It’s an old riddle: What is the human body’s largest organ? The answer, of course, is skin. And while it’s certainly tough, skin’s enemy is heat. Treating serious burns usually involves placing human or pig skin over the burn to help it heal. Doctors in Brazil are using a unique skin replacement that may also help the healing process. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. … From: MeNeedIt
Fernando Alonso will be hoping to return to his McLaren Formula One day job next week with an Indianapolis 500 victory and another jewel in motor racing’s Triple Crown. For over a century, the Indy 500 has been a magnet to motor racing giants and thrill-seekers eager to test their skill and bravery on the sprawling 2.5-mile oval known as the Brickyard. Alonso, a two-time Formula One world champion, is the latest driver to accept the challenge in a one-off bid to match the late Briton Graham Hill — the …
There’s a glimmer of hope for the American bee population. But, according to a new study, the outlook for this critical insect is mostly grim. Researchers report a slowing of the rate of decline in the bee population over the past year, dropping to its lowest since 2011-2012. But, both commercial and small-scale beekeepers lost 33 percent of their honey bee colonies between April 2016 and April 2017. “While it is encouraging that losses are lower than in the past, I would stop short of calling this ‘good’ news,” said …
Our brains have always been a marker for how we age. And for humans, that mental aging process starts in our 20s. But British researchers are now giving each brain an “age,” and discovering that the brain’s age may be affecting overall human health. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. … From: MeNeedIt
An Indian film that addresses social themes and stars actor Aamir Kahn has captivated audiences in China. The film is thriving, despite the fact that India was the only major country to boycott Beijing’s Belt and Road Forum earlier this month. But the irony and sharp contrast of those two developments was largely lost on the millions of Chinese viewers who have helped keep the Hindi language film land in the top slot, despite the fact that it has subtitles and no voice-over dubbing. Analysts, film critics, and social …
The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than first estimated during the first quarter of this year. The Commerce Department’s Friday report shows expansion at a 1.2 percent annual rate in January, February and March. That is nearly twice as fast as the preliminary estimate, but slower than the end of last year, and much more slowly than the 3 percent rate of expansion that the Trump administration says it will achieve. Officials routinely revise growth estimates as more complete data becomes available. Many experts say the economy …
Africa loses an estimated $50 billion a year to illicit financial flows, leaving governments strapped for cash and dependent on development aid. The continent is “hemorrhaging” money because of the failure of countries to enact strong legislation to check money flows, says Rose Acha, Cameroon’s supreme state audit minister and secretary general of the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Instead, uncontrolled transactions are common. “Whatever the source of your money, we don’t know, but we welcome those who want to deposit money,” said Faison Winifred of Investment Fund, a …
Two truck owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against General Motors, alleging the company rigged diesel pickups to cheat government emissions tests. The suit was filed Thursday in federal court in Detroit, home of the country’s largest car builder. GM is accused of installing three devices on hundreds of thousands of trucks, allowing them to spew less pollution in tests than they would on the road, under real-life driving conditions. Plaintiffs Andrei Fenner of Mountain View, California, and Joshua Herman of Sulphur, Louisiana, said they wouldn’t have purchased, or wouldn’t …
Scientists looking at the first pictures of the planet Jupiter sent by the NASA probe Juno were shocked at what they saw: monster cyclones, hundreds of kilometers wide, tearing across the planet’s north and south poles. The scientists said the poles are nothing like the planet’s familiar placid and colorful equatorial region. “That’s the Jupiter we’ve all known and grown to love,” Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute, an applied research and development organization in San Antonio, Texas, said in an article released Thursday in the journal Science. “And …
National parks traveler Mikah Meyer had plenty of fun among giant powdery dunes recently, as he celebrated a milestone. He’s exactly one-third of the way through his 3-year journey to visit all 417 sites within the U.S. National Park Service. The young adventurer shared highlights of his 139th site visit with VOA’s Julie Taboh. … From: MeNeedIt
On the political and military front, U.S.-China relations have been an often-tense dance between governments. However, in arts and education, many say the relationship is deepening. There is debate among Americans as to whether the ties are positive or negative. Some say this is progress that is reaping economic and cultural benefits for citizens in both countries. “When people collaborate on making anything artistic, there’s an emotional pull inside of that and if it works well, you not only have a great business, you also have a great diplomatic cohesion …
It’s probably not a good idea to decide what to eat based on how many calories your wearable fitness tracker says you’ve burned, according to a new study. Researchers at Stanford University in California, who tested several popular fitness trackers on 60 volunteers, say the fitness trackers are good for measuring heart rate and counting steps, but they’re bad at measuring energy expenditure. The volunteers, 29 men and 31 women, engaged in a variety of physical activities, including walking or running on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike. Their …
California-based company Rocket Lab said Thursday it had launched a test rocket into space from its New Zealand launch pad, although the rocket didn’t reach orbit as hoped. The company said its Electron rocket lifted off at 4:20 p.m. Thursday and reached space three minutes later. “It has been an incredible day and I’m immensely proud of our talented team,” company founder Peter Beck said in a statement. Beck, a New Zealander, said the early stages of the mission went well. “We didn’t quite reach orbit …
A new study suggests that probiotics, so-called “good” bacteria that aid in digestion, may also ease symptoms of depression. The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that what happens in the gut affects the brain. Some 300 to 500 bacterial species inhabit the human gut, many aiding in digestion and the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Experts say some of these bacteria produce proteins that communicate with the brain. Your gut, your mood The gut flora not only play a role in helping to orchestrate the neural …
In a San Francisco kitchen, chefs are re-creating everyday foods, such as eggs, mayonnaise, salad dressings and cookies from unconventional sources. “Playing with ingredients that are totally different in the food system is a lot like walking on the moon. We’re doing things no one has ever done before so it’s challenging,” said chef Chris Jones, who heads product development at the Hampton Creek technology company. While vegetarian foods have been around as long as there have been vegetarians, a new generation of companies, mostly from California, is using new …
Cities across the United States have erected memorials to the hometown heroes who fought and died in America’s wars, from the American Revolution of 1776 to the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Washington, DC, is no exception. The capital city area is home to some of the best-known military monuments, as Faith Lapidus reports on this Memorial Day. … From: MeNeedIt
According to the National Institutes of Health, 17 percent of people around the world will be 65 or older by 2050. Currently it is just more than 8 percent. That expected flood of elderly people is prompting authorities to think about new ways to care for them, and no surprise, the internet is involved. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. … From: MeNeedIt
According to a recent analysis, in about 15 years, depending on the country, up to 38 percent of jobs performed by humans may be turned over to robots. Experts who gathered last week at a robotic expo in Paris say we have to prepare for the new reality if we want to avoid disruptive social changes. VOA’s George Putic reports. … From: MeNeedIt
There are an estimated 39 million blind people in the world. Another 200 million, people like Julissa Marquez, are visually impaired. A knife attack left her with a less than 10 percent chance of having useful vision. But some new technology has literally opened her eyes. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. … From: MeNeedIt
As he wrapped up his journey through southwestern Texas, national parks traveler Mikah Meyer admits he didn’t allocate enough days for his visit to the huge — and hugely popular — Big Bend National Park and Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River. “Big Bend is so huge that to go from the western edge of the park to the eastern edge is about 50 miles (80 kilometers),” he said. “I planned three days for Big Bend and one day for the Rio Grande and I really should have had more days.” But he still managed to …
Ariana Grande returned to the United States on Tuesday, one day after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at the singer’s concert in Manchester, England, as questions lingered over whether she would continue her European tour. Grande, 23, was seen in photographs posted by Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper walking down the steps of a private plane at an airport in her hometown of Boca Raton, Florida, and being met by family members. The Daily Mail images showed the diminutive pop star dressed casually in sweats and appearing downcast as she …
Country singer Angaleena Presley takes on Nashville in her new CD Wrangled. … From: MeNeedIt
A tattoo artist in California has created what many of us can’t imagine — a tattoo that also produces sound. Artist Nate Siggard inks audio soundwaves onto the skin that makes it possible to hear music or someone’s voice by using a smartphone app. VOA’s Deborah Block explains how he does it. … From: MeNeedIt
Ethiopian official Tedros Adhanom Gheybreysus has been elected director-general of the World Health Organization. Tedros won the post in two rounds of balloting Tuesday, defeating Dr. David Nabarro of Britain and Dr. Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani cardiologist. The vote by 185 member states took place by secret ballot after the candidates made last minute pitches. The candidates have been campaigning for this fiercely contested post for the past year-and-a-half. As they approached the final stretch, each in turn presented his or her most persuasive arguments for becoming the new director-general …
One of the largest cancer prevention studies of its kind to date reached a sobering conclusion. Just one alcoholic drink per day can increase the risk of breast cancer in women. But researchers also concluded there are things women can do to decrease their risk of breast cancer. The study by the American Institute for Cancer Research was a review of 119 prior studies involving 12 million women, 260,000 of who had developed breast cancer. Lead author Anne McTiernan is a cancer prevention expert at Fred Hutchinson Cancer …
U.S. President Donald Trump is proposing major changes in the way Washington’s $4.1 trillion budget is spent, with more money for the military, border security, and veterans. The just-published budget for next year also slashes money for programs that benefit the poor. Trump’s top budget official Mick Mulvaney says for the first time the budget looks at spending from the point of view of the taxpayers, rather than the people who get government help. The director of the Office of Management and Budget says the budget translates Trump’s campaign promises …