Battery-powered drones have mostly replaced manned aircraft in a range of tasks, from scientific measurements to aerial photography, with one persistent disadvantage – the limit of their power source. A startup company in San Francisco says their airship can do a lot of those tasks while staying in the air …

A thriving “hotspot” of 1.5 million Adelie penguins, a species fast declining in parts of the world, has been discovered on remote islands off the Antarctic Peninsula, surprised scientists said Friday. The first bird census of the Danger Islands unearthed over 750,000 Adelie breeding pairs, more than the rest of …

A graphic medicine exhibit has opened at the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, showcasing comics that show the medical journeys experienced by patients and caregivers. Organizers hope this ‘new language’ will give clinicians and policy makers a more personalized way of understanding the issues …

More people in Columbus, Ohio, are now surviving when their hearts suddenly develop an abnormal beat and stop beating altogether. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports their survival is due to a new procedure developed after the hospital partnered with a local fire department. …

On the occasion of World Hearing Day, Saturday, the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning one in 10 people globally, or more than 900 million, are at risk of disabling hearing loss by 2050 unless preventive action is taken now. The World Health Organization reports 466 million people around the …

From a small village in Uttar Pradesh, laborer Shavan Kumar, has brought his 38-year-old wife to a government-run hospital New Delhi to be treated for a heart condition. But he worries that the $500 loan he has taken will not cover the cost of her medical care; although the treatment …

Temperatures in the Arctic in recent days have surged above the freezing point, raising fears that climate change is affecting the planet’s atmospheric system far faster than predicted. The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard sits high above the Arctic Circle. It is still late winter, and the sun won’t rise above …

Temperatures in the Arctic in recent days have surged above the freezing point, leading to renewed fears that climate change is affecting the planet’s atmosphere and causing sea ice to melt at a faster rate than predicted. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average, scientists say, …

Illegal heroin and fentanyl exports from Mexico to the United States are on the rise, according to World Drug Report 2017 compiled by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and backed by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Speaking in Mexico City, as the report, which tracks narcotics …

Uber is driving deeper into health care by offering to take patients in every U.S. market where it operates to their next medical appointment.  The ride-hailing service said Thursday its Uber Health business will handle rides set up by doctor’s offices or other health care providers and then bill that …

Older men may face premature death if they spend most of the day sitting around, but it doesn’t require a huge amount of exercise to increase their chances of living longer, a study in the UK suggests. Researchers asked 1,655 men, all between 71 and 92 years old, to wear …

Climbers on North America’s tallest mountain may have to start packing out more of their poop after a researcher determined a glacier in which much of it has been dumped over the past decade probably is not decomposing the human waste. Michael Loso, a glacier geologist, calculates that 36,000 climbers …

If microbes can live in the most extreme regions on Earth, scientists say it is quite possible they can live on other celestial bodies. In a recently published study, researchers from Washington State University say bacteria, found in the hyper-arid soil of Chile’s Atacama Desert, can live dormant for decades, …

Joined by several state attorneys general and the acting DEA administrator, U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions announced a new task force to crack down on opioid manufacturers and distributors. He also announced the hiring of a federal prosecutor to lead anti-opioid efforts at the Department of Justice. From Washington, VOA’s …

Three astronauts returned from the International Space Station to the snowy, bitingly cold flat lands of Central Asia, ending a 5½-month mission highlighted by robotic renovations, schoolteacher pep talks and heavenly greetings from Pope Francis. The two Americans and one Russian landed in a Soyuz capsule shortly after sunrise Wednesday, …

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new initiative Tuesday that will target painkiller manufacturers and distributors who overprescribe and allow the misuse of prescription drugs by addicts.  The initiative, Sessions said, will tackle the opioid crisis “at its root.”  The Prescription Interdiction and Litigation (PIL) Task Force will “use criminal …

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports it is teaming up with national and international health agencies to tackle what appears to be the largest outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria. The Latest figures show 1,081 suspected cases of the disease, including 90 deaths. The WHO reports 317 of more than …

Only days after the spectacular liftoff of what is currently the heaviest space rocket, the privately-built Falcon Heavy, NASA announced the next launch will carry a specially built atomic clock. The new device, much smaller and sturdier than earth-bound atomic clocks, will help future astronauts navigate in deep space. VOA’s …

 A cavernous bunker on a remote island above the Arctic Circle, where polar bears roam, holds the key to 12,000 years of agriculture but also to food supplies for future generations with countries urged to deposit seed samples there. Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which turned 10 on …

When Angela was born without lower legs, her father believed she was an evil spirit and should be taken to a “concoction man” — a traditional herbalist who would kill the baby and bury her. But Angela survived after a midwife put her mother in touch with charity worker Joseph …

The most comprehensive elephant genome study ever conducted, covering seven living and extinct species, is offering some surprises about the family tree of the world’s largest land animal while also settling a debate about Africa’s elephants. Researchers said on Monday their research confirmed that the two types of African elephants, …

The World Health Organization warned on Monday that a cholera epidemic in Yemen that killed more than 2,000 people could flare up again in the rainy season. WHO Deputy Director General for Emergency Preparedness and Response Peter Salama said the number of cholera infections had been in decline in Yemen …

A freak warming around the North Pole is sending a blast of Arctic cold over Europe in a sign of “wacky” weather that may happen more often with man-made global warming, scientists said on Monday. On the northern tip of Greenland, the Cape Morris Jesup meteorological site has had a …

About 1-in-3 people in the world eats food that fills them up but doesn’t have enough protein, vitamins and minerals.   Known as “hidden hunger,” the situation can lead to a weakened immune system, stunted growth and impaired intelligence.   But San Francisco food tech company Just thinks it has …

Around the world, one in three people suffer from something known as “hidden hunger.” Their bellies may be full, but the food they are eating is not nutritious. A San Francisco food technology firm is working in Liberia to see if it can make a popular Liberian dish more nutritious. …