The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is known historically as an important nuclear research center. But as VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, a critical present-day mission at the suburban Chicago facility is using some of the world’s most sophisticated …
Eastern Congo marked an official end Thursday to the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which killed 2,280 people over nearly two years, as armed rebels and community mistrust undermined the promise of new vaccines.Thursday’s milestone was overshadowed, though, by …
Hannah Gjerde starts her day at her hot-mat yoga class on the front lawn of her parent’s home, right before settling onto the couch for the rest of the day. “Being home makes it hard because my dad will be in the …
A massive cloud of Saharan dust darkened much of Cuba on Wednesday and began to affect air quality in Florida, sparking warnings to people with respiratory illnesses to stay home.The dust cloud swept across the Atlantic from Africa over the …
Germany-based Bayer will pay nearly $11 billion to settle thousands of current and future lawsuits over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, the company announced Wednesday. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann called it “the right action at the right time.” Along with the …
Germany is banning the sale of single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and food containers, bringing it in line with a European Union directive intended to reduce the amount of plastic garbage that pollutes the environment.The Cabinet agreed Wednesday to end …
The Trump administration’s recent decision to roll back civil rights protections for transgender people in health care has outraged civil rights activists and organizations advocating for transgender rights. The administration move comes as the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark …
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday it is seeking to investigate record high temperatures reported from inside the Arctic Circle June 20. At a news conference in Geneva, WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told reporters the U.N. weather agency …
Honeybees are coming back after record losses in 2019, a survey of U.S. beekeepers says. The Bee Informed Partnership says this past winter was one of the smallest loss of colonies in 14 years. Researchers credit better management by beekeepers for the resurgence in colonies. “The reason why colonies can die are very multiple …
American honeybee colonies have bounced back after a bad year, the annual beekeeping survey finds. Beekeepers lost only 22.2% of their colonies this past winter, from Oct. 1 to March 31, which is lower than the average of 28.6%, according to …
Thai scientists administered a second dose of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to monkeys on Monday, looking for another positive response to enable clinical trials in humans as early as October. The Thai vaccine is one of at least 100 being worked …
The COVID-19 pandemic could affect availability and distribution of antiretroviral medicine used to treat HIV, UNAIDS said Monday.A recent survey conducted by UNAIDS showed the impacts that lockdowns and border closures imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus will …
AIDS activist Larry Kramer used to wear an oversized rectangular turquoise ring on his left finger, tinged with variations of green. A turquoise band circled a second finger. Two large turquoise rings decorated his other hand.When Kramer first moved to …
25 years ago this month (June), a landmark U.S. medical trial began testing a drug that would prove to be the first effective treatment of HIV/AIDS. It spawned a generation of drugs that saved countless lives and is still helping to prevent the spread of the virus today. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti takes us back to a time when the AIDS epidemic raged unchecked, and introduces us to a man who would …
One of the coldest places on Earth on Saturday became one of the hottest places on Earth. A Russian heat wave sent the thermometer in the Siberian town of Verkhoyansk soaring to 38 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Meteorologists say that would be the highest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle. Verkhoyansk is about 10 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Temperatures …
Many amateur astronomers in Africa and Asia had the chance to observe Sunday, for the summer solstice, a rare solar eclipse of the “ring of fire” type, despite the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus and sometimes unfavorable climatic conditions.This astronomical …
Sickle cell patients in Cameroon on this year’s World Sickle Cell Day on June 19, asked to be given additional care and support. They say the genetic disorder primarily seen in people of African descent puts them more at risk …
Giant footprints found in a disused coal mine belong to Australia’s biggest predatory dinosaur, according to new research.Analysis by the University of Queensland estimates this huge meat-eating predator was about 10 meters long, almost as big as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. …
Commercial insurers are scrutinizing building managers’ efforts to avoid outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease as they reopen movie theaters, gyms, schools and offices that had been closed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources told Reuters. Legionnaires’ disease is a …
The U.N.’s World Food Program says its humanitarian air service could stop at the end of July without more funds to keep operating. The service transports food, health supplies and other necessities to millions of poor, vulnerable people around …