Science & Health

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be "extremely active," weather forecasters at Colorado State University said Thursday. Out of 23 projected storms, five of 11 total hurricanes could become major, with winds above 178…

TOKYO —  Japan's unmanned moon lander woke up after surviving a second frigid, two-week lunar night and transmitted new images back to Earth, the country's space agency said Thursday. "We received a response from SLIM last night and…

BENGALURU, India —  Abinaya Tamilarasu said her four cows are part of the family. She has a degree in commerce from a local college, but prefers being home milking cows and tending to her family's land. "Our family cannot let farming…

washington —  At least 54 people have lost their lives to cholera in Somalia in recent months. Nine of those deaths occurred within the past week, marking the highest weekly death toll this year, humanitarian group Save the Children…

More than 30 global leaders and delegations pushed for the increased research, funding and implementation of nuclear energy Thursday at a summit in Brussels hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, also known as the IAEA. The…

SEOUL, South Korea —  South Korea’s government will take final steps to suspend the licenses of striking junior doctors next week as they refuse to end their weekslong walkouts that have burdened the country’s medical services,…

Washington —  An array of advanced tests found no brain injuries or degeneration among U.S. diplomats and other government employees who suffer mysterious health problems once dubbed "Havana syndrome, " researchers reported Monday. The…

CAPE TOWN, South Africa —  Mice accidentally introduced to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, and they are eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature…

UNITED NATIONS —  The number of children worldwide who died before age 5 reached a record low in 2022, the United Nations said in a report published Tuesday, as for the first time fewer than 5 million died. According to the estimate,…

SEOUL, South Korea —  South Korea will start deploying military physicians and doctors from public health centers to strike-hit hospitals on Monday to help care for patients affected by the walkout of nearly 12,000 trainee doctors from…

Washington —  A U.N. report released Friday about the prevalence of female genital mutilation around the globe is drawing attention to the practice among the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Muslim minority sect based in India. India is not…

San Diego, California —  The USS San Diego is a warship designed to deliver troops and equipment into combat zones, something the crew routinely trains for from their base in San Diego, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.…

SEOUL, South Korea —  South Korea’s government began steps Monday to suspend the medical licenses of thousands of striking junior doctors, days after they missed a government-set deadline to end their joint walkouts, which have…

Depok, Indonesia —  They dance side to side and spin in circles with hips swiveling to music from Cardi B and Guns N’ Roses at Slim Fit Studio. The instructor, R Niken Ayu Larasati, shouts “1-2-3” as everyone’s arms move up and down…

A planned launch on Saturday of a mission to take three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station was scrubbed because of poor weather. SpaceX announced that the launch was delayed, and NASA said…

BOSTON —  Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and upended child care, the CDC says parents can start treating the virus like other respiratory illnesses. Gone are mandated isolation periods and masking. But will…

NEW YORK —  Leap year. It's a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why? Have a look at some of the numbers, history and lore behind the (not quite) every four-year phenom that adds a 29th day to…

Ōshū, Japan —  Steam rose as hundreds of naked men tussled over a bag of wooden talismans, performing a dramatic end to a thousand-year-old ritual in Japan that took place for the last time. Their passionate chants of "Jasso, joyasa"…

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA —  Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day. The record-breaking…

WASHINGTON —  U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America's failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. But as the two countries' rivalry…

Bangkok —  Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital Thursday. City authorities asked for cooperation from employers to help workers in…

SAVANNAH, Ga. —  A company's plan to mine minerals near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected wildlife refuge neared final approval Friday as regulators in the U.S. state of Georgia released draft permits for the…

vancouver, british columbia —  The Canadian government is delaying access to medically assisted death for people with mental illness.Those suffering from mental illness were supposed to be able to access Medical Assistance in Dying —…

WASHINGTON —  One of the great interspecies love stories of our time has come to an end. Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has died at age 42. She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian's…

WASHINGTON —  Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, when an out-of-whack immune system attacks their own bodies — and new research may finally explain why. It's all about how the body handles females' extra X…

Elon Musk, Neuralink's billionaire founder, said on Monday the first human patient received an implant from the brain-chip startup on Sunday and is recovering well."Initial results show promising neuron spike detection," Musk said in a…

Blantyre, Malawi —  The Malawi government and the World Health Organization launched a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Monday in 10 of the country’s 29 districts. This is partly in response to new cases confirmed in the past three…

geneva —  The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000…

Geneva —  The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000…

New Delhi —  India has achieved another milestone in space exploration by successfully placing a spacecraft in an orbit from which it will study the sun for five years. India joined a select group of nations already studying the sun…

NEW YORK —  More U.S. hospitals are requiring masks and limiting visitors as health officials face an expected but still nasty post-holiday spike in flu, COVID-19 and other illnesses. While many experts say this season likely won't…

A large pool of dark liquid festering on the floor. No fresh air. Computer displays that would overheat and ooze out a fishy-smelling gel that nauseated the crew. Asbestos readings 50 times higher than the Environmental Protection…

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold in an unprepared U.S., states scrambled for masks and other protective gear. Three years later, as the grips of the pandemic have loosened, many states are now trying to deal with an excess of…

NEW YORK —  The scene: A crowded shopping center in the weeks before Christmas. Or a warehouse store. Or maybe a packed airport terminal or a commuter train station or another place where large groups gather. There are people — lots of…

NEW YORK —  Flu is picking up steam while RSV lung infections that can hit kids and older people hard may be peaking, U.S. health officials said Friday. COVID-19, though, continues to cause the most hospitalizations and deaths among…

LUCKNOW, India —  Millions of Indians celebrated Diwali on Sunday with a new Guinness World Record number of bright earthen oil lamps as concerns about air pollution soared in the South Asian country. Across the country, dazzling…

TOKYO —  The Group of Seven (G-7) rich nations is set to agree on establishing a new program to distribute vaccines to developing countries at next week's summit of leaders, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said Saturday. In addition to the…

PARIS —  People who have a particular genetic variant are twice as likely to never feel sick when they contract COVID-19, researchers said Wednesday, offering the first potential explanation for the lucky group dubbed the "super…

PHOENIX — By the time Aaliyah Ibarra started second grade, her family had moved five times in four years in search of stable housing. As she was about to start a new school, her mother, Bridget Ibarra, saw how much it was affecting her…

washington —  The U.S. approved updated COVID-19 vaccines Monday, hoping to rev up protection against the latest coronavirus strains and blunt any surge this fall and winter. The Food and Drug Administration decision opens the newest…

washington —  The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per…

HONG KONG —  Many millions of Chinese tourists are expected to travel within their country, splurging on hotels, tours, attractions and meals in a boost to the economy during the 8-day autumn holiday period that began Friday. This…

A Hungarian American scientist and her American colleague who jointly worked on the ground-breaking technology behind some of the most effective COVID vaccines have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize for medicine. Henry Ridgwell reports.…

BANGKOK —  Wu Zunyou, an epidemiologist who helped drive the country's strict zero-COVID measures in China that suspended access to cities and confined millions to their homes, died on Friday. He was 60. An announcement from China's…

Pfizer slashed its full-year revenue forecast by 13% and said Friday it will cut $3.5 billion worth of jobs and expenses due to lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment. Pfizer earned record revenue in 2021 and…

london —  Two scientists who jointly worked on the ground-breaking technology behind some of the most effective COVID-19 vaccines have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize for medicine, one of the most prestigious accolades in the field.…

SYDNEY —  New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has tested positive for COVID-19 and will work remotely while isolating, his office said Sunday, just two weeks before a general election in which his Labour party is struggling. The…

GENEVA —  The World Health Organization and U.S. health authorities said Friday they are closely monitoring a new variant of COVID-19, although the potential impact of BA.2.86 is currently unknown. The WHO classified the new variant as…

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, California —  U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday that he is planning to request more money from Congress to develop another new coronavirus vaccine, as scientists track new waves and hospitalizations rise, though…

Global reported cases of COVID-19 cases and deaths “are near their lowest levels since the beginning of the pandemic,” the World Health Organization director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said Friday. Speaking at the GLOBSEC…