Sofia Lysenko’s parents moved to the United States from the Ukraine when she was 3 years old. Today, at 17, some of the biggest American pharmaceutical companies want to team up with this teenage science prodigy because she has created an artificial macromolecule robot that can deliver drugs directly to …

Sofia Lysenko’s parents moved to the United States from the Ukraine when she was 3 years old. Today, at 17, some of the biggest American pharmaceutical companies want to team up with this teenage science prodigy because she has created an artificial macromolecule robot that can deliver drugs directly to …

The International Organization for Migration warns massive displacement from renewed inter-ethnic fighting in DR Congo’s Ebola-affected Ituri province poses a serious health hazard.  At least 160 people were killed during renewed clashes early last month between Lendu farmers and Hema herders in Ituri province.  U.N. agencies report the violence has displaced …

A small Ohio city is shooting for the moon in celebrating its native son’s history-making walk 50 years ago this month.The hometown of Neil Armstrong has expanded its usual weekend “summer moon festival” to 10 days of Apollo 11 commemorations . Tens of thousands of visitors — the biggest crowds …

International charity Operation Smile is helping Malawians with cleft lips and palates remove shame and embarrassment stemming from their condition.  The U.S.-based charity has so far given free surgeries to more than 1,000 cleft patients in Malawi and is working on reducing a shortage of local surgeons who do corrective …

When people are recovering from an illness or injury, they often don’t think of nutrition, but as VOA’s Carol Pearson reports, it may be key to getting their health back. …

India said on Thursday it needs $330 billion in investments over the next decade to power its renewable energy dream, but coal would remain central to its electricity generation.The energy guzzling country wants to raise its renewable energy capacity to 500 Gigawatts (GW), or 40% of total capacity, by 2030. …

Cranes hoist cargo onto the deck, power tools scream out and workers bustle through the maze of passageways inside the German icebreaker RV Polarstern, preparations for a yearlong voyage that organizers say is unprecedented in scale and ambition.In a couple of months, the hulking ship will set out for the …

Scientists, government officials and conservationists are calling for a swift response to protect North Atlantic right whales after a half-dozen died in the past month.All six of the dead endangered species have been found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off Canada. At least three appear to have died after …

In the United States, the Everglades National Park has been on the U.N.’s ‘World Heritage in Danger’ list since 2010. UNESCO is meeting this week and is expected to keep the troubled wetland on that list, despite decades of restoration efforts. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

In the minutes before a solar eclipse plunged Chile into darkness, a loudspeaker projected a deep baritone to a group of blind men and women who had traveled to the Atacama desert to “hear” what hundreds of thousands of others had come to see.Then, a moment of silence until the …

Baby spiders like to mingle, but adult spiders tend to eat each other.New research published in PLOS Biology found that adult spiders seem to forget how to behave with each other after being alone too long, which causes them to become aggressive. These findings could help researchers understand why some …

Saturn’s moon Titan has all the right ingredients for life. NASA’s newly announced mission, Titan in front of Saturn as seen by Cassini. (Image credit: NASA)Titan’s surface is hidden from view by its hazy atmosphere, which is four times denser than Earth’s. Combined with the low gravity – just one-seventh …

The impact of June’s extreme heat across France, Spain and other parts of Europe is likely to have been less damaging than in the past because governments put in place measures to cope after a deadly 2003 heat wave, scientists said Tuesday.Governments were spurred into action by a European heat …

Tens of thousands of tourists flocked to cities and towns across northern Chile to stake out spots in one of the world’s best locations to witness Tuesday’s total solar eclipse.Millions are expected to gaze at the cosmic spectacle that will begin at 10:24 a.m. local time (1824 GMT) in the …

Atlanta’s city council has approved a far-reaching ban on smoking and vaping in restaurants and bars – and inside one of the world’s busiest airports.   The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that city council members approved the ban on Monday. It covers cigarettes, cigars and electronic cigarettes. If signed by the …

Rising heat from climate change could lead to the loss of 80 million jobs by 2030, with poor countries hardest hit, the United Nations said Monday, as Europe sweltered in record temperatures.A temperature rise of 1.5C by the end of century could lead to a 2.2% drop in working hours, …

After investigating the nature of a mysterious and apparently cigar-shaped object called ‘Oumuamua spotted in 2017 speeding through our solar system, astronomers remain uncertain over how to classify it, but are confident it is not an alien spaceship.Its odd shape and motion had prompted some scientists to wonder whether ‘Oumuamua, …

The amount of ice circling Antarctica is suddenly plunging from a record high to record lows, baffling scientists.Floating ice off the southern continent steadily increased from 1979 and hit a record high in 2014. But three years later, the annual average extent of Antarctic sea ice hit its lowest mark, …

A tough new ban on single use plastic bags has come into force in New Zealand.   Retailers caught still handing them out to customers could be fined up to $67,000 (US dollars).  But critics say the legislation introduced July 1 does not go far enough.It is a small country …

The world can’t afford to build any more fossil fuel burning plants if it hopes to avoid catastrophic climate change, according to a new study in the journal Nature.Carbon dioxide emissions from the power plants, factories, furnaces and vehicles the world has already built will warm the planet into dangerous …

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took his global message urging immediate climate action to officials gathered in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, where production of hydrocarbons remains a key driver of the economy.   Guterres is calling on governments to stop building new coal plants by 2020, cut greenhouse emissions …

Sometimes, modern problems require ancient solutions.     A 1,400-year-old Peruvian water-diverting method could supply up to 40,000 Olympic-size swimming pools’ worth of water to present-day Lima each year, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability.   It’s one example of how indigenous methods could supplement existing modern infrastructure in …

The Trump administration has agreed to postpone implementing a rule allowing medical workers to decline performing abortions or other treatments on moral or religious grounds while the so-called “conscience” rule is challenged in a California court.  The rule was supposed to take effect on July 22 but the U.S. Department …

A self-declared “caravan” of Americans bused across the Canada-U.S. border on Saturday, seeking affordable prices for insulin and raising awareness of “the insulin price crisis” in the United States. The group called Caravan to Canada started the journey from Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday and stopped at London, Ontario, on Saturday to purchase lifesaving type 1 diabetes medication at a pharmacy. About 20 people made the …