that information can mean an arduous and frigid journey back on Earth.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi bundles-up tight for …

The Paris Zoo is welcoming a new occupant — the “blob.”  This bright yellow, unicellular, brainless organism, exists all over the world and can move, eat, and even solve problems. This is the first time in the world that it has been presented to the public. VOA’s Jim Randle has …

A major pharmaceutical company and three of the biggest drug distributors in the U.S. have reached a $260 million settlement with two counties in Ohio to avoid a trial over their role in the deadly opioid addiction crisis gripping America.The deal, struck Monday, came just hours before the opening arguments …

When Germain Kalubenge gets a request for a ride on his motorcycle, it can be a matter of life or death. The 23-year-old is a survivor of the Ebola virus and often is the only driver his community trusts to help if someone suspects they are infected.”I wake up every …

Four drug companies reached a last-minute legal settlement over their role in the opioid addiction epidemic, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.Drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp and Israel-based drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd will announce the settlement on Monday, according to the report.It was unclear …

A committee guiding OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy has suggested other drugmakers, distributors and pharmacy chains use Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits seeking to hold the drug industry accountable for the national opioid crisis.The committee of unsecured creditors said in a letter sent Sunday to the …