A new super-material — stronger, lighter and cheaper than steel — has emerged from scientists’ labs. It’s not a high-tech nano-polymer or some new alloy. It’s wood. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …

The majority of people believe cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is successful more often than it tends to be in reality, according to a small U.S. study. This overly optimistic view, which may partly stem from seeing happy outcomes in television medical dramas, can get in the way of decision-making and frank …

STEM toys, those that incorporate principles of science, technology, engineering and math, have garnered a lot of attention in recent years. Now, toy makers are addressing children’s social development and emotional intelligence with toys that not only cultivate their IQ but also their EQ or emotional quotient. VOA’s Tina Trinh …

There is no clear and easy way to tell when a person’s thinking process has peaked, but most scientists agree that intelligence starts slowly deteriorating somewhere around age 70. However, some individuals’ minds stay sharp well beyond that age and researchers would like to know why. VOA’s George Putic reports. …

Some diabetics with plaque buildup in their arteries might have less debris in these blood vessels after adding wine to their diets, a recent study suggests. For the study, researchers examined data on 224 people with type 2 diabetes who normally didn’t drink alcohol, but were randomly assigned to follow …

Australian scientists, inspired by NASA space experiments, have pioneered a new method of growing crops, known as “speed breeding,” which has the potential to help feed the world’s growing population. Faith Lapidus reports. …

Retired Marine Corps Sgt. John Peck lost all four of his limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2010, but unlike many people who suffer such losses, Peck does not have to rely on prosthetic arms. Doctors performed a successful double arm transplant and now he is undergoing occupational and …

It’s pretty extraordinary for people in their 80s and 90s to keep the same sharp memory as someone several decades younger, and now scientists are peeking into the brains of these “superagers” to uncover their secret. The work is the flip side of the disappointing hunt for new drugs to …

Under the bright sun of a remote desert in Oman, a group of astronauts and scientists is simulating Life on Mars. They hope their experiments today will pave the way for an actual trip to Mars, the red planet, within decades. Faiza Elmasry has this story narrated by Faith Lapidus. …

Cigarettes are not the only type of tobacco products that can lead to premature death or fatalities from smoking-related cancers, a U.S. study confirms. While people who exclusively smoke cigarettes have twice the risk of premature death from all causes compared to people who avoid tobacco altogether, exclusive cigar smokers have a 20 percent higher …

A European space probe has swung into position around Mars in preparation to analyze its atmosphere for possible signs of life. The European Space Agency said Wednesday its Trace Gas Orbiter successfully performed a delicate maneuver known as aerobraking that involved dipping into the red planet’s upper atmosphere to slow …

A federal advisory panel is recommending a new vaccine against hepatitis B.   The vaccine called Heplisav-B was licensed in November and is the first new hepatitis B vaccine in 25 years.   Hepatitis B vaccines have been in childhood shots for decades. The new vaccine is for adults.   …

Vice President Mike Pence has brought a newly revived advisory group to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center for a rundown on how best to get Americans back to the moon, a half-century after NASA’s Apollo heydays. Pence convened the meeting Wednesday morning inside the building where NASA once prepped pieces of …

A group of scientists aboard a research vessel at the “bottom of the world” are examining the effects of climate change in Antarctica. The nonprofit, environmental watchdog group Greenpeace sent the team to gather data to help build international support for declaring a part of the continent a sanctuary from …

Yasmira Castano felt she had a fresh chance at life when she received a kidney transplant almost two decades ago. The young Venezuelan was able to finish high school and went on to work as a manicurist. But late last year, Castano, now 40, was unable to find the drugs …

Sea levels will rise between 0.7 and 1.2 meters (27-47 inches) in the next two centuries even if governments end the fossil fuel era as promised under the Paris climate agreement, scientists said Tuesday. Early action to cut greenhouse gas emissions would limit the long-term rise, driven by a thaw …

More than 100,000 malaria cases went untreated when Liberia’s health care system buckled under the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, shows how the toll of the Ebola outbreak goes beyond the 11,000 killed in West Africa by the virus itself. Basic …

A precision nutrition approach to weight loss didn’t hold up in a study testing low fat versus low carb depending on dieters’ DNA profiles. Previous research has suggested that a person’s insulin levels or certain genes could interact with different types of diets to influence weight loss.   Stanford University …

The first treatment to help prevent serious allergic reactions to peanuts may be on the way. A company said Tuesday that its daily capsules of peanut powder helped children build tolerance in a major study. Millions of children are allergic to peanuts, and some may have life-threatening reactions if accidentally …

The United Nations children’s agency has declared Pakistan as the riskiest country for newborns, saying that out of every 1,000 babies born in Pakistan, 46 die before the end of their first month. UNICEF released the findings Tuesday as part of its global awareness campaign to demand and deliver solutions on …

Items discovered underwater caverns in eastern Mexico to reveal what is believed to be the biggest flooded cave on the planet Archaeologists exploring the world’s biggest flooded cave in Mexico have discovered ancient human remains at least 9,000 years old and the bones of animals who roamed the Earth during …

Pollution is threatening the recently mapped Sac Actun cave system in the Yucatan Peninsula, a vast underground network that experts in Mexico say could be the most important underwater archaeological site in the world.   Subaquatic archaeologist Guillermo de Anda said the cave system’s historical span is likely unrivaled. Some …

More babies are dying each year in West and Central Africa even as child health improves overall, aid agencies said on Tuesday, calling the region’s newborn death rate a “hidden tragedy.” Five of the 10 most dangerous countries to be born are in West and Central Africa, with infants there …

An African charity that improved access to drinking water and sanitation and reduced the chance of cholera deaths in a village in Togo was on Monday awarded the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize. The award is granted every three years for outstanding grassroots projects to solve water issues in developing …

If you want to know how vampire bats can survive on a diet that — as everyone knows — consists exclusively of blood, the answer is simple. It’s in their genes. Scientists on Monday said they have mapped for the first time the complete genome of a vampire bat, finding …