Author: Dmedia

A preliminary investigation into viral pneumonia illnesses sickening dozens of people in and around China has identified the possible cause as a new type of coronavirus, state media said Thursday.Chinese health authorities did not immediately confirm the report from state broadcaster CCTV.Coronaviruses are spread through…

Volcanoes can be among earth's deadliest natural phenomena, challenging researchers tasked with monitoring surface pressure and other conditions to, ultimately, save lives.  VOA's Arash Arabasadi reports on one scientist who hikes off-the-grid to keep tabs on an active volcano in Ecuador. ...

The World Meteorological Organization warns Australians should brace for a protracted summer of catastrophic bush fires, blaming climate change for record-breaking heat waves and persistent drought.Australia's summer fire season usually begins in late January or early February, but got off to an early and catastrophic…

Virgin Galactic's next passenger spaceship has reached a major construction milestone, the company said Wednesday.All major structural elements have been assembled and the rocket plane is standing on its own landing gear at Mojave Air & Space Port in California, Virgin Galactic said in a…

What can Malaysia teach Southeast Asia about water resources? A new study shows that Malaysia has been able to spread access to toilets and safe  sanitation to nearly 100% of the partial island nation. After some trial and error, its experience offers some lessons for…

Hong Kong’s health chief said Tuesday that a respiratory illness whose cause remains unknown will be added to an official list of diseases that medical practitioners are required to report to the government.The disease — an unidentified form of viral pneumonia — has sent 59…

U.S. insurers and providers spent more than $800 billion in 2017 on administration, or nearly $2,500 per person — more than four times the per-capita administrative costs in Canada's single-payer system, a new study finds.Over one third of all healthcare costs in the U.S. were…

Asthma is often controlled with an inhaler, or, sometimes, with medication. When neither works, it might be that the patient doesn't have asthma at all. VOA's Carol Pearson reports that researchers have found another disease with the same symptoms as asthma that actually starts in…

In a move that could put the Obama-era health law squarely in the middle of the 2020 election, Democratic-led states Friday asked the Supreme Court for a fast-track review of a recent court ruling that declared part of the statute unconstitutional and cast a cloud…

Illinois, the largest Midwestern state in the U.S.,  is beginning 2020 with the implementation of a new law that allows people to legally buy marijuana for recreational use. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act also also allows the governor to pardon thousands for past low-level…

Australia's unprecedented wildfires are supercharged thanks to climate change, the type of trees catching fire and weather, experts say.And these fires are so extreme that they are triggering their own thunderstorms.Here are a few questions and answers about the science behind the Australian wildfires that…

More companies could begin making an easy-to-use version of an opioid overdose antidote under a deal announced Thursday by New York's attorney general.Under the agreement, Emergent BioSolutions will no longer enforce a contract that had allowed it to be the only company to sell naloxone…

For three decades, paleontologists the world over have been split over a provocative finding: Did a dwarf species of Tyrannosaurus rex really once exist?In 1988, paleontologist Robert Bakker and his colleagues at the Cleveland (Ohio) Museum of Natural History reclassified a specimen first discovered in…

U.S. health officials will ban most flavored e-cigarettes popular with underage teenagers, but with major exceptions that benefit vaping manufacturers, retailers and adults who use the nicotine-emitting devices.The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will prohibit fruit, candy, mint and dessert flavors from small, cartridge-based…

The number of deaths in major air crashes around the globe fell by more than half in 2019, according to a report by an aviation consulting firm.The To70 consultancy said Wednesday that 257 people died in eight fatal accidents in 2019. That compares to 534…

A Google artificial intelligence system proved as good as expert radiologists at detecting which women had breast cancer based on screening mammograms and showed promise at reducing errors, researchers in the United States and Britain reported.The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, is the…

Thanks to a very special gift, one family is exceptionally grateful to be celebrating the New Year together this year. Bronwyn Benito tells us about a new surgical technique that makes it easier to give the gift of life. ...

Illinois started the new year on a high note Wednesday, becoming the latest U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana as the governor pardoned thousands for past low-level cannabis convictions.The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act will allow residents 21 and older to legally purchase marijuana and…

The world has a plastic pollution problem.  That is the big picture.  It has countries looking for creative solutions.  Environmentalists say there's no more time for talk.  As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, they say it's time for action  ...

Haunted by the ongoing war in their country, more and more youth in Yemen are facing mental health problems. The International Committee of the Red Cross says that widespread conflict, severe economic decline, food insecurity and the collapse of essential public services continue to take…

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the federal government will soon announce a new strategy to tackle underage vaping, promising, “We’re going to protect our families, we’re going to protect our children, and we’re going to protect the industry.”Trump was vague about what the plan…

East Africa has the highest rates of cervical cancer in the world, according to the World Health Organization. In October, Kenya launched a mass vaccination of girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV),which can lead to cervical cancer. For those who acquired HPV, the vaccine is…

Carol Lee collaborates with University of Montpellier colleagues researching how tiny plankton cope in an ever-saltier Mediterranean sea and a freshwater-infused Baltic one. From the foothills of the French Pyrenees, Camille Parmesan experiments with cutting-edge climate modeling, hoping it may offer clues for future biodiversity…

A recent study has revealed an increase in violence against women and children resulting from the conflict in Yemen.   Research by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies shows women and girls in Yemen have been affected by rape, kidnapping and domestic violence, while boys face…

Amid an alarming surge in vaping among teenagers, Congress recently approved an unprecedented measure to curb tobacco and e-cigarette use nationwide, especially among teens.Congress voted to increase the legal age to buy tobacco and vape products from 18 to 21 as part of a major…

The year 2019 saw a totally preventable disease claim the lives of more than 140,000 people, mostly children and babies. It happened as unvaccinated children created a pathway for measles outbreaks globally. Some of the outbreaks are still continuing.Samoan Emite Talaalevea lost her daughter. She…

The World Health Organization says East Africa has the highest rate of cervical cancer in the world.  In October, Kenya launched a mass vaccination of girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer.  The vaccine is being welcomed by HPV patients,…

Chinese experts are investigating an outbreak of respiratory illness in the central city of Wuhan that some have likened to the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic.The city's health commission said in a statement Tuesday that 27 people had fallen ill with a strain of viral pneumonia, seven…