Crying in a hospital bed with a nebulizer mask on his tiny face, 1-month-old Ayansh Tiwari has a thick, hacking cough. His doctors blame the acrid air that blights New Delhi every year. The spartan emergency room of the government-run Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya hospital in the Indian capital is crowded with children struggling to … continue reading -> “‘Like Breathing Poison’: Delhi Children Hardest Hit by Smog”

Transsexual people can be godparents at Roman Catholic baptisms, witnesses at religious weddings and receive baptism themselves, the Vatican’s doctrinal office said on Wednesday, responding to questions from a bishop.  The department, known as the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, was vague, however, in response to a question about whether a same-sex couple … continue reading -> “Transsexual People Can Be Baptized Catholic, Serve as Godparents, Vatican Says”

A new study by the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization finds nearly 1 in 3 deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer are caused by working in the sun. “We know that around the world, 1.6 billion workers are exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation globally. Depending on where you live, you will have more or … continue reading -> “Workers Exposed to Sunlight at High Risk of Deadly Skin Cancer”

A new version of the popular diabetes treatment Mounjaro can be sold as a weight-loss drug, U.S. regulators announced Wednesday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, or tirzepatide. The drug helped dieters lose about a quarter of their body weight, or 27 kilograms, in a recent study. Zepbound is the latest … continue reading -> “FDA Approves New Version of Diabetes Drug for Weight Loss”

A new United Nations report says the amount of fossil fuels produced in 2030 will far exceed the levels needed for the world to alleviate global warming.  The study by the U.N. Environment Program says 20 of the world’s major fossil fuel producing nations are on track to produce about 110% more oil, gas and … continue reading -> “UN: Excess Global Fossil Fuel Production will Undermine Goal of Limiting Global Temperatures”

This year is “virtually certain” to be the warmest in 125,000 years, European Union scientists said on Wednesday, after data showed last month was the world’s hottest October in that period. Last month smashed through the previous October temperature record, from 2019, by a massive margin, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. “The … continue reading -> “This Year ‘Virtually Certain’ to be Warmest in 125,000 Years, EU Scientists Say”

After a century-long absence, gray wolves have returned to California forests. Though some wildlife experts are thrilled to see the their return, some farmers and ranchers worry the wolves present a threat to their animals. From Tulare County, California, VOA’s Robin Guess reports. Camera: Matt Dibble, Roy Kim. …

Alarmed by yet another jump in syphilis cases in newborns, U.S. health officials are calling for stepped-up prevention measures, including encouraging millions of women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested for the sexually transmitted disease. More than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022 — 10 times more than a … continue reading -> “Syphilis Cases in US Newborns Skyrocketed in 2022”

European astronomers on Tuesday released the first images from the newly launched Euclid space telescope, designed to unlock the secrets of dark matter and dark energy — hidden forces thought to make up 95% of the universe. The European Space Agency, which leads the six-year mission with NASA as a partner, said the images were … continue reading -> “Star-filled Euclid Images Spur Mission to Probe ‘Dark Universe’”

Sweden is poised to become Europe’s first smoke-free country largely thanks to the popularity of snus, a kind of moist snuff which is placed under the upper lip.    But some are worried the tobacco industry is peddling a “fairytale” that is too good to be true.     Used by one in seven Swedes, snus has, … continue reading -> “Why Sweden Going Smoke-Free May Not be Such Good ‘Snus’ “

When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on pillars 14 feet above the ground. But Paulson’s home, with a rounded shape that looks … continue reading -> “Some Houses Being Built to Resist Hurricanes and Cut Emissions”

Building a robot that’s both humanlike and useful is a decadesold engineering dream inspired by popular science fiction.  While the latest artificial intelligence craze has sparked another wave of investments in the quest to build a humanoid, most of the current prototypes are clumsy and impractical, looking better in staged performances than in real life. … continue reading -> “Do We Really Need Humanoid Robots? “

Prince William arrived Sunday in Singapore for the annual Earthshot Prize awards, the first to be held in Asia, to support environmental innovators with solutions to battle climate change and save the planet.  Upon his arrival, dozens of people waving British flags welcomed him with loud cheers. William, 41, shook hands, signed autographs and sportingly … continue reading -> “Prince William Arrives in Singapore for Earthshot Environmental Awards”

Using sidewalks as exam rooms and heavy red duffle bags as medical supply closets, volunteer medics spend their Saturdays caring for the growing number of migrants arriving in Chicago without a place to live. Mostly students in training, they go to police stations where migrants are first housed, prescribing antibiotics, distributing prenatal vitamins and assessing … continue reading -> “Volunteer Medics Trying to Fill Health Care Gap for Migrants in Chicago”

One of modern climate science’s pioneers is warning that the world isn’t just steadily warming but is dangerously accelerating, according to a study that some other scientists call a bit overheated. The work from former NASA top scientist James Hansen, who since leaving the space agency has become a prominent protester against the use of … continue reading -> “Is Global Warming Accelerating? Experts Can’t Agree”

The cancellation of two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey is the latest in a series of setbacks for the nascent U.S. offshore wind industry, jeopardizing the Biden administration’s goals of powering 10 million homes from towering ocean-based turbines by 2030 and establishing a carbon-free electric grid five years later. The Danish wind energy … continue reading -> “Offshore Wind Projects Face Economic Storm, Risks to Biden Clean Energy Goals”

Countries moved a step closer Saturday to getting a fund off the ground to help poor states damaged by climate disasters, despite reservations from developing nations and the United States.   The deal to create a “loss and damage” fund was hailed as a breakthrough for developing country negotiators at United Nations climate talks in … continue reading -> “World Bank to Host Climate Loss and Damage Fund, Despite Concerns”

Called cover crops, they top the list of tasks U.S. farmers are told will build healthy soil, help the environment and fight climate change. Yet after years of incentives and encouragement, Midwest farmers planted cover crops on only about 7% of their land in 2021. That percentage has increased over the years but remains small … continue reading -> “Cover Crops Help Climate, Environment; Most Farmers Reject Them”

A thick layer of toxic haze choked Indian capital New Delhi on Friday, and some schools were ordered closed as the air quality index plummeted to the “severe” category. New Delhi again topped a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities compiled by Swiss group IQAir, which put the Indian capital’s air quality index, … continue reading -> “Toxic Haze Blankets India’s New Delhi, World’s Most Polluted City Again”

The little asteroid visited by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists. It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick — a mini moon. The discovery was made during Wednesday’s flyby of Dinkinesh, 480 million kilometers (300 million miles) away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. The … continue reading -> “NASA Spacecraft Discovers Tiny Moon Around Asteroid”

Fewer high school students are vaping this year, the government reported Thursday. In a survey, 10% of high school students said they had used electronic cigarettes in the previous month, down from 14% last year. Use of any tobacco product — including cigarettes and cigars — also fell among high schoolers, according to the Centers … continue reading -> “Vaping by US High School Students Dropped This Year, Report Says”

Colombia will try to control its population of more than 100 hippopotamuses, descendants of animals illegally brought to the country by late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s, through surgical sterilization, the transfer of hippos to other countries and possibly euthanasia, the government said Thursday. The hippos, which spread from Escobar’s estate into nearby … continue reading -> “Colombia Hopes Sterilization, Transfer, Euthanasia Will Curb Hippos”