A simple blood test is highly effective at identifying children infected with tuberculosis so they can be treated before it progresses to a life-threatening disease, according to research by scientists who say it is often difficult to diagnose TB in children. One of the biggest challenges in the global war …

Whether it’s brake fluid in Nigerian teething syrup, melamine in Chinese baby formula, or talcum powder in Kenyan antibiotics, contaminated food and medicine is a deadly problem. Now a group of U.S. scientists in Indiana have found an inexpensive way to test medicines before they cause harm. Erika Celeste reports …

Suicide attempts among teens, particularly those who are gay, lesbian and bisexual, declined in states that legalized same-sex marriage, according to a new study. Writing in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health say their study showed that in states that legalized same-sex marriage …

Yemen has launched a major polio vaccination campaign amid fears the disease could reappear in the war-ravaged nation where the health system is on the verge of collapse and aid agencies are warning of famine. The World Health Organization (WHO), which is supporting the drive, said some 40,000 health workers …

We may soon be able to once again call Pluto a planet, rather than a dwarf planet if some NASA scientists’ proposal gains traction. Pluto was called a planet from 1930 to 2006, when it was demoted because there appeared to be other bodies similar to Pluto orbiting beyond it, …

Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is now legal in 28 U.S. states for either medical or recreational use. Of those states, four legalized recreational marijuana just last November. As public support for pot grows, so does the multibillion-dollar legal cannabis industry. While marijuana is legal in many states, U.S. federal …

With electricity-powered transportation still in its infancy, many of the world’s megacities continue to fight the air pollution, mostly coming from cars’ exhaust pipes. Experts say the best tactic is to avoid the worst polluted zones and spend more time in cleaner air areas. Two startup companies are striving to …

The World Health Organization is spearheading a nationwide polio vaccination drive in conflict-ridden Yemen to immunize more than five million children under age five against this crippling disease. Yemen has been polio free since 2006. Efforts are underway to try to make sure children in this war-torn country remain free …

SpaceX has successfully launched its unmanned Falcon 9 cargo rocket from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The cargo rocket is taking food and other provisions to astronauts on the International Space Station. It is the 10th of 20 cargo missions contracted out to SpaceX by …

A paranoid dictator’s estranged brother. Two young female assassins. A crowded international airport. And a mysterious poison that kills within hours.    It’s the perfect recipe for a thrilling cloak-and-dagger spy novel. Except some, or possibly even all, of this tale could be true in the apparent assassination of Kim …

Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate and zinc, so it’s vital we get enough of it. Humans get a lot of it from the sun, or food or vitamin supplements. A new study suggests Vitamin D plays an even more important role in our health than …

SpaceX halted the planned launch Saturday of its unmanned Falcon 9 cargo rocket with just 13 seconds left on the countdown clock because of a technical issue. The company said on Twitter it was “standing down to take a closer look at positioning of the second stage engine nozzle.” The …

A career of heading a soccer ball may raise the risk of dementia, according to a small new study. Six longtime soccer players who died with dementia were found to have brain injuries from repetitive trauma. The injuries are the same kind found in American football players, boxers and soldiers …

In a Mexican cave system so beautiful and hot that it is called both a fairyland and hell, scientists have discovered life trapped in crystals that could be 50,000 years old.   The bizarre and ancient microbes were found dormant in caves in Naica, Mexico, and were able to exist …

Sea ice normally melts in the summer in the Arctic and Antarctic, and recovers in both poles in their respective winters. But not this year. The World Meteorological Organization reports that sea ice extent in the Arctic and Antarctic was the lowest for the month of January since satellite records …

There may be eight continents after all. Researchers say there is a submerged continent in the southwest Pacific Ocean, that should be considered an eighth continent. They’re calling it Zealandia in a nod to the largest part of the continent that is above water, New Zealand. According to a paper …

As evidence mounts of brain injuries in players of American football, new research suggests even lower-impact soccer — the game the rest of the world calls football — may be hard on the brain as well. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …

Tanzania’s government has stopped 40 privately run health centers from providing AIDS-related services, accusing them of catering to homosexuals in a country where gay sex is criminalized. It is the latest move by this East African country to crack down on the activities of homosexuals. The government believes that non-governmental …

Too many women die in childbirth, and too many babies die during delivery. Dr. Flavia Bustreo at the World Health Organization (WHO) says it’s hard to believe that in 2015, almost 6 million children under age 5 and more than 300,000 mothers died from complications of childbirth. Bustreo heads a …

Nine countries where giving birth is dangerous for both mothers and their babies have decided to improve the odds of survival. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports that these countries, two in Asia and seven in sub-Saharan Africa, have plans for improving the care pregnant women and their babies get, as well …

Two vaccine candidates have been shown to be effective — in one case, 100 percent effective — in preventing malaria.   The biotech firm Sanaria Inc. of Rockville, Maryland, developed the vaccines. They prime the immune system against the malaria parasite by introducing live but weakened sporozoites — the earliest …

An outbreak of H7N9 bird flu in China killed 79 people in January, the most in a single month in at least three years, the country’s national health authority said. More than 250 cases of H7N9 have been reported to the National Health and Family Planning Commission from 16 provinces …

China is adding carfentanil and three related synthetic opioids to its list of controlled substances effective March 1, China’s National Narcotics Control Commission said Thursday.   The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration called the move a potential “game-changer” that is likely to reduce supply of key chemicals driving a surge of …

In its “war” on hazardous air pollution, China’s government has a dilemma: It needs to be open about air quality data to hold polluters to account, but worries that too much bad news from alternative, independent sources could stoke public unrest.  Beijing has greatly improved how it collects data, made …

Fossils including sharks, sea reptiles and squid-like creatures dug up in Idaho reveal a marine ecosystem thriving relatively soon after Earth’s worst mass extinction, contradicting the long-held notion life was slow to recover from the calamity. Scientists on Wednesday described the surprising fossil discovery showing creatures flourishing in the aftermath …