More people are committing suicide than ever before, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports, but suicide isn’t uniquely an American issue. The World Health Organization estimates that every 40 seconds, someone in the world ends his or her life. Experts say the key to preventing suicide is to get …

Microplastics, the tiny particles of plastic from decaying waste in the world’s oceans, have been found in seawater and snow in Antarctica. It had been hoped that the frozen continent was protected from the soaring levels of plastic waste in the world’s oceans, but research by environmental campaign group Greenpeace …

Earthquakes happen frequently in Italy, but the famous leaning tower in Pisa still stands, puzzling scientists. An earthquake expert from University of Bristol thinks he knows why. VOA’s George Putic has more. …

The very thought of visiting a hospital emergency department is stressful enough for many people, even without the discomfort or pain of an examination or treatment. Enter an immersive virtual-reality program created by three graduates being used in France to relax patients and even increase their tolerance of pain, without resorting to …

Efforts to fight suicide in the United States are desperate for additional funding, suicide-prevention experts said, following this week’s high profile deaths of celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, and new statistics showing a growing problem. Federal funding for suicide trailed far behind other major public health issues, even though …

The World Health Organization  (WHO) says it is cautiously optimistic about containing the spread of the Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Congo, but warns that much work lies ahead. Thirty eight of 62 suspected cases have been confirmed. Of this total number of confirmed cases, 27 people have died. …

A growing number of e-cigarette and vaporizer sellers have started offering college scholarships as a way to get their brands listed on university websites and to get students to write essays about the potential benefits of vaping. The tactic is taken from a method that was once believed to improve …

A Russian space capsule carrying three astronauts has docked with the International Space Station two days after it was launched from Kazakhstan. The Soyuz capsule docked with the station at 13:01 GMT Friday some 255 miles (410 kilometers) above the Earth. It is carrying Serena Aunon-Chancellor of the United States, …

Fossils of two amphibians that lived within the Antarctic circle 360 million years ago are forcing scientists to rethink the origins of land vertebrates, including where these pioneers first appeared and the climatic conditions that spawned them. Scientists said on Thursday they have unearthed partial remains of primitive Devonian Period …

As summer draws near in the Northern Hemisphere, millions of people will slather on sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun’s harmful rays. But most sunscreens contain chemicals harmful to the oceans. Now researchers in London have developed a compound found in seaweed that could be the basis for a …

By day, she’s a cryogenics engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where she works on what she calls a “baby step toward a mission to Mars.” By night, she participates in Goddard’s Music and Drama Club, often known as MAD. She played keyboard for the club’s spring musical.   …

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded its first confirmed case of Ebola in over a week, the health ministry said Thursday, although medics said they had made significant progress in their efforts to contain the disease. The patient, a known contact of someone believed to have died from …

Suicide rates rose in nearly every U.S. state from 1999 to 2016, with the rate spiking by more than 30 percent in half of the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Thursday. Though mental health is often blamed for suicides, more than half of the people who …

The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air peaked again this year at record levels, scientists reported Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that carbon dioxide levels averaged 411.25 parts per million in May at the federal Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, up from 409.65 a …

A NASA rover has detected a bonanza of organic compounds on the surface of Mars and seasonal fluctuations of atmospheric methane in findings released on Thursday that mark some of the strongest evidence ever that Earth’s neighbor may have harbored life. But National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists emphasized there …

If doctors suspect a patient has a broken bone, they typically take an X-ray to be sure of the problem. But to treat a mental health issue, doctors typically don’t take a picture of the brain. One doctor is trying to change that with a controversial brain scan. VOA’s Carolyn …

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano may be disrupting life in paradise with its bursts of ash and bright-orange lava, but it also has scientists wide-eyed, eager to advance what’s known about volcanoes. The good news is: Volcanoes reveal secrets when they’re rumbling, which means Kilauea is producing a bonanza of information. While …

Marking World Environment Day, the United Nations on Tuesday named plastic one of the biggest environmental threats facing the world.  The report, Single-Use Plastics: A Roadmap for Sustainability, said while government regulation on the use of plastic has made some impact on reducing waste, it is not enough, and more urgent …

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports no new cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been confirmed since May 17. WHO finds of 56 reported cases, 37 are confirmed, 13 are probable and six are suspected. The death toll stands at 25. The U.N. agency said not …

A pill could soon radio signals from inside your gut to help doctors diagnose diseases from ulcers to cancer to inflammation, according to a new study. Scientists have developed a small, swallowable capsule that mixes synthetic biology and electronics to detect bleeding in the digestive tract. The system can be …

Five and a half thousand kilometers of open water lie before Ben Lecomte as he attempts to swim across the entire Pacific Ocean. The journey of endurance for science begins June 5. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …

The U.S. Defense Department’s inspector general has opened an investigation into misconduct allegations against White House physician Ronny Jackson, the inspector general’s office said in a statement on Monday. President Donald Trump nominated Jackson to be veterans affairs secretary in March, but Jackson withdrew from consideration a month later amid …

A woman with an aggressive form of breast cancer which defied chemotherapy and spread to other organs, was cured with an experimental treatment that triggered her immune system, researchers said Monday. The woman has been cancer-free for two years, reported the U.S.-based team, presenting their results as “a new immunotherapy …

Only 3 countries have never stopped transmission of polio: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, largely because conflicts and cultural opposition thwart vaccination efforts. A common perception in Pakistan is that polio vaccination teams face difficulties only in tribal or rural areas, but there are equally big challenges in the country’s cities, …

An accident, a stroke, or a disease can leave someone paralyzed and unable to walk. That happens to more than 15 million people around the world each year. But new technological advances and physical therapy could help some of them walk again.   Among the most promising is the use …