Ancient indigenous peoples had a far more profound impact on the composition of the vast Amazon rainforest than previously known, according to a study showing how tree species domesticated by humans long ago still dominate big swathes of the wilderness. Researchers said Thursday that many tree species populating the Amazon …

A NASA science satellite orbiting Mars was forced to make a rare evasive maneuver to avoid a collision next week with one of the planet’s two small moons, the U.S. space agency said Thursday. Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, commanded the MAVEN spacecraft, which is …

Scientists are upgrading one of the four main experiments on the world’s biggest atom smasher in hopes it will help them discover previously unknown particles or physical properties. Officials at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, say the operation Thursday is the equivalent of a “”heart transplant” for …

Tucked between snow-capped mountains, Lake Titicaca was once worshipped by the Incas, who proclaimed its deep blue waters the birthplace of the sun. These days the shores of South America’s largest lake are littered with dead frogs, discarded paint buckets and bags of soggy trash. Less visible threats lurk in …

A new report finds a significant rise in the number of women dying from drug overdoses globally, while fewer women than men receive treatment for their addiction and are more severely punished for drug-taking. The annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board finds governments do not pay enough attention …

The more science learns about staying healthy, one thing seems increasingly clear: to stay fit, mentally and physically, keep moving. But moving can be hard when most people sit at desks all day. A new study suggests that even if you spend all day in a chair, a couple of …

The death from childbirth of a woman named Time magazine “Person of the Year” in 2014 for her work fighting Ebola in Liberia is being investigated after reports surfaced that health workers were afraid to treat her, the country’s health ministry said Wednesday. Ebola survivor Salomé Karwah died last week …

Republican legislative leaders in Indiana are warning that repealing the Affordable Care Act could unravel a program for poor residents that Vice President Mike Pence implemented as governor, a conservative blueprint for expanding Medicaid under the federal law. Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma and GOP Senate leader David Long said …

An Argentine research base near the northern tip of the Antarctic peninsula has set a heat record at a balmy 17.5 degrees Celsius (63.5° Fahrenheit), the U.N. weather agency said Wednesday. The Experanza base set the high on March 24, 2015, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said after reviewing data …

There’s an old saying that elephants never forget. You also can say they almost never sleep. Scientists on Wednesday said a first-of-its-kind study tracking the sleep behavior of wild elephants found the world’s largest land mammal sleeps two hours per day on average, and some days not at all, and …

More than 700 of the 4,000 native bee species in North America and Hawaii are believed to be inching toward extinction because of increased pesticide use leading to habitat loss, a scientific study showed Wednesday. The Center for Biological Diversity’s report concluded that of the 1,437 native bee species for …

Scientists have identified more than 200 minerals created as side effects of human industries in a sign that mankind’s imprint on the Earth is so deep that it marks a new geological epoch, a study said Wednesday. Rare chemical combinations such as those found in mines, ore dumps or smelters …

Scientists may have found an upside to air pollution. A new study found that two pollutants coming out of the smokestacks at coal-fired power plants interact to make a kind of fertilizer for ocean-dwelling plankton. That may help increase how much planet-warming carbon dioxide the plankton absorb. The authors didn’t …

Researchers are developing a test using a nasal swab that could help doctors determine whether to order further testing in patients suspected of having lung cancer.  The disease is the deadliest of cancers, according to experts, who say that by the time the cancer is found, it has usually spread. …

The World Health Organization says it has noticed mutations in the bird flu virus now spreading in China, but says the risk of the disease spreading easily between people remains low. In a press briefing Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said in about 7 percent of the people infected with …

Facebook is beefing up its suicide prevention tools, including new options for people to report if someone might harm themselves while broadcasting on Facebook Live. Facebook said Wednesday that it’s in a “unique position,” through personal connections people have on Facebook, to help connect those in distress with people who …

[[As people age, their bones can get thinner, their memories can fail, their hormone levels decline and they are more likely to suffer from heart disease. The U.S. National Institutes of Health funded studies to see if testosterone therapy in men could help offset the ravages of age. VOA’s Carol …

In the shadow of New York City, a group of farmers is tending their crop and prepping it for shipment into the Big Apple on a same day basis. But there isn’t a whole lot of room for a farmer’s field in Kearny, New Jersey. That’s where some high tech …

A technique using high-powered lasers to reveal hidden soft tissue alongside bones in fossils is giving scientists insight into one of the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life: small feathered dinosaurs taking flight as birds. Scientists said Tuesday that they had used the method on fossils of the …

Squinting while texting? Always losing your reading glasses? An eye implant that takes about 10 minutes to put in place is the newest in a list of surgical repairs for the blurry close-up vision that is a bane of middle age. But who’s really a good candidate to toss their …

A diet that mimics fasting temporarily put mice in a starvation state, reversing diabetes in the animals, according to a new study. The diet was also shown to reduce the risk factors in people with pre-diabetes Research by investigators at the University of Southern California showed the special, fasting-mimicking diet …

Americans born in 1990 have double the risk of colon cancer and quadruple the risk of rectal cancer than those born around 1950, a new study suggests. The study found that colorectal cancer is on the rise among young and middle-aged adults in their early 50s. Rectal cancer is growing …

Humans are responsible for 84 percent of all wildfires in the United States, a new study suggests. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst say during 20 years, human-started fires have “tripled the length of the fire season and dominated …

Improving housing conditions may provide a boost to malaria prevention at a time when other efforts may be losing steam, according to new research. As Africa rapidly moves away from traditional mud-and-thatch housing, experts see a chance for architects and urban planners to join the fight against the disease.  Bed …

It’s real life back to the future. Architects are taking a new look at wood as they search for renewable, strong building materials with a small carbon footprint. And based on some of the towering structures rising around the world, the sky’s the limit. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …