Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg will leave North America and begin her return trip across the Atlantic on Wednesday aboard a 48-foot (15-meter) catamaran sailboat whose passengers include an 11-month-old baby.The boat leaves little to no carbon footprint, boasting …
The most distant world ever explored 4 billion miles away finally has an official name: Arrokoth.That means “sky” in the language of the Native American Powhatan people, NASA said Tuesday.NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew past the snowman-shaped Arrokoth on New …
Deep in the rainforest of Volcanoes National Park, a 23-year-old female gorilla named Kurudi feeds on a stand of wild celery. She bends the green stalks and, with long careful fingers, peels off the exterior skin to expose the succulent …
Over the past couple of years, many smokers have made the switch to electronic cigarettes in what is called vaping. The appeal is the idea that vapers get all the benefits from smoking cigarettes without the tar and ash. However, …
This week the European Commission gave approval to a Ebola vaccine — an act that the World Health Organization calls landmark moment for global health and a likely game-changer in the battle against this deadly disease. This is the first time an …
Zimbabwe’s parks agency says more than 200 elephants have died amid a severe drought, and a mass relocation of animals is planned to ease congestion. Spokesman Tinashe Farawo on Tuesday said at least 200 elephants have died in vast …
French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting an international peace forum in the notable absence of the United States, to discuss solutions to ease the world’s tensions, including fighting terrorism and climate change.Some 30 heads of state or government, high level …
Stargazers witnessed a rare celestial event on Monday, as Mercury passed directly across the face of the sun.Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet and closest to the sun, won’t make the next such transit until 2032.The tiny planet traveled directly …
A blanket of smog has once again enshrouded India’s capital after a weekend of clearer air and better weather. The morning air quality index Monday at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi was 497.AQI between 301 and 500 is considered “hazardous” …
Ecologists are urging creative solutions to clean up plastic waste choking waterways and threatening ecosystems across the globe. The United Nations Children’s Fund partnered with a Colombian company to turn piles of plastic into the building blocks of education in …
Artificial intelligence or AI, is broadly defined as the technology that allows machines to do tasks that only humans have done in the past. However, as that technology continues to advance there is a growing conversation about ensuring that machines …
The first successful organ transplant surgery was performed in 1954 in Boston, MA, and since then millions of such operations have been done. Yet despite the revolution in this sphere of medicine, one challenge remains – how to get the …
U.S. health officials say they have found the likely cause of a mysterious illness in people who smoke e-cigarettes, describing the findings as a “breakthrough.”Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that a compound known …
President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will pursue raising the age to purchase electronic cigarettes from 18 to 21 in its upcoming plans to combat youth vaping. Trump told reporters his administration will release its final plans for restricting e-cigarettes …
Mercury is putting on a rare celestial show next week, parading across the sun in view of most of the world. The solar system’s smallest, innermost planet will resemble a tiny black dot Monday as it passes directly between …
Studies show when people pet an animal, their blood pressure goes down along with stress and anxiety. That’s why therapy dogs are increasingly found in schools, counseling centers and even in hospitals. VOA’s Carol Pearson reports on two hospitals that …
Anthropologists have found skeletons of at least 14 woolly mammoths that died after falling into traps built by humans 15,000 years ago. The two pits were found in Tultepec, just north of Mexico City, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and …
Two leading U.N. agencies are warning that growing mental health disorders among children and adolescents are driving them to engage in increasingly risky, self-destructive behavior. The World Health Organization and the U.N. children’s fund, which on Thursday opened a three-day conference …
A federal judge has thrown out a Trump administration rule that would have let health care providers refuse to perform abortions and other medical procedures on religious or moral grounds.Judge Paul Engelmayer said Wednesday that the rule was unconstitutional, arbitrary …
New research in the United Kingdom has added another reason to vaccinate kids. A measles infection can zap the immune system’s “memory” — putting people at risk all over again for diseases they already had, such as chickenpox. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi looks at a …