BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — 2024 was a brutal year for the Amazon rainforest, with rampant wildfires and extreme drought ravaging large parts of a biome that’s a critical counterweight to climate change. A warming climate fed drought that in turn fed the worst year for fires since 2005. And those fires contributed …
your ad hereUkrainian soldiers find rest, restoration at Carpathian mountain retreat
As Russia’s war against Ukraine enters its third year, centers focused on soldiers’ rehabilitation and mental health are appearing across Ukraine. An active serviceman started one such place in his native village in the Carpathian Mountains. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Videographer and video editor: Yuriy Dankevych …
your ad hereTrump energy plans complicated by tariffs, global competition
A different approach to energy is at the center of President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to bring down the cost of living for Americans. But as VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Trump’s plans could be complicated by a complex global interdependence on oil and gas supplies. …
your ad hereUS agency says decongestant in many cold medicines doesn’t work. So what does?
WASHINGTON — Changes are coming to the cold and cough aisle of your local pharmacy: U.S. officials are moving to phase out the leading decongestant found in hundreds of over-the-counter medicines, concluding that it doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion. Phenylephrine is used in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other medications, …
your ad hereCDC says bird flu virus likely mutated within a US patient
A genetic analysis suggests the bird flu virus mutated inside a Louisiana patient who contracted the nation’s first severe case of the illness, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. Scientists believe the mutations may allow the virus to better bind to receptors in the upper …
your ad hereFDA proposes new testing rules to ensure cosmetics are asbestos-free
washington — Cosmetics companies would have to take extra steps to ensure that any products containing talc are free of asbestos under a federal rule proposed Thursday. The proposal from the Food and Drug Administration and mandated by Congress is intended to reassure consumers about the safety of makeup, baby powder …
your ad hereBird flu virus shows mutations in first severe human case in US, agency says
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient’s property. The CDC said the patient’s sample showed …
your ad hereKing Charles thanks medics for his and Kate’s cancer care
London — King Charles thanked the medics who have cared for him and his daughter-in-law Kate, after they both underwent treatment for cancer this year, in a Christmas Day message that touched on global conflicts and the summer’s riots in Britain. In his third Christmas TV broadcast since becoming king, Charles …
your ad hereNASA probe makes closest-ever pass by the sun
WASHINGTON — NASA’s pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 degrees Fahrenheit). Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our …
your ad hereNASA’s Parker Solar Probe aims to fly closer to the sun like never before
NEW YORK — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun’s corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a total …
your ad hereNASA’s future closely connected to commercial space entrepreneurs
The incoming Trump administration inherits efforts by the US space agency, NASA, to return astronauts to the surface of the moon and is turning to commercial space entrepreneurs to help. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more. …
your ad hereWhat Assad’s fall has revealed about Syria’s trade in stimulant drug Captagon
BEIRUT — Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say fed a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug. Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh …
your ad hereSurvey: Most US teens are abstaining from drinking, smoking and marijuana
NEW YORK — Teen drug use hasn’t rebounded from its drop during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous 30 …
your ad hereFrance adds first nuclear reactor in 25 years to grid
PARIS — France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country’s nuclear power network in 25 years. The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years later than …
your ad hereScientists observe ‘negative time’ in quantum experiments
TORONTO — Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it — an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter. Now, researchers at the University of Toronto, through innovative quantum experiments, say they have demonstrated that “negative time” …
your ad hereUS flu season is under way, as cases surge in some areas and vaccinations lag
NEW YORK — The U.S. flu season is under way, with cases surging across much of the country, health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted sharp increases in several measures, including lab tests and emergency room visits. “It’s been increasing at a pretty steady pace now …
your ad hereMusic bridges memory gaps for New York Alzheimer’s patients
The Unforgettable Chorus in New York is using music to help people with memory loss reconnect with family, friends and themselves. Since 2011, the choir has been a beacon of hope, offering a space where those living with dementia can sing, participate and be part of a community. Johny Fernandez …
your ad hereUS deaths are down and life expectancy is up, but improvements are slowing
NEW YORK — U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another — much smaller — improvement this year. Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report …
your ad hereSewage-polluted lake water kills rhinos, other wildlife in Zimbabwe
HARARE, ZIMBABWE — A Zimbabwean national park is hosting relocated wildlife from a game park just outside the country’s capital after an autopsy report on Saturday confirmed that four rhinos and several other animals died after drinking contaminated lake water. Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management …
your ad hereBird flu spillover to other species poses global health threat, experts warn
GENEVA — International human and animal health experts warn the H5N1 avian influenza is evolving quickly and posing a global health threat as the virus is increasingly crossing species barriers and infecting a wide range of domestic and wild mammals. “These developments pose significant challenges to animal, human and environmental health,” …
your ad hereAlabama woman doing well after latest experimental pig kidney transplant
NEW YORK — An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs. Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as …
your ad here‘Gamifying’ health: A new approach to HIV treatment in Africa
The United Nations says the HIV/AIDS epidemic could be ended by 2030. But patients need to follow their treatment plans to keep the virus in check. Games could help, as Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg. …
your ad hereJapan targets 40-50% power supply from renewable energy by 2040
Tokyo — Japan wants renewable energy to account for up to 50% of its electricity mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power taking up another 20%, according to a draft of its revised basic energy policy, as it makes a clean energy push while meeting rising power demand. As the …
your ad hereAttacks on Pakistan polio teams kill vaccinator, 2 police officers
Islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan reported Monday that gunmen targeted vaccination teams in northwestern districts during a nationwide campaign against the paralytic poliovirus, resulting in the deaths of at least one health worker and two police officers. The violence in the militancy-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, also injured several …
your ad hereFive years on from the pandemic, long COVID keeps lives on hold
VIENNA — Three years ago, Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started to make it impossible for her to even take short walks. After seeing a succession of doctors she was diagnosed with long COVID and even now …
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