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Sometime next year, genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in an effort to combat persistent insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever and the Zika virus.The plan approved this week by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District calls for a pilot project…

U.S. space weather forecasters say the Earth on Thursday received a glancing blow from a "coronal mass ejection" (CME) – effectively, a solar eruption – first detected on the surface of the sun four days ago.  The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the…

The man-made mega constellation orbiting Earth grew again this week after another history-making commercial launch.  Satellite images document a quarter century of melting ice on Earth, plus images of our home planet from space and of space from our home planet.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.Produced by: …

Environmentalists are increasingly alarmed at the growing pace of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.  With the fire season under way, Brazil’s rainforests face the threat of even more destruction. The number of trees destroyed has accelerated since Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2019.  Facing criticism, the Brazilian leader is defending his policy on rainforests and…

The World Health Organization's (WHO’s) Europe office said it has begun discussions with Russia regarding the COVID-19 vaccine that the nation approved last week without the advanced trials normally required to prove a vaccine works.In a virtual news conference from the organization’s Copenhagen office, the…

While medical school students gain key healing skills as their education progresses, one important quality seems to wane: empathy.According to a study from FILE - Medical students hug during a demonstration, June 5, 2020, in Salt Lake City, Utah.DOs are fully licensed physicians who practice…

Firefighters in Brazil say strong winds and hot dry weather are making it difficult to battle thousands of blazes burning in the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said it spotted more than 3,100 fires in the first two weeks…

Police on Mauritius have arrested the captain of the Japanese carrier that ran aground off the coast last month, spilling 1,000 metric tonnes of oil and causing possible irreparable damage to coral reefs.Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar, the Indian captain of the MV Wakashio, was charged Tuesday…

Scientists in Kenya have harvested 10 eggs from the last two remaining northern white rhinos in the race to keep the species from total extinction.The two females – Najin and Fatuwill who are mother and daughter – live at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Because neither one…

The World Meteorological Organization says temperatures of 54.4 degrees (Celsius) reported Sunday at Furnace Creek, Death Valley in the U.S. state of California, may be the third hottest on Earth.The U.N. weather agency is assembling an international team of atmospheric scientists to verify the temperatures…

One of the hottest air temperatures recorded anywhere on the planet in at least a century, and possibly ever, was reached on Sunday afternoon at Death Valley in California's Mojave Desert where it soared to 130 Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius). An automated observation system run by…

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) director-general Tuesday issued another warning against “vaccine nationalism,” -- countries putting their own interests ahead of others in trying to secure supplies of a possible vaccine.  At the agency’s regular briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Nationalism…

A U.S. based vaccine development company is set to begin the second phase of human testing for its COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, which is in the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases.  Novavax said in a statement that the clinical trials will include 2,665 healthy adults in South Africa. The trials will…

South Africa, with the continent’s highest burden of COVID-19, has reached the peak of the pandemic, according to the president and top health officials.  President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a loosening of restrictions but said that he is not yet breathing a sigh of relief. A ray…

NASA scientists say a small but significant “dent” in Earth’s magnetic field is expanding and splitting and continuing to weaken intensity, which could impact low-orbit satellites circling the globe.According to scientists, Earth’s magnetic field acts like a protective shield, blocking and trapping charged particles —…

Work began Monday to remove the two pieces of a grounded Japanese ship that leaked tons of oil into the protected coast of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius and broke apart. Tug boats will pull the bow — the smaller part of the…

A U.S. disease expert says COVID-19 survivors may expect to be immune from another case for as long as one year. Former Food and Drug Administration official Dr. Scott Gottleib appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday to talk about new findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say a three-month immunity is a certainty.  “But it's probably the case that you're…

As the novel coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring, Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis. Money for test kits. Money to administer tests. Money to hire contact tracers. And yet even more money for…

Geoff Woolf gave his sons a love for literature. When he got sick with COVID-19, they turned to books to help him — and others.   The 73-year-old retired lawyer was hospitalized in London in March, and within days he was on a ventilator in…

A U.S. disease expert says COVID-19 survivors may expect to be immune from another case for as long as one year. Former Food and Drug Administration official Dr. Scott Gottleib appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday to talk about new findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say a three-month immunity is a certainty.  “But it's probably the case that you're…

A U.S. disease expert says COVID-19 survivors may expect to be immune from another case for as long as one year. Former Food and Drug Administration official Dr. Scott Gottleib appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday to talk about new findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say a three-month immunity is a certainty.  “But it's probably the case that you're…

Canada announced Friday that the border it shares with the U.S. will remain closed to nonessential travel for another month as the U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID-19 deaths and coronavirus infections.Many Canadians remain concerned about reopening the border after Canada successfully flattened…

Canada announced Friday that the border it shares with the U.S. will remain closed to non-essential travel for another month as the U.S. continues to lead the world in COVID-19 deaths and coronavirus infections.Many Canadians remain concerned about reopening the border after Canada successfully flattened…