The World Health Organization’s endorsement of the world’s first malaria vaccine marks a major advance against the mosquito-borne illness, which kills some 265,000 children in Africa annually. Bitrus Yusuf pours syrup into a measuring cup to give to his three-year-old daughter and grandson who are sick with malaria.  He said …

Attention asteroid aficionados: NASA is set to launch a series of spacecraft to visit and even bash some of the solar system’s most enticing space rocks.  The robotic trailblazer named Lucy is up first, blasting off this weekend on a 12-year cruise to swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter — …

The world’s most famous “starship captain” takes the trek of a lifetime. Plus, new software makes possible virtual trips through the universe, and a mining company in Greenland offers a potentially planet-saving alternative to aluminum. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us the Week in Space. …

he effects of climate change are expected to push more than 200 million people from their homes by 2050, according to the World Bank. The impacts are already being felt in the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, where four major weather disasters struck in a nine month period. VOA’s Steve …

Victoria state has Thursday reported 2,297 new local COVID-19 cases — the highest number of daily infections recorded by any Australian state or territory since the pandemic began. But as infections surge, authorities hope to lift a lockdown in Melbourne within days when vaccination rates reach 70%. A 107-day lockdown …

COVID-19 cases among U.S. service members have been on a steady decline over the last month, as more service members have become vaccinated ahead of the Defense Department’s fast-approaching vaccination compliance deadlines. The number of cases reached 4,902 the week of Sept. 8 but dropped to 863 cases last week, …

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 economies Wednesday pledged to keep economic stimulus policies in place to ensure a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid ongoing risks, “We will continue to sustain the recovery, avoiding any premature withdrawal of support measures,” according to the official communique released after the …

The chief of the World Health Organization on Wednesday honored the late Henrietta Lacks, an American woman whose cancer cells were taken without her knowledge during the 1950s and ended up providing the foundation for vast scientific breakthroughs, including research about the coronavirus.    The recognition from WHO Director-General Tedros …

A report marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction finds many deaths and economic losses from natural disasters could be averted by investing in preventive risk reduction measures.  Climate-related disasters have nearly doubled over the past 20 years, with developing countries bearing the brunt of the damage. Though extreme …

Two Israeli scientists have grown a group of date palms from 2,000 year-old seeds. This year, one of the trees produced a harvest of hundreds of dates that until now had been considered extinct. Linda Gradstein reports from Kibbutz Ketura in Israel’s Arava desert. Camera: Ricki Rosen. …

A tropical storm set off landslides and flash floods as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and seven missing, officials said Tuesday.  More than 6,500 villagers were evacuated from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods and battered by …

As William Shatner prepares to be beamed up Wednesday for his first real-life spaceflight, and to become at 90 the oldest person ever to enter the final frontier, he’s bringing out the awe in the small handful of people around a rural Texas spaceport.  Shatner’s 10-minute trip with three others …

People over the age of the 60 without heart disease should not take low-dose aspirin daily to prevent a first stroke or heart attack, according to an independent panel of U.S. health experts. In a draft of new guidelines released online Tuesday, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said bleeding …

A group of World Health Organization experts is calling for 70 percent of the global population to be fully vaccinated by mid-2022 to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from progressing in more dangerous ways. The 15-member Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, known as SAGE, which makes recommendations to WHO on vaccine …

Severe storms brought suspected tornadoes and baseball-sized hail to parts of Oklahoma, but there were no reports Monday of deaths or injuries.  The severe weather system that hit Oklahoma late Sunday also brought heavy rain, lightning and wind to parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas, and more stormy weather …

The World Health Organization said Monday that constructive action against climate change could save “millions” of lives.  Ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, scheduled for October 31, the WHO is urging governments to reach concrete agreements to combat climate change.  “Countries must set ambitious national …

A key U.N. summit tasked with protecting biodiversity officially opens in China and online Monday, as countries meet to tackle pollution and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference. Beijing, the world’s biggest polluter, has sought to position itself in recent years as a world leader on climate …

Some days, all Tsimamorekm Aly eats is sugary water. He’s happy if there’s a handful of rice. But with six young kids and a wife to support, he often goes without.  This is the fourth year that drought has devastated Aly’s home in southern Madagascar. Now more than one million people, or …

From the door of the expedition base, a few small steps to the left an autonomous rover passes by. A few giant leaps to the right is an array of solar panels. The landscape is rocky, hilly, tinged with red. Purposefully it resembles Mars. Here, in the Ramon Crater in …

The World Health Organization is calling on governments to allocate the money needed to increase access to mental health treatment.  WHO has published a new Mental Health Atlas marking World Mental Health Day Sunday.    Data collected from 171 countries show none of the World Health Assembly targets for the provision …

A report in The New York Times says that the manufacturers of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine which “appears to be the world’s best defense against COVID-19, has been supplying its shots almost exclusively to wealthy nations, keeping poorer countries waiting and earning billions in profit.” The newspaper said their report …

When Russian regulators approved the country’s own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot. So when the family from Rostov-on-Don …

The COVID-19 outbreak has apparently sparked a global rise in depression and anxiety. According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, there were millions more of such cases last year than had been projected. Women and young people were the groups most affected by pandemic-related depression and …

When the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped record-breaking rain on the East Coast this month, staircases into New York City’s subway tunnels turned into waterfalls and train tracks became canals. In Philadelphia, a commuter line along the Schuylkill River was washed out for miles, and the nation’s busiest rail line, …

President Joe Biden on Friday signed legislation that will provide financial support to U.S. government employees believed to be suffering from the so-called Havana syndrome, mysterious health incidents that have affected American intelligence officers, diplomats and other personnel around the world. “Today, I was pleased to sign the HAVANA Act …