Month: April 2023

Mozambique has asked the World Health Organization to supply an additional 2 million doses of a cholera vaccine as the country struggles to control a spreading outbreak.  The head of the Department of National Health Surveillance at the Ministry of Health, Domingos Guihole, told VOA…

Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones that were dug up from three sites in the United States and assembled into a single skeleton sold at Tuesday at a Switzerland auction for 4.8 million francs ($5.3 million), below the expected price. Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the…

Kenya is using the launch of its first operational observation satellite to promote space education and science through space clubs in schools. Kenya launched an operational 3U nanosatellite April 15 aboard the SpaceX Falcon Force base in the U.S. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi, Kenya.…

Scientists found coastal species of shellfish and anemones living and breeding on floating islands of garbage in the Pacific thousands of miles from home, a study revealed Monday.  Environmentalists have for years been eyeing what they call the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" — masses of…

Two years ago, Paul's teacher noticed that the 10-year-old boy could no longer see anything on the board at the front of the class. An ophthalmologist confirmed that Paul was one of the soaring number of children worldwide with myopia, also known as nearsightedness, an…

Nigeria has granted provisional approval to Oxford University's R21 malaria vaccine, its medicines regulator said Monday, making it the second country to do so after Ghana last week.  The approvals are unusual as they have come before the publication of final-stage trial data for the…

The Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday set big new collective targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels. But they stopped short of endorsing a 2030 deadline…

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made an appearance at an abortion rights rally in Los Angeles on Saturday, one of a number of such rallies held around the country following recent court rulings limiting access to abortion. “When you attack the rights of women in…

Cindy Powers was driven into bankruptcy by 19 life-saving abdominal operations. Medical debt started stacking up for Lindsey Vance after she crashed her skateboard and had to get nine stitches in her chin. And for Misty Castaneda, open heart surgery for a disease she'd had…

Elon Musk's SpaceX is about to take its most daring leap yet with a round-the-world test flight of its mammoth Starship. It's the biggest and mightiest rocket ever built, with the lofty goal of ferrying people to the moon and Mars. Jutting almost 120 meters…

A man in Chile is infected with a bird flu that has concerning mutations, but the threat to people from the virus remains low, U.S. health officials said Friday. Past animal studies suggest these mutations could cause the virus to be more harmful or spread…

For 35 years, the Emsland nuclear power plant in northwestern Germany has reliably provided millions of homes with electricity and many with well-paid jobs in what was once an agricultural backwater. Now, it and the country's two other remaining nuclear plants are being shut down.…

A trio of health care bills enshrining access in Colorado to abortion and gender-affirming procedures and medications became law Friday as the Democrat-led state tries to make itself a safe haven for its neighbors, whose Republican leaders are restricting care.  The main goal of the…

The Biden administration and a drug manufacturer asked the Supreme Court on Friday to preserve access to an abortion drug free from restrictions imposed by lower court rulings, while a legal fight continues.  The Justice Department and Danco Laboratories both warned of "regulatory chaos" and…

Taifa 1, Kenya's first operational 3U nanosatellite, was set to launch aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in the U.S. state of California on Friday after being delayed twice. But the launch was scrubbed at the last minute because…

A European spacecraft rocketed away Friday on a decadelong quest to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons that could have buried oceans. The journey began with a morning liftoff by Europe's Ariane rocket from French Guiana in South America. Arianespace's chief executive Stephane…

The World Health Organization says that the focus of this year’s World Chagas Disease Day observation is expanding awareness of Chagas and on “providing access to crucial care and implementing disease surveillance, at the primary health care level.” The Centers for Disease Control says Chagas…

A Zimbabwean actress battling cancer has asked wealthy citizens to buy a radiotherapy machine for government hospitals because she says the country's only unit has stopped working. As Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, many blame Zimbabwe’s high mortality rate among cancer patients on the country’s…

The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by the Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as he prepares for an expected presidential run. DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law. Florida currently prohibits…

The U.S. Department of Justice responded Thursday to a ruling that limits access to the abortion pill mifepristone and said it would ask the Supreme Court for an emergency order to put any restrictions on hold. After conflicting rulings by various courts on mifepristone, a…