A recent national sleep foundation study found more than half of all drivers report driving while drowsy. And U.S. government statistics show nearly 72,000 accidents and 800 deaths in the United States were caused by drowsy driving. But some new technology could help solve this public health problem, VOA’s Kevin Enochs …

Death definitely becomes this star. Astronomers reported Wednesday on a massive, distant star that exploded in 2014 — and also, apparently back in 1954. This is one supernova that refuses to bite the cosmic dust, confounding scientists who thought they knew how dying stars ticked. The oft-erupting star is 500 …

A Senate committee on Wednesday narrowly backed President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the next NASA chief.   Republicans on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee used their slender majority to overcome objections from Democrats to advance the selection of Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma. The party-line vote was …

The ride-hailing company Uber says it has signed a deal with the U.S. space agency NASA to develop a fleet of flying vertical takeoff and landing taxis by the end of the decade. The company said Wednesday it hopes to have its first paying passenger in the new flying vehicles …

Researchers studying a hospital emergency room report a cocktail of simple drug store pain relievers work just as well or sometimes better than prescribed opioids. The study appears in the latest issue of The Journal of the America Medical Association and could be an effective ground zero in the fight …

Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans Tuesday to further California’s cooperation with the European Union and China on fighting climate change.  California and the EU will begin hosting regular meetings, also working with China, on improving carbon markets, which aim to reduce pollution by putting a price on carbon emissions.  The …

When Koutu Saimon’s son, Wheener, was born almost four months premature and “as small as a mouse,” friends and relatives in Chad turned to the new mother and, with sidelong glances and in hushed voices, whispered to her to get rid of the baby. “They told me: ‘You need to …

Two children, backed by the Clean Air Council environmental group, sued U.S. President Donald Trump and two of his Cabinet members on Monday to try to stop them from scrapping a package of pollution-reduction rules known as the Clean Power Plan. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Eastern …

From Aztec pigweed to dragon beans – several ancient, often forgotten foods are making their way to the dinner table in an effort to diversify the diet of a growing global population. In an initiative to cut the world’s dependency on major crops like wheat and rice – Britain’s Prince …

Fiji’s prime minister called for a sense of urgency Monday, telling negotiators that “we must not fail our people” as he opened two weeks of talks on implementing the Paris accord to fight climate change, which is already affecting his Pacific island nation. While diplomats and activists gathered in Bonn, …

Artificial respiration can save lives, but it is an imperfect science. It can be difficult for doctors to tell if their patients are getting enough oxygen, or too much. Some new technology called Electrical Impedance Tomography, or EIT, may solve that problem. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

Artificial respiration can save lives, but it is an imperfect science. It can be difficult for doctors to tell if their patients are getting enough oxygen, or too much. Some new technology called Electrical Impedance Tomography, or EIT, may solve that problem. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

With hurricanes, floods and other impacts of climate change becoming increasingly destructive, countries urgently need to step up their ambitions to cut emissions if they are to keep global warming within safe limits, experts said ahead of U.N. climate talks starting on Monday. About 163 countries have submitted plans on …

Smog has enveloped much of Pakistan and neighboring India, causing highway accidents and respiratory problems, and forcing many residents to stay home, officials said Saturday.   Pakistani meteorologist Mohammad Hanif said the pollution, caused by dust, the burning of crops, and emissions from factories and brick kilns in Pakistan and …

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says it has discovered several cases of fraud committed during the height of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2014 to 2016. In a statement, the aid agency said it was “outraged” by the discovery and would “ensure any …

The World Health Organization says an outbreak of pneumonic plague in Madagascar appears to be slowing.  But, it warns vigilance must be maintained as the spread of the disease is far from over.   The World Health Organization says plague came early to Madagascar this year and has spread quickly.  …

Pakistan is one of three nations in the world that still reports cases of polio. The other two are Afghanistan and Nigeria. But an ongoing effort is slowly making progress toward eradicating the disease. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

Nearly half of Hawaii’s coral reefs were bleached during heat waves in 2014 and 2015 and fisheries close to shore are declining, a group of scientists told state lawmakers. The scientists from the Nature Conservancy briefed the lawmakers Thursday about what they called an unprecedented situation for Hawaii’s sea life. …

Almost every country in the world now has serious nutrition problems, either because of overeating leading to obesity or a lack of food leading to undernutrition, according to a major study published Saturday. Researchers behind the Global Nutrition Report, which looked at 140 countries, said the problems were thwarting “human …

The U.S. government on Friday released a report on climate change that said there was “no convincing alternative explanation” for global warming besides human causes. The National Climate Assessment, which the government is mandated by law to publish every four years, said Friday that climate change is almost entirely driven …

Life-threatening malnutrition rates are soaring among the children of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who fled Myanmar to escape violence, according to a nutritional assessment by the U.N. children’s fund. The recently conducted survey in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar shows 7.5 percent of Rohingya refugee children suffer from …

With ever-dwindling space and resources available in overburdened Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, the government in Dhaka is boosting family planning measures and considering a voluntary sterilization plan. The efforts include hiring more staff, distributing birth control pills and handing out condoms, a senior official told VOA. “We have …

A Chinese official on Friday disputed President Donald Trump’s claim that the deadly opioid fentanyl flooding the U.S. is mostly produced in China. China doesn’t deny that some fentanyl produced illicitly inside the country is contributing to the epidemic, Wei Xiaojun, deputy director-general of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the …

In the past 25 years, the world has made remarkable progress in saving the lives of young children, according to the latest report from the United Nations. In 1990, 35,000 children died every day; last year, 15,000 children and babies died daily, the first time that annual child deaths have …

Over the past 25 years, the world has made remarkable progress in saving young children’s lives. For the first time ever, child deaths have fallen below the 6 million mark globally, but most of these deaths could be prevented according to the latest report from the U.N. VOA’s Carol Pearson …