Mozambique’s health minister said Friday a cholera outbreak in the area hit by Cyclone Freddy killed eight people this week and hospitalized 250 – part of 600 sickened since the record storm made landfall in February. Health Minister Armindo Tiago told state-run Radio Mozambique the cholera victims were in the port city of Quelimane, capital … continue reading -> “Cholera Kills 8 in Cyclone-Hit Mozambique, Sickens Hundreds”

Lack of access to clean drinking water is being exacerbated by climate change. In fact, less than 1% of the world’s water is fresh and accessible, according to Melissa Ho, senior vice president of freshwater and food at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “Although we see water all around the planet, we do not necessarily … continue reading -> “Water Experts Look to Change Attitudes, Policies”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care on Thursday to reduce suicides in the military but held off on endorsing more controversial recommendations to restrict gun and ammunition purchases by young troops, sending them to another panel for study. An independent committee in late February recommended … continue reading -> “US Military Moves to Cut Suicides, But Defers Action on Guns”

For the first time, scientists have created baby mice from two males.  This raises the distant possibility of using the same technique for people — although experts caution that very few mouse embryos developed into live mouse pups, and no one knows whether it would work for humans.  Still, “It’s a very clever strategy,” said … continue reading -> “Scientists Create Mice With Cells From 2 Males for First Time”

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses, truck drivers, grocery clerks and other essential workers were hailed as heroes. “Now we are vilifying them … and this has long-term ramifications for our well-being,” said Manuela Tomei, International Labor Organization assistant director-general for governance, rights, and dialogue. “The work that these persons perform is … continue reading -> “UN Labor Agency: Key COVID-19 Workers Undervalued, Underpaid, Abused”

Every month, young girls in Ghana are forced to miss school days due to menstruation. But a schoolteacher is working to find a solution by providing reusable sanitary pads. Hamza Adams visited a school in Afari, Ghana, and has this story narrated by Salem Solomon. …

The Webb Space Telescope has captured the rare and fleeting phase of a star on the cusp of death. NASA released the picture Tuesday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. The observation was among the first made by Webb following its launch in late 2021. Its infrared eyes observed all the gas … continue reading -> “NASA Webb Telescope Captures Star on Cusp of Death”

Illegal fishing, a multibillion-dollar industry closely linked to organized crime, is set to pose a greater threat to global security as climate change warms the world’s oceans, according to a report by the Royal United Services Institute, a research organization based in London, in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trust. Illegal, unreported and unregulated, or … continue reading -> “Warming Oceans Exacerbate Security Threat of Illegal Fishing, Report Warns”

Poorer countries are increasingly losing health care workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.  The trend for nurses and other staff to leave parts of Africa or Southeast Asia for better opportunities … continue reading -> “Exodus of Health Care Workers From Poor Countries Worsening, WHO Says”

Pfizer Inc PFE.N struck a $43 billion deal for Seagen Inc SGEN.O to add innovative targeted therapies to its portfolio of cancer treatments as it braces for a steep fall in COVID-19 product sales and stiff competition for some top sellers. Monday’s deal, Pfizer’s biggest in a string of acquisitions following a once-in-a-lifetime cash windfall … continue reading -> “Pfizer Looks Past COVID With $43 Billion Deal for Cancer Drug Innovator Seagen”

Discovering the origins of COVID-19 is a moral imperative and all hypotheses must be explored, the head of the World Health Organization said, in the clearest indication yet that the U.N. body remains committed to finding how the virus arose. A U.S. agency was reported by The Wall Street Journal to have assessed the pandemic … continue reading -> “WHO’s Tedros: Finding COVID-19 Origins Is Moral Imperative”

Researchers have found long-term evidence that actively monitoring localized prostate cancer is a safe alternative to immediate surgery or radiation. The results, released Saturday, are encouraging for men who want to avoid treatment-related sexual and incontinence problems, said Dr. Stacy Loeb, a prostate cancer specialist at NYU Langone Health who was not involved in the … continue reading -> “Study: Prostate Cancer Treatment Can Wait for Most Men”

On the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still spreading, and the death toll is nearing 7 million worldwide. Yet most people have resumed their normal lives, thanks to a wall of immunity built from infections and vaccines. The virus appears here to stay, along with the threat of a more dangerous … continue reading -> “Pandemic 3 Years Later: Has COVID-19 Won?”

A requirement that travelers to the U.S. from China present a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their flights expired Friday after more than two months as cases in China have fallen. The restrictions were put in place December 28 and took effect January 5 amid a surge in infections in China after the nation sharply … continue reading -> “US Lifts COVID Test Requirement for Chinese Travelers”

By launching an unmanned capsule into space, sending it around the moon and bringing it back to Earth in November, NASA demonstrated how it will once again transport astronauts to the lunar surface — a core goal of the Artemis program. What remains to be seen is who will crew the first trips. “Everybody in … continue reading -> “NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions Promise Diverse Crews”

The World Health Organization has called for Africa to step up the fight against cholera, which in the last year killed more than 3,000 people in 12 African countries, with more than half the victims dying in Malawi’s record outbreak. The global health body and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a … continue reading -> “African Ministers in Malawi Discuss Cholera Outbreaks”

After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity and worsens Western drought is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday. That’s usually good news for the United States and other parts of the world, including drought-stricken northeast Africa, scientists said. The globe is now in what’s … continue reading -> “La Nina, Which Worsens Hurricanes and Drought, Is Gone”

All U.S. women getting mammograms will soon receive information about their breast density, which can sometimes make cancer harder to spot. The new requirements, finalized Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration, are aimed at standardizing the information given to millions of women following scans to detect breast cancer. Regulators first proposed the changes in … continue reading -> “US Requires New Info on Breast Density With All Mammograms”

Sodium is essential for the smooth functioning of muscles and nerves and maintaining the proper balance of water and minerals. But too much sodium in the diet can kill. “Almost 2 million deaths each year are associated with excessive sodium intake,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization. “Too much sodium can … continue reading -> “WHO Chief: Too Much Salt Can Kill You”

WeightWatchers, the 60-year-old diet firm, announced this week it would acquire a telehealth company whose providers prescribe anti-obesity drugs for growing numbers of eager online subscribers. The $132 million deal with Sequence is just the latest commercial push into the red-hot market for prescription drugs that promises significant weight loss. For months, the diabetes drug … continue reading -> “What to Know About Prescription Drugs Promising Weight Loss”

Plastics entering the world’s oceans have surged by an unprecedented amount since 2005 and could nearly triple by 2040 if no further action is taken, according to research published on Wednesday. An estimated 171 trillion plastic particles were afloat in the oceans by 2019, according to peer-reviewed research led by the 5 Gyres Institute, a … continue reading -> “Plastic Entering Oceans Could Nearly Triple by 2040, Research Finds”

France has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu among red foxes northeast of Paris, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday, as the spread of the virus to mammals raised global concerns. After three foxes were found dead in a nature reserve in Meaux near where gulls had died, … continue reading -> “France Reports Bird Flu in Foxes Near Paris, WOAH Says”

Many states have enacted or contemplated limits or outright bans on transgender medical treatment, with conservative U.S. lawmakers saying they are worried about young people later regretting irreversible body-altering treatment. But just how common is regret? And how many youth change their appearances with hormones or surgery only to later change their minds and detransition? … continue reading -> “How Common Is Transgender Treatment Regret, Detransitioning? “

A nuclear power plant in Georgia has begun splitting atoms in one of its two new reactors, Georgia Power said Monday, a key step toward reaching commercial operation at the first new nuclear reactors built from scratch in decades in the United States.  The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said operators reached self-sustaining nuclear fission … continue reading -> “Georgia Nuclear Plant Begins Splitting Atoms for First Time”

The Italian health minister’s proposals to extend a smoking ban include the outdoor areas of bars and parks, according to details reported by local media, drawing the ire of right-wing Cabinet colleagues who labeled him a “communist.”  Minister Orazio Schillaci, a technocrat with no party affiliation, said in January he would crackdown on smoking, including … continue reading -> “Italy Ministers Fume Over Proposed Smoking Ban”