The World Health Organization on Thursday declared mpox — formerly known as monkeypox — no longer poses a global public health emergency. At a briefing at agency headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization’s emergency committee on mpox met and recommended the multi-country outbreak no longer represents a public health emergency … continue reading -> “WHO Declares Mpox No Longer Global Health Emergency”

A new wing of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City officially opened to the public in in early May. The futuristic space features new galleries including an insectarium, butterfly vivarium, floor-to-ceiling collections displays and more. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Vladimir Badikov  …

Health agencies warn that viral hepatitis could kill more people by 2040 than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined if it remains a neglected disease and efforts to fight it remain underfunded.     The World Health Organization reports every year that viral hepatitis, a potentially life-threatening liver infection, affects more than 350 million people globally … continue reading -> “Viral Hepatitis Deaths Projected to Exceed HIV, TB, and Malaria Combined by 2040 “

For two decades, scientists have been comparing every person’s full set of DNA they study to a template that relies mostly on genetic material from one man affectionately known as “the guy from Buffalo.” But they’ve long known that this template for comparison, or “reference genome,” has serious limits because it doesn’t reflect the spectrum … continue reading -> “DNA ‘Reference Guide’ Expanded to Reflect Human Diversity “

An unmarried Chinese woman on Tuesday began her final appeal of a hospital’s denial of access to freeze her eggs five years ago in a landmark case of female reproductive rights in the country.  Teresa Xu’s case has drawn broad coverage in China, including by some state media outlets, since she first brought her case … continue reading -> “Chinese Woman Appeals in Fight for Right to Freeze her Eggs”

A report by leading United Nations agencies says global progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths has stalled for nearly a decade largely due to underinvestment in providing the health care. The report shows more than 4.5 million women and babies die every year in pregnancy, childbirth or the first weeks after birth — equivalent to … continue reading -> “UN: Over 4.5 Million Women, Newborns Die From Preventable Causes Every Year”

Providing simple and cheap healthcare measures to pregnant women — such as offering aspirin — could prevent more than a million babies from being stillborn or dying as newborns in developing countries every year, new research said on Tuesday.    An international team of researchers also estimated that one quarter of the world’s babies are born either premature or … continue reading -> “Simple Measures Can Prevent a Million Baby Deaths a Year: Study”

Mexican officials and the conservation group Sea Shepherd said Monday that experts would set out in two ships in a bid to locate the few remaining vaquita marina, the world’s most endangered marine mammal.  Mexico’s environment secretary said experts from the United States, Canada and Mexico will use binoculars, sighting devices and acoustic monitors to … continue reading -> “Mexico Plans Expedition to Find Endangered Porpoises”

Funding for a global initiative aimed at creating more environmentally friendly and climate-resilient farming has grown to $13 billion, co-leaders the United States and the United Arab Emirates said Monday. That money means the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, launched in 2021, now exceeds its $10 billion target for the COP28 climate talks, to … continue reading -> “US, UAE: Climate Farming Fund Has Grown to $13 Billion”

For the first time, the U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much. The grant provides more than $5 million over four years to New York … continue reading -> “US Backs Study of Safe Injection Sites, Overdose Prevention”

Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced Monday that it is resuming flights with a mission this month, its first in nearly two years, and the launch of commercial trips in June. The Unity 25 mission will take place in late May with four company employees on board, said Virgin Galactic, which was founded by British … continue reading -> “Virgin Galactic to Launch Commercial Spaceflights in June”

Immigrants in the western U.S. state of Colorado have a unique place to go when they are not feeling well: a health care clinic that serves newcomers from many countries. For VOA, Svitlana Prystynska has more about the facility, which was founded by a Ukrainian immigrant. Camera: Olena Andrushenko  …

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States. … continue reading -> “Social Stigma of Fentanyl Abuse Complicates Treatment”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States, … continue reading -> “Fentanyl Addiction Treatments Offer New Chances”

“Being in hospitals during the early days of COVID-19 was terrifying, like I was going to war. But as far as I’m concerned, those days are done, Danielle King, a nurse working in Luling, Louisiana, told VOA. “I think it’s pretty obvious that the pandemic was over a year ago,” she added. “The government’s lagging … continue reading -> “State, Local Agencies in US Prepare for End of COVID-19 Emergency”

Mohammed Azhar holds his baby niece next to a storm drain full of plastic and stinking black sludge, testament to India’s failure to treat nearly two-thirds of its urban sewage. “We stay inside our homes. We fall sick if we go out,” the 21-year-old told AFP in the Delhi neighborhood of Seelampur, where open gutters … continue reading -> “Dead Rivers, Flaming Lakes: India’s Sewage Failure”

China has approved the safety of a gene-edited soybean, its first approval of the technology in a crop, as the country increasingly looks to science to boost food production. The soybean, developed by privately owned Shandong Shunfeng Biotechnology Co. Ltd., has two modified genes, significantly raising the level of healthy fat oleic acid in the … continue reading -> “China Approves Safety of Gene-Edited Soybean”