Researchers say that 20 percent of abdominal surgery patients will experience some kind of complication. And those complications can go unnoticed for hours between visits by an attending nurse. A new learning algorithm is being developed in Denmark to spot those complications in real time. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

To mark World Leprosy Day, the World Health Organization is calling for the eradication of this ancient disfiguring disease by combating the stigma and discrimination that discourages people from seeking the help they need. Leprosy, a hideously disfiguring disease that has blighted the lives of countless millions since Biblical days, …

A common ingredient of toothpaste could be developed to fight drug-resistant strains of malaria. Scientists at Britain’s Cambridge University found that triclosan has the potential to interrupt the infection at two critical stages — in the liver and the blood. Faith Lapidus reports. …

President Donald Trump’s description of the climate on planet Earth doesn’t quite match what data show and scientists say. In an interview with Piers Morgan airing Sunday on Britain’s ITV News, the president said the world was cooling and warming at the same time and that claims of melting ice …

The world has another ally in the war against microplastics. Just before Christmas, the Italian government voted to ban the tiny beads that show up primarily in beauty products by 2020. Italy joins a growing list of countries, the United States included, that have banned microplastic products. VOA’s Kevin Enochs …

All coral reefs go through bleaching episodes, and these episodes of drought or extreme heat can hurt even the healthiest of reefs. But climate change means more heat, more often, and new research is showing the world’s reefs do not have time to recover. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

U.S. health officials say the flu outbreak this winter is on track to be one of the most severe in the past 15 years. In their latest weekly report Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the flu is now widespread in every U.S. state except for …

One in four children and teens who get their blood pressure screened at routine checkups may appear to have hypertension, but that result often doesn’t hold up in repeat tests, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data from electronic medical records for almost 755,795 children and adolescents treated at Kaiser …

The mosquito-born Zika virus may be responsible for an increase in birth defects in U.S. states and territories even in women who had no lab evidence of Zika exposure during pregnancy, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. Areas in which the mosquito-borne virus has been circulating, including Puerto Rico, southern …

Two of the largest mass vaccination campaigns against yellow fever ever seen in the world have begun in Nigeria and Brazil. Both campaigns, which are supported by the World Health Organization, aim to prevent the spread of the disease. Nigeria plans to vaccinate more than 25 million people throughout the …

The Senate has confirmed a former pharmaceutical industry executive as head of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Alex Azar, former president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly & Co., was confirmed by a 55-43 vote on Wednesday. Azar, 50, will replace Tom Price, who resigned in September amid …

For the first time, researchers have used the cloning method that produced Dolly the sheep to create two healthy monkeys, bringing science an important step closer to being able to do the same with humans. Since Dolly’s birth in 1996, scientists have cloned nearly two dozen kinds of mammals, including …

The United States Food and Drug Administration will be talking about alternatives to cigarette smoking as it deliberates whether to approve a new product offered by tobacco companies that delivers nicotine to the user without burning tobacco. The American Lung Association reports that cigarette smoking rates in the U.S. are …

The American Lung Association says fewer Americans smoke cigarettes now than before tobacco control policies were put in place.  In its annual report, the ALA says smoking rates among adults and teens are at historic lows. On average, just over 15.5 percent of American adults and eight percent of high …

Sao Paulo closed its zoo and botanical gardens Tuesday as a yellow fever outbreak that has led to 70 deaths is picking up steam.   The big Inhotim art park, which attracts visitors from all over the world, also announced that all visitors would have to show proof of vaccination …

U.S. mayors increasingly view climate change as a pressing urban issue, so much so that many advocate policies that could inconvenience residents or even hurt their cities financially. The annual survey of big-city executives, released Tuesday by the Boston University Initiative on Cities, also reflected the nation’s sharp political divide. …

Drugmakers’ response to the threat posed by “superbugs” remains patchy even after years of warnings, according to the first analysis of individual companies’ efforts to tackle the antibiotic resistance crisis. The rise of drug-resistant bacteria is a growing threat to modern medicine with the emergence of infections resistant to even …

Of the 30 U.S. children who have died from the flu this season, some 85 percent likely will not have been vaccinated, said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, who urged Americans to get flu shots amid one of the most severe flu seasons in years. …

Spacewalking astronauts gave a hand to the International Space Station’s big robot arm Tuesday. As the federal government geared back up 250 miles below, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle successfully installed the new mechanical gripper. Because of the lingering effects of the government shutdown, the spacewalk got …

Uganda’s cancer patients can finally breathe a sigh of relief after the country got a new cobalt-60 radiation treatment machine. But, health officials say this may not be enough because of an ever increasing number of cancer cases in the country. Halima Athumani reports for VOA from Kampala. …

The number of confirmed cases of yellow fever outbreak in Brazil has tripled in recent weeks, with 20 deaths since July, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. Of 35 confirmed cases, 20 were in Sao Paulo state, which includes South America’s largest city, Sao Paulo. Earlier this month, …

A device that heats tobacco without burning it reduces some of the harmful chemicals in traditional cigarettes, but government scientists say it’s unclear if that translates into lower rates of disease for smokers who switch. U.S. regulators published a mixed review Monday of the closely watched cigarette alternative from Philip …

 Scientists are reporting progress on a blood test to detect many types of cancer at an early stage, including some of the most deadly ones that lack screening tools now.  Many groups are working on liquid biopsy tests, which look for DNA and other things that tumors shed into blood, …

The World Health Organization’s director general is calling on the agency’s 192 member states to adopt universal health care as the best way of guaranteeing health for all. This is the first time Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has addressed the 34-member executive board since assuming his post in July as the …

Some New Caledonian crows craft hooked tools out of branched twigs, and Scottish biologists have discovered why – the birds can extract food from cracks and crevises several times faster than by using straight twigs. “It is a painstaking sequence of behaviors,” explains Professor James St. Clair, from the University …