In advance of World Cancer Day (February 4), the World Health Organization is issuing new cancer pain control guidelines aimed at ending the needless suffering experienced by millions of people afflicted with this illness.  Cancer is a leading cause of death globally.  The World Health Organization reports there are more …

The Trump administration’s top health official asked Congress on Friday to pass its new prescription drug discount plan and provide it to all patients, not just those covered by government programs like Medicare. The plan would take now-hidden rebates among industry players like drug companies and insurers and channel them …

Six months after the outbreak of Ebola was declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, the World Health Organization is expressing cautious optimism that it is making headway in controlling the spread of the deadly virus.   Latest figures reported by the WHO show 752 cases of Ebola, …

South Sudan is vaccinating health workers against Ebola in case the virus crosses the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola has stricken more than 700 people in the DRC and killed more than 400. The World Health Organization said the death rate is 59 percent.  Half a world …

One of the important aspects of gauging the damage being done to the world’s ecosystems by climate change is knowing the current status of those systems. So a Britain-based charity is about to embark on a seven-week expedition to gauge the health of one of the world’s few remaining pristine …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added eight members on Thursday to its scientific advisory board tasked with providing independent input for agency policy, a list that includes at least one vocal climate-change doubter. The EPA said John Christy, an atmospheric science professor at the University of Alabama, was among the …

The pet parents do yoga poses, like downward-facing dog, as their pups walk around the room and socialize, sniffing each other and the people on their yoga mats. This is doga, a fun, relaxing way to connect with your pet while getting some exercise. At EMMAvet in Alexandria, Va., owner …

The World Health Organization reports that more than 700 people have been sickened with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And now, neighboring countries of South Sudan and Rwanda are bracing for the virus to spread. But, half a world away, U.S. researchers are hoping to develop a new, …

A new report estimates that nearly half of all U.S. adults have some form of heart or blood vessel disease, a medical milestone that’s mostly due to recent guidelines that expanded how many people have high blood pressure.   The American Heart Association said Thursday that more than 121 million …

Ahead of World Cancer Day (February 4), the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for accelerated action to eliminate cervical cancer, a preventable disease that kills more than 300,000 women every year. Cervical cancer ranks among leading causes of death for women worldwide.  Nine in 10 deaths occur in poor …

A major new study provides the strongest evidence yet that vaping can help smokers quit cigarettes, with e-cigarettes proving nearly twice as effective as nicotine gums and patches.    The British research, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, could influence what doctors tell their patients and shape the debate …

Rescuers are moving hundreds of dehydrated lesser flamingo chicks from their breeding ground at a drought-stricken South African dam to a bird sanctuary in Cape Town, to save them from death by starvation and lack of water.    Their birthplace, Kamfers Dam in the Northern Cape, is one of only three breeding …

Millions of Americans are experiencing temperatures so cold that a burst of wind could cause frostbite within minutes — conditions that have caused the suspension of regional train service, work and school schedules, and even production of television and stage shows. The National Weather Service said Wednesday some 25 million …

For the first time, scientists have linked climate change to the mass migration flows that followed the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East a few years ago. According to scientists from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, water shortages and droughts contributed to the …

The mass migration flows that followed the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle East were partly caused by climate change, according to new research. Scientists from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria say that in certain circumstances, climate conditions can lead to conflict, which drives …

A Tuesday tweet from a U.S. government scientific agency seems relatively innocuous: “Winter storms do not prove global warming is not happening.” The message from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is devoted to climate science and information, includes a link citing research that severe snowstorms may be …

As rescuers in Brazil search for survivors of a dam collapse, questions abound about the health and environmental risks of the thick, brown, metal-laden mine waste that flowed over buildings. The accident comes after the United Nations and others warned that dam failures in the mining industry are becoming increasingly …

Confidential information of 14,200 people diagnosed with HIV in Singapore has been leaked, the city-state’s government said Monday. In a statement posted on their website, Singapore’s Ministry of Health said that information about 5,400 Singaporeans and 8,800 foreigners diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has been leaked online …

To defeat the intertwined pandemics of obesity, hunger and climate change, governments must curb the political influence of major corporations, said a major report Monday calling for a ‘global treaty’ similar to one for tobacco control. But this will not happen unless ordinary citizens demand a “radical rethink” of the …

Maine’s independent U.S. senator says he’s joining a group of Senate colleagues to call on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to provide an update on research into a universal flu vaccine. Sen. Angus King says the initiative is about reducing “the relentless burden the flu places on …

When thinking about people with cancer, the images that first come to mind are usually dark, sad and depressing. But that’s not what photographer Linda McCarthy sees. With her “Survivors” project, her goal was to put a face on breast cancer, photographing women who survived or are being treated for the disease. …

Additional shortages of blood pressure drugs in the United States are possible following recent recalls related to traces of a probable carcinogen found in some versions a particular class of hypertension medicines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The drugs, including valsartan, belong to a class of widely-used …

Robots aren’t replacing everyone, but a quarter of U.S. jobs will be severely disrupted as artificial intelligence accelerates the automation of existing work, according to a new Brookings Institution report. The report, published Thursday, says roughly 36 million Americans hold jobs with “high exposure” to automation — meaning at least …

A Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator helps him deal with his depression. Joie Henney, 65, said his registered emotional support animal named Wally likes to snuggle and give hugs, despite being a 5-foot-long alligator. The York Haven man said he received approval from his doctor to use Wally …

Fissures appear along roads while massive holes open up in the countryside, their gaping maws a visible sign from the air of something Iranian authorities now openly acknowledge: the area around Tehran is literally sinking. Stressed by a 30-year drought and hollowed by excessive water pumping, the parched landscape around …