As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the historic mission to land humans on the surface of the moon, VOA’s Kane Farabaugh presents this reflection of the monumental achievement through the eyes of the NASA astronauts themselves. In exclusive interviews Farabaugh gathered, the men of the Apollo program reflect …

The latest vegetarian meat alternatives that taste and cook like real beef are all the rage in the U.S. But there’s also a market for lab grown meat, which provides all the protein without the cruelty and the carbon footprint. But it’s proving a tougher sell than plant-based alternatives. VOA’s …

Bariatric surgery shrinks the stomach so people battling obesity can lose weight and regain their health. It’s a drastic, life-changing procedure, but some doctors think it should be done more often before patients become severely obese.Shaun Rogers struggled for more than 20 years to manage his weight even as his …

Syphilis cases have soared in Europe over the last decade and become, for the first time since the early 2000s, more common in some countries than new cases of HIV, health experts said Friday.Reported cases of the sexually transmitted disease are up by 70% since 2010, a report from the …

Farmers reap surprising benefits from having areas that are biodiverse  with many plant and animal species nearby, according to new research. A study finds that having diverse natural areas near agriculture helps farmers financially during droughts, and the more diverse the areas are, the better. Policies that preserve biodiversity near …

A quadriplegic French man in a vegetative state, whose case has split his family, and France, died Thursday, a week after doctors removed his feeding tubes. Vincent Lambert’s death came after years of court battles and underscores deeply divisive right-to-die questions in Europe.Vincent Lambert had been kept alive artificially since …

An innovative system to dispense medicine to patients with chronic illnesses is taking off in South Africa. The award-winning “Pelebox,” created by South African engineer Neo Hutiri, is a computer-controlled vending machine stocked with prescription drugs, which patients access using a personal code.The Pelebox has been hailed as a life …

The world is dealing with climate refugees, people whose homes have been inundated by rising sea levels. But in Wales, residents of one seaside town are confused and angry because of a political decision to let nature have its way and let the town sink back into the sea. VOA’s …

Two drug trials may promise some relief for people who suffer from migraine headaches as well as those who have cluster headaches, a rare but intensely painful type of headache thought to be related to migraine.    According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, two injections …

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday inaugurated a giant structure built to confine radioactive debris at the nuclear reactor that exploded in Chernobyl in 1986.The confinement structure for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s Reactor No. 4 cost 1.5 billion euros (almost $1.7 billion) to build, and the entire project cost …

Wilfrid Macena was a welder who built gas station tanks for a living when the devastating 2010 earthquake toppled a wall at the garage where he worked and crushed his right leg.He was unable to reach a hospital for seven days and his knee became infected, forcing doctors to amputate …

Seagulls across Australia are carrying superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics, according to scientists.  The birds are carrying bacteria such as E. coli, which can cause urinary tract infections and blood disorders. There are fears that disease-causing bacteria may spread from the seabirds to people, as well as livestock and …

Relentless global warming threatens the potential success of a sweeping set of goals established by the United Nations to tackle inequality, conflict and other ills, officials said on Tuesday.Climate change imperils food supplies, water and places where people live, endangering the U.N. plan to address these world problems by 2030, …

In the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, nine “water plazas” have been created that soak up excess rainfall while offering people a green space to meet and children to play.The city is also planting gardens and putting solar panels on a growing area of its nearly 20 square kilometers (8 …

Lying inside a scanner, the patient watched as pictures appeared one by one: A bicycle. A cupcake. Heroin. Outside, researchers tracked her brain’s reactions to the surprise sight of the drug she’d fought to kick.Government scientists are starting to peek into the brains of people caught in the nation’s opioid …

Uma Valeti slices into a pan-fried chicken cutlet in the kitchen of his startup, Memphis Meats. He sniffs the tender morsel on his fork before taking a bite. He chews slowly, absorbing the taste.“Our chicken is chicken … you’ve got to taste it to believe it,” Valeti says.This is no …

Richard Branson’s space-tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, is planning to go public, creating the first publicly listed human spaceflight firm.Virgin Galactic is merging with Social Capital Hedosophia, whose CEO, Chamath Palihapitiya, will become chairman of the combined entity. The value of the merger was put at $1.5 billion.The company intends to …

As he reveled in the huge display of military might during last week’s Independence Day celebration on the National Mall, U.S. President Donald Trump encouraged Americans to enlist in the military.“To young Americans across our country, now is your chance to join our military and make a truly great statement …

VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara and Elizabeth Cherneff contributed to this report.WHITE HOUSE — In remarks widely panned by environmental organizations, U.S. President Donald Trump defended his record on the environment in a White House speech Monday.”A strong economy is vital to maintaining a healthy environment,” Trump said.Radical environmental plans would not …

A South African man who won the chance to become the first black African in space has been killed in a motorcycle crash. Mandla Maseko was 30. Maseko was killed in Pretoria over the weekend, according to a family statement released to the local media Monday.In 2013, the part-time disc jockey …

In Caracas’s main maternity hospital the blood banks and medicine cabinets are empty, the power and water regularly cut out — and women and girls are dying needlessly, according to one of the few remaining doctors, Luisangela Correa.The surgeon is one of only three left at the Concepcion Palacios hospital …

In a cabinet inside a modest laboratory in downtown Washington are rows and rows of ink samples in plastic squeeze bottles and small glass jars. To the untrained eye, it’s just a bunch of blackish liquid with strange names like moldy sponge” orgreen grass.”   But to the U.S. Secret …

Before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin knew they would be the first to walk on the moon, they took crash courses in geology at the Grand Canyon and a nearby impact crater that is the most well-preserved on Earth.Northern Arizona has had deep ties to the Apollo missions: Every moon-walking …

Science and the determination of the human spirit propelled Apollo 11 to the moon fifty years ago, but it was popular culture that imagined man there, long before July 16, 1969 say filmmakers, and popular culture experts.  VOA’s Penelope Poulou revisits landmark films and TV series that allowed people to …

When people are recovering from an illness or injury, they often don’t think of nutrition, but it may be key to getting their health back.When Monika McComb returned home from the hospital, she didn’t think about nutrition as being essential for a full recovery.   “I was really, really weak. I …