China placed 1.7 million people under lockdown in central Anhui province, where authorities reported nearly 300 new cases Monday in the latest of a string of outbreaks testing Beijing’s no-tolerance approach to COVID-19. The country is the last major economy wedded to a zero-COVID strategy, responding to all cases with strict isolation orders and tough … continue reading -> “1.7 Million Locked Down in China’s Anhui Province”

At her home in Rockford, Illinois, Rita Davisson said the “one or two” mice she normally sees during the waning winter months “have turned into more like 10 or 15” in the last couple years, and scientists say the warmer weather might have something to do with it. The 66-year-old said the influx prompted her … continue reading -> “Climate Change Means More Mice, Demand for Pest Control in US”

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Friday that setbacks for President Joe Biden’s climate efforts at home have “slowed the pace” of some of the commitments from other countries to cut climate-wrecking fossil fuels, but he insisted the U.S. would still achieve its own ambitious climate goals in time. Kerry spoke to The Associated Press … continue reading -> “Climate Envoy: Despite Legal Setbacks, US to Achieve Goals “

Medical centers in Canada that perform abortions are preparing to receive patients from U.S. states that ban the procedure. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning a constitutional right to abortion in America is also being used as motivator to expand Canada’s abortion services and provide other forms of support to pregnant women. Canada’s Supreme Court … continue reading -> “Canada Abortion Providers Prepare to Receive US Patients”

The World Health Organization’s Europe chief warned Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the past two weeks and urged countries to do more to ensure the previously rare disease does not become entrenched on the continent. And African health authorities said they are treating the expanding monkeypox outbreak as an emergency, … continue reading -> “Monkeypox Cases Triple in Europe, WHO Says; Africa Concerned”

World leaders must do more to protect the oceans, a major U.N. conference concluded Friday, setting its sights on a new treaty to protect the high seas.  “Greater ambition is required at all levels to address the dire state of the ocean,” the U.N. Ocean Conference in Lisbon said in its final declaration.  The meeting … continue reading -> “UN Urges Ambitious Action to Protect Oceans”

Scientists appear one step closer to predicting volcanic eruptions — a problem that has vexed volcanologists for decades. Research published last week in Nature Geoscience found that using satellite observations to calculate how quickly underground molten rock, or magma, accumulates beneath volcanoes could forecast certain eruptions weeks or months in advance.      “Any kind … continue reading -> “Researchers Forecast Volcanic Eruptions Using Satellite Data “

Weeks after acknowledging its first coronavirus infections, North Korea appears to be blaming the outbreak on balloons sent by defector-activists in South Korea. North Korean officials said Friday they traced the outbreak to an inter-Korean border region, where an 18-year-old soldier and a 5-year-old child came into contact with “alien things” in early April. The … continue reading -> “North Korea Implies South Korean Balloons Caused COVID Outbreak”

The number of new coronavirus cases rose by 18% in the last week, with more than 4.1 million cases reported globally, according to the World Health Organization. The U.N. health agency said in its latest weekly report on the pandemic that the worldwide number of deaths remained similar to the week before, at about 8,500. … continue reading -> “WHO: COVID-19 Cases Rising Nearly Everywhere Around World”

In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental … continue reading -> “US Supreme Court Limits EPA in Curbing Power Plant Emissions”

As Russia pounds Ukrainian cities to rubble, water and sewer systems have broken down in some places. The British Defense Ministry says Mariupol is at risk of a major cholera outbreak. Just how big the threat is, though, is not clear. Scientists disagree over where the strains of cholera that can cause a major outbreak … continue reading -> “Fears of Cholera Outbreak Surface in Ukraine”

Gardeners moving toward drought-resistant landscaping …

Reacting to a surprising and growing monkeypox outbreak, U.S. health officials on Tuesday expanded the group of people recommended to get vaccinated against the monkeypox virus.  They also said they are providing more monkeypox vaccine, working to expand testing, and taking other steps to try to get ahead of the outbreak.  “We will continue to … continue reading -> “US Officials Announce More Steps Against Monkeypox Outbreak “

A World Health Organization independent committee of experts says the spread of monkeypox in a number of countries around the world is worrisome but does not constitute what the WHO calls a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. In early May, the World Health Organization was alerted to an outbreak of monkeypox in countries outside … continue reading -> “WHO: Monkeypox is Not a Global Health Emergency”

A Texas group that helps women pay for abortions halted its efforts Saturday while evaluating its legal risk under a strict state ban. Mississippi’s only abortion clinic continued to see patients while awaiting a 10-day notice that will trigger a ban. Elected officials across the country vowed to take action to protect women’s access to … continue reading -> “US Abortion Foes, Supporters Map Next Moves After Roe Reversal”

The World Health Organization’s chief said Saturday that the monkeypox outbreak was a deeply concerning evolving threat but did not currently constitute a global health emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus convened a committee of experts Thursday to advise him whether to sound the U.N. health agency’s strongest alarm over the outbreak. A surge of … continue reading -> “WHO Says Monkeypox Not a Global Health Emergency”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion for almost 50 years, is set to activate anti-abortion laws in at least 13 states. While some of the so-called “trigger laws” have been in place for years, others have been enacted more recently. Some … continue reading -> “US Supreme Court Ruling Could Trigger Anti-Abortion Laws in at Least 13 States”

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the decades-old Roe v. Wade decision, which said women have a constitutional right to have an abortion. States will now decide whether to permit the procedure; it’s expected that roughly half could do so. VOA’s Laurel Bowman reports. …

NASA’s next moon mission scores a win despite another setback. Plus, South Korea launches one of its own rockets to space, and the UK readies what it hopes will be its first domestically launched satellites. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space …

Federal health officials on Thursday ordered Juul to pull its electronic cigarettes from the U.S. market, the latest blow to the embattled company widely blamed for sparking a national surge in teen vaping.  The action is part of a sweeping effort by the Food and Drug Administration to bring scientific scrutiny to the multibillion-dollar vaping … continue reading -> “US Health Officials Ban Juul E-Cigarettes Tied to Teen Vaping Surge”

An advisory panel for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Wednesday that people ages 65 years and older choose higher-dose flu shots or ones that include an ingredient to boost immune response. The CDC commonly adopts the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, but in the past it has not … continue reading -> “US Advisory Panel Recommends Stronger Flu Shots for Seniors”

The United States is expanding its capacity to test for monkeypox by shipping tests to five commercial labs. The Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday the effort will “dramatically expand testing capacity nationwide and make testing more convenient and accessible for patients and health care providers.” Health care providers will be able to … continue reading -> “US Expanding Monkeypox Testing”

Nearly 1 in 5 American adults who reported having COVID-19 in the past are still having symptoms of long COVID, according to survey data collected in the first two weeks of June, U.S. health officials said Wednesday.  Overall, 1 in 13 adults in the United States have long COVID symptoms that have lasted for three … continue reading -> “Nearly 1 in 5 Adults Who Had COVID Have Lingering Symptoms, US Study Finds”

The Black Death, a plague that killed up to 60% of people in western Eurasia from roughly 1346 to 1353, likely originated in the Tian Shan mountains of central Asia, new research shows. Scientists recovered two genomes of an ancient strain of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, from human remains buried in two … continue reading -> “‘Black Death’ Likely Originated in Central Asia, Researchers Say”

Risk of infection from the disease, which causes paralysis in children in under 1% of cases, was low because of high vaccination rates …