https://www.voanews.com/z/607 health https://www.voanews.com/Content/responsive/VOA/en-US/img/logo.png https://www.voanews.com/z/607 en 2026 - VOA 60 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:12:50 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA The replacement crew for the International Space Station was launched late Friday, paving the way for the return home of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two NASA astronauts stuck on the space station for nine months.The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying Crew-10 members: NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov. The crew is part of a routine six-month rotation.Crew-10 and the... https://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-spacex-launch-crew-to-space-station-to-retrieve-stuck-astronauts/8011575.html https://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-spacex-launch-crew-to-space-station-to-retrieve-stuck-astronauts/8011575.html Sat, 15 Mar 2025 06:04:44 -0400 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) March 14 is Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant of pi, representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.The holiday is observed on March 14 or 3/14 because 3.14 are the first three digits of the infinite number pi — 3.14159 ... and on and on.The celebration of Pi Day was the brainchild of physicist Larry Shaw and was first observed in 1988 at San Francisco’s Exploratorium, a science museum, and has since grown into an international event.At that... https://www.voanews.com/a/pi-day-counts-on-never-ending-numerical-sequence-for-march-14-celebrations-/8011286.html https://www.voanews.com/a/pi-day-counts-on-never-ending-numerical-sequence-for-march-14-celebrations-/8011286.html Fri, 14 Mar 2025 19:57:14 -0400 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Researchers warn that type 2 diabetes could affect millions more people in the coming decades after a study published this month revealed the disease is rising far faster among people in sub-Saharan Africa than previously thought.Take 51-year-old security guard Sibusiso Sithole, for example. Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes came as a shock, he said, because he walked six miles to and from work every day and never thought his weight was a problem.Then his wife... https://www.voanews.com/a/africa-faces-diabetes-crisis-study-finds/8010779.html https://www.voanews.com/a/africa-faces-diabetes-crisis-study-finds/8010779.html Fri, 14 Mar 2025 12:06:35 -0400 Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Zaheer Cassim) The U.S. bird population is declining at an alarming rate, according to a report published Thursday by an alliance of science and conservation groups.Habitat loss and climate change are among the key contributing factors to the bird population losses, according to the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report.More than 100 of the species studied, have reached a "tipping point," losing more than half their populations in the last 50 years. The report revealed that the avian population in... https://www.voanews.com/a/report-us-bird-population-is-declining/8010492.html https://www.voanews.com/a/report-us-bird-population-is-declining/8010492.html Fri, 14 Mar 2025 02:55:47 -0400 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) PARIS — On the way to investigate the scene of a historic asteroid collision, a European spacecraft swung by Mars and captured rare images of the red planet's mysterious small moon Deimos, the European Space Agency said Thursday.Europe's HERA mission is aiming to find out how much of an impact a NASA spacecraft made when it deliberately smashed into an asteroid in 2022 in the first test of our planetary defenses.But HERA will not reach the asteroid — which is 11 million kilometers... https://www.voanews.com/a/asteroid-probe-snaps-rare-images-of-martian-moon/8009850.html https://www.voanews.com/a/asteroid-probe-snaps-rare-images-of-martian-moon/8009850.html Thu, 13 Mar 2025 15:29:34 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Agence France-Presse) WASHINGTON — The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Dr. David Weldon, a former Florida congressman, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The Senate health committee announced Thursday morning that it was canceling a planned hearing on Weldon's nomination because of the withdrawal.A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the White House pulled the nomination because it became clear Weldon... https://www.voanews.com/a/white-house-withdraws-nomination-for-cdc-director/8009394.html https://www.voanews.com/a/white-house-withdraws-nomination-for-cdc-director/8009394.html Thu, 13 Mar 2025 10:12:21 -0400 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) WASHINGTON — A fossil of a partial face from a human ancestor is the oldest in western Europe, archaeologists reported Wednesday.The incomplete skull — a section of the left cheek bone and upper jaw – was found in northern Spain in 2022. The fossil is between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old, according to research published in the journal Nature."The fossil is exciting," said Eric Delson, a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the... https://www.voanews.com/a/archaeologists-find-million-year-old-face-fossil-of-a-human-ancestor/8009101.html https://www.voanews.com/a/archaeologists-find-million-year-old-face-fossil-of-a-human-ancestor/8009101.html Thu, 13 Mar 2025 01:43:35 -0400 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) NASA’s newest space telescope rocketed into orbit Tuesday to map the entire sky like never before — a sweeping look at hundreds of millions of galaxies and their shared cosmic glow since the beginning of time.SpaceX launched the Spherex observatory from California, putting it on course to fly over Earth’s poles. Tagging along were four suitcase-size satellites to study the sun. Spherex popped off the rocket's upper stage first, drifting into the blackness of space with a blue Earth in... https://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-s-newest-space-telescope-blasts-off-to-map-the-entire-sky-and-millions-of-galaxies/8007768.html https://www.voanews.com/a/nasa-s-newest-space-telescope-blasts-off-to-map-the-entire-sky-and-millions-of-galaxies/8007768.html Wed, 12 Mar 2025 03:17:27 -0400 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) Medecins Sans Frontiere says cholera is on the rise in Haiti. The nongovernmental health organization, also known as Doctors Without Borders, says 150 Haitians were treated for cholera between Feb. 15 and March 6. The Cite Soleil neighborhood reported 19 infections. MSF expressed concern about the trend as Haitians have less access to clean water at a time when gang violence victims are living on the streets in unsanitary conditions.  Click here for the full story in Creole. https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-creole-msf-reports-150-new-cholera-cases-in-haiti-/8007305.html https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-creole-msf-reports-150-new-cholera-cases-in-haiti-/8007305.html Tue, 11 Mar 2025 17:20:28 -0400 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Wilner Bossou) Measles outbreaks in West Texas and New Mexico are now up to more than 250 cases, and two unvaccinated people have died from measles-related causes. Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that is airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. Texas state health officials said Tuesday there were 25 new cases of measles since the end of last week, bringing... https://www.voanews.com/a/measles-cases-rising-in-southwestern-us-as-more-states-report-infections/8007201.html https://www.voanews.com/a/measles-cases-rising-in-southwestern-us-as-more-states-report-infections/8007201.html Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:46:46 -0400 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) MEXICO CITY — The number of monarch butterflies wintering in the mountains west of Mexico City rebounded this year, doubling the area they covered in 2024 despite the stresses of climate change and habitat loss, experts said Thursday. The annual butterfly count doesn't calculate the individual number of butterflies, but rather the number of acres they cover as they gather on tree branches in the mountain pine and fir forests. Monarchs from east of the Rocky Mountains in the United... https://www.voanews.com/a/monarch-butterflies-wintering-in-mexico-rebound-this-year/8003400.html https://www.voanews.com/a/monarch-butterflies-wintering-in-mexico-rebound-this-year/8003400.html Sat, 08 Mar 2025 02:15:30 -0500 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) WASHINGTON — Giving a new meaning to the phrase mad scientists, angry researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to fight against what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration. In the nation's capital, a couple thousand gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar rallies were planned in more than 30 U.S. cities. Politicians, scientists, musicians, doctors and their patients... https://www.voanews.com/a/us-researchers-and-doctors-rally-for-science-against-trump-cuts/8003421.html https://www.voanews.com/a/us-researchers-and-doctors-rally-for-science-against-trump-cuts/8003421.html Fri, 07 Mar 2025 22:38:49 -0500 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) CAIRO — Nearly 100 people died of cholera in two weeks since the waterborne disease outbreak began in Sudan's White Nile State, an international aid group said. Doctors Without Borders — also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF — said Thursday that 2,700 people have contracted the disease since Feb. 20, including 92 people who died. Of the cholera patients who died, 18 were children, including five no older than 5 and five others no older than 9, Marta Cazorla, MSF emergency... https://www.voanews.com/a/cholera-killed-nearly-100-in-sudan-over-2-weeks-aid-group-says-/8003385.html https://www.voanews.com/a/cholera-killed-nearly-100-in-sudan-over-2-weeks-aid-group-says-/8003385.html Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:41:11 -0500 Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) A historic measles outbreak in West Texas is just short of 200 cases, Texas state health officials said Friday, while the number of cases in the neighboring state of New Mexico tripled to 30. Most of the cases across both states are in people younger than 18 and those who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Texas health officials identified 39 new infections of the highly contagious disease, bringing the total count in the West Texas outbreak to 198 people since it... https://www.voanews.com/a/more-than-200-measles-cases-reported-in-texas-new-mexico/8003360.html https://www.voanews.com/a/more-than-200-measles-cases-reported-in-texas-new-mexico/8003360.html Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:19:53 -0500 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart. This time, wreckage from the explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida. It was not immediately known whether the spacecraft's self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up. The 123-meter rocket blasted off from... https://www.voanews.com/a/spacex-s-latest-starship-test-flight-again-ends-in-explosion/8002040.html https://www.voanews.com/a/spacex-s-latest-starship-test-flight-again-ends-in-explosion/8002040.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:19:45 -0500 Science & Healthwebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) A New Mexico resident who has died, tested positive for measles, the state health department said on Thursday, marking the second measles-related death in the United States in more than a decade. The unvaccinated adult patient did not seek medical care before death and was the first measles-related death in the state in more than 40 years, according to David Morgan, Public Information Officer for the New Mexico Department of Health. The cause of death is still under investigation by the... https://www.voanews.com/a/unvaccinated-new-mexico-adult-tests-positive-for-measles-after-death-/8002037.html https://www.voanews.com/a/unvaccinated-new-mexico-adult-tests-positive-for-measles-after-death-/8002037.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:10:35 -0500 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) Some global health projects whose U.S.-funded contracts were suddenly canceled last week have received letters reversing those decisions, according to media reports. The reversal came after the Trump administration ended about 90% of contracts funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department. Democratic lawmakers, along with some Republicans and rights groups, have sharply criticized administration efforts to shut down federally funded humanitarian... https://www.voanews.com/a/some-us-cuts-to-global-health-programs-reversed-groups-say-/8002015.html https://www.voanews.com/a/some-us-cuts-to-global-health-programs-reversed-groups-say-/8002015.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 20:54:28 -0500 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) PARIS — An Ariane 6 rocket roared skyward with a French military reconnaissance satellite aboard Thursday in the first commercial flight for the European heavy-lift launcher. The rocket took off smoothly from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, quickly disappearing into thick clouds. Video images beamed back from the rocket showed the Earth's beautiful colors and curvature. The rocket's mission was to deliver the CSO-3 military observation satellite into orbit at an... https://www.voanews.com/a/ariane-6-rocket-roars-skyward-carrying-french-military-satellite/8001656.html https://www.voanews.com/a/ariane-6-rocket-roars-skyward-carrying-french-military-satellite/8001656.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 16:56:30 -0500 Europewebdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press) Canada is seeing a noticeable increase in measles cases this year, with more reported in the first two months of 2025 than all of last year, the country's health agency said on Thursday and urged citizens to get vaccinated.  The Public Health Agency of Canada said it has recorded 227 measles cases as of March 6, with many patients requiring hospitalization.   "I strongly urge all Canadians to ensure they are vaccinated against measles," said Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief... https://www.voanews.com/a/canada-reports-increase-in-measles-cases-urges-vaccination/8001574.html https://www.voanews.com/a/canada-reports-increase-in-measles-cases-urges-vaccination/8001574.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 15:19:38 -0500 Americaswebdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) Collisions with boats are the cause of at least 20% of manatee deaths in Florida every year. But as Valdya Baraputri reports, that’s not the only threat faced by these gentle giants of the sea. Camera: Laurentius Wahyudi and Nabila Ganinda https://www.voanews.com/a/florida-s-gentle-giants-manatees-fight-for-survival/8000979.html https://www.voanews.com/a/florida-s-gentle-giants-manatees-fight-for-survival/8000979.html Thu, 06 Mar 2025 09:41:10 -0500 USAwebdesk@voanews.com (Valdya Baraputri)