In labs across the United States, scientists are working on innovative tests using animals and insects to detect cancer earlier. As VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, recent research suggests bees and dogs can sniff out the disease sooner than machines can. …

London — Two new cases of the mpox variant clade 1b detected in the U.K. are the first locally transmitted cases in Europe and the first outside Africa, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed late Monday that the two new cases were household contacts of Britain’s first case identified last week, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to three. The WHO warned that European states should be prepared for “rapid action” to contain the latest mpox variant, which spreads through close physical contact including sexual relations and sharing closed spaces. The two cases are also the first to be locally transmitted outside Africa since August 2024, when the WHO declared the outbreak of the new variant an international public health emergency — its highest level of alarm. Those affected are under specialist care and the risk to the U.K. population “remains low,” UKHSA said. …

Geneva — The World Health Organization on Tuesday listed 17 pathogens that cause widespread disease and death, including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, for which it said new vaccines were “urgently needed.” The U.N. health agency said that it with its list was providing the first global effort to systematically prioritize endemic pathogens based on criteria including disease burdens, antimicrobial resistance risk and the socioeconomic impact. “We need to do this because we would like to shift the focus from developing vaccines away from commercial returns towards regional and global health needs,” Mateusz Hasso-Agopsowicz, a WHO vaccine specialist, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Poland. The study reconfirms longstanding priorities for vaccine research and development, including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis — three diseases that collectively kill nearly 2.5 million people each year, WHO said. But it also identifies lesser-known pathogens as top disease control priorities, highlighting the urgency to develop …

geneva — World Health Organization member countries resumed negotiations Monday to finalize an agreement on pandemic prevention, with outbreaks of mpox, Marburg and H5N1 stressing the urgency of reaching an agreement without repeating the deadly mistakes of COVID-19. After more than two years of negotiations, there is hope of reaching an agreement in the next 15 days, especially since the negotiators have agreed to postpone discussions on the most contentious points: the sharing of knowledge and equitable access to medical advances. Recent negotiations at COP16 in Colombia on biodiversity, which provided for a comparable mechanism, stumbled on this point. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the need to balance timeliness and workable deal. “Time is not our friend,” Tedros told national negotiators at the opening of the talks. “COVID is still circulating. Mpox is a global health emergency. We have a Marburg outbreak and H5N1 spreading. The next pandemic will not …

CALI, Colombia — Wealthy nations appeared to hit a limit with how much they are willing to pay to conserve nature around the world, instead shifting their focus at the two-week U.N. biodiversity summit toward discussions of private money filling the funding gap. At the COP16 negotiations in Cali, Colombia, countries failed to figure out how they would mobilize $200 billion annually in conservation funding by 2030, including $30 billion that would come directly from rich nations. That money, pledged two years ago as part of the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement, is meant to finance activities that boost nature, such as sustainable farming or patrolling wildlife reserves. But there was no consensus as talks dragged on beyond the summit’s scheduled end on Friday, during which dozens of delegations departed. By Saturday morning’s roll call, there was no longer a quorum among the nearly 200 nations for an agreement to …

Goma, Congo — Some health officials say mpox cases in Congo appear to be “stabilizing” — a possible sign that the main epidemic for which the World Health Organization made a global emergency declaration in August might be on the decline.   In recent weeks, Congo has reported about 200 to 300 lab-confirmed mpox cases every week, according to WHO. That’s down from nearly 400 cases a week in July. The decline is also apparent in Kamituga, the mining city in the eastern part of Congo where the new, more infectious variant of mpox first emerged.   But the U.N. health agency acknowledged Friday that only 40% to 50% of suspected infections in Congo were being tested — and that the virus is continuing to spread in some parts of the country and elsewhere, including Uganda.   While doctors are encouraged by the drop in infections in some parts of Congo, …

KARACHI — Unprecedented air pollution levels in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore prompted authorities to take emergency measures on Sunday, including issuing work-from-home mandates and closing primary schools.   The city held the top spot on a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities on Sunday after recording its highest ever pollution reading of 1900 near the Pakistan-India border on Saturday, based on data released by the provincial government and Swiss group IQAir.   The government has shut primary schools for a week, advising parents to ensure children wear masks, said Senior Minister of Punjab Marriyum Aurangzeb during a press conference, as a thick blanket of smog enveloped the city.   Citizens have been urged to stay indoors, keep doors and windows shut, and avoid unnecessary travel, she said, adding that hospitals had been given smog counters.   To reduce vehicle pollution, 50% of office employees would work from home, said Aurangzeb.   The government …

ADDIS ABABA — As the price of fuel soared in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric car. That aligned with the government’s new efforts to phase out gas-powered vehicles. But months later, he’s questioning whether it was the right decision.   He faces a range of issues, from the erratic supply of electricity in Addis Ababa, the capital, to the scarcity of spare parts.   “Charging my car has been a challenge,” the civil servant said. “Spare parts that are imported from China are expensive, few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor.”   Seleshi’s troubles point to wider challenges for Ethiopia. In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban the importation of non-electric private vehicles.   The decision eased pressure on authorities who spend scarce foreign currency to subsidize the cost of fuel, but …

RENO, Nevada — Conservationists and a Native American tribe are suing the U.S. to try to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered desert wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources. The Center for Biological Diversity promised the court battle a week ago when the U.S. Interior Department approved Ioneer Ltd.’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mine at the only place Tiehm’s buckwheat is known to exist in the world, near the California line halfway between Reno and Las Vegas. It is the latest in a series of legal fights over projects President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing under his clean energy agenda intended to cut reliance on fossil fuels, in part by increasing the production of lithium to make electric vehicle batteries and solar panels. The new lawsuit says the Interior Department’s approval of the mine marks a dramatic about-face by U.S. wildlife experts who …

The good news: You will get a glorious extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark by late afternoon for the next few months in the United States. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, which means you should set your clock back an hour before you go to bed. Standard time will last until March 9, when we will again “spring forward” with the return of daylight saving time.  “Fall back” should be easier. But it still may take a while to adjust your sleep habits, not to mention the downsides of leaving work in the dark or trying to exercise while there’s still enough light. Some people with seasonal affective disorder, a type of depression usually linked to the shorter days and less sunlight of fall and winter, may struggle, too.  Some health groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep …

CALI, Colombia — After two weeks of negotiations, delegates on Saturday agreed at the United Nations conference on biodiversity to establish a subsidiary body that will include Indigenous peoples in future decisions on nature conservation, a development that builds on a growing movement to recognize the role of the descendants of some regions’ original inhabitants in protecting land and combating climate change.  The delegates also agreed to oblige major corporations to share the financial benefits of research when using natural genetic resources.  Indigenous delegations erupted into cheers and tears after the historic decision to create the subsidiary body was announced. It recognizes and protects the traditional knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and local communities for the benefit of global and national biodiversity management, said Sushil Raj, Executive Director of the Rights and Communities Global Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society.  “It strengthens representation, coordination, inclusive decision making, and creates a space …

TOKYO — A remote-controlled robot has safely returned with a tiny piece of melted fuel it collected from inside one of three damaged reactors at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the first time since the 2011 meltdown. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which manages the plant, said Saturday that the extendable fishing rod-like robot successfully clipped a gravel as big as 5 millimeters, the size of a tiny granola bit, from the top surface of a mound of molten fuel debris that sits on the bottom of the No. 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel. The Telesco robot, with its frontal tongs still holding the melted fuel bit, returned to the enclosed container for safe storage after workers in full hazmat gear pulled it out of the containment vessel earlier Saturday. The sample marks the first time that melted fuel has been retrieved out of the containment vessel. But …

As winter approaches and daylight hours grow shorter, people prone to seasonal depression can feel it in their bodies and brains. “It’s a feeling of panic, fear, anxiety and dread all in one,” said Germaine Pataki, 63, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She’s among the millions of people estimated to have seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Her coping strategies include yoga, walking and an antidepressant medication. She’s also part of a Facebook group for people with SAD. “I try to focus on helping others through it,” Pataki said. “This gives me purpose.” People with SAD typically have episodes of depression that begin in the fall and ease in the spring or summer. Changing the clocks back to standard time, which happens this weekend, can be a trigger for SAD. A milder form, subsyndromal SAD, is recognized by medical experts, and there’s also a summer variety of seasonal depression, though less is known …

sydney — A 5.48-meter Australian crocodile that held the world record as the largest crocodile in captivity has died, a wildlife sanctuary said on Saturday. He was thought to be more than 110 years old. Cassius, weighing in at more than one ton, had been in declining health since October 15, Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat said on Facebook. “He was very old and believed to be living beyond the years of a wild croc,” according to a post by the organization, based on Green Island near the Queensland tourist town of Cairns. “Cassius will be deeply missed, but our love and memories of him will remain in our hearts forever.” The group’s website said he had lived at the sanctuary since 1987 after being transported from the neighboring Northern Territory, where crocodiles are a key part of the region’s tourist industry. Cassius, a saltwater crocodile, held the Guinness World Records title …

A regional public health department in Idaho is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccinations to residents in six counties after a narrow decision by its board. Southwest District Health appears to be the first in the nation to be restricted from giving COVID-19 shots. Vaccinations are an essential function of a public health department. While policymakers in Texas banned health departments from promoting COVID-19 vaccines and Florida’s surgeon general bucked medical consensus to recommend against the vaccine, governmental bodies across the country haven’t blocked the vaccines outright. “I’m not aware of anything else like this,” said Adriane Casalotti, chief of government and public affairs for the National Association of County and City Health Officials. She said health departments have stopped offering the vaccine because of cost or low demand, but not based on “a judgment of the medical product itself.” The six-county district along the Idaho-Oregon border includes three counties in …

geneva — More than 50,000 people have so far been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the World Health Organization’s chief said on Friday. The outbreak is still not under control, the African Union’s health watchdog warned a day earlier, appealing for resources to avoid a “more severe” pandemic than Covid-19. More than 1,100 people have died of mpox in Africa, where some 48,000 cases have been recorded since January, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The majority of deaths have been in the DRC, the epicenter of the outbreak, which launched a vaccination drive last month. “So far, more than 50,000 people have been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, thanks to donations from the United States and the European Commission,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. He also said that nearly 900,000 …

NEW DELHI — A thick layer of toxic smog cloaked India’s capital on Friday as smoke from firecrackers used to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, pushed air pollution to hazardous levels. New Delhi’s air quality index plunged into the “severe” category, according to SAFAR, India’s main environmental monitoring agency. In many areas, levels of deadly particulate matter reached seven times the World Health Organization’s safety limit. Authorities in the capital have banned the use and sale of traditional firecrackers since 2017, asking people to opt for environmentally friendly ones or light shows instead, but the rule is often flouted. New Delhi, home to more than 33 million people, is regularly ranked one of the most polluted cities in the world. The air pollution crisis deepens particularly in the winter when the burning of crop residue in neighboring states coincides with cooler temperatures that trap deadly smoke. That smoke travels …

Bird flu has infected three more people from Washington state after they were exposed to poultry that tested positive for the virus, according to health authorities in Washington and in Oregon, where the human cases were identified.  A total of 39 people have tested positive for bird flu in the U.S. this year, including nine from Washington, as the virus has infected poultry flocks and spread to more than 400 dairy herds, federal data show. All of the cases were farm workers who had known contact with infected animals, except for one person in Missouri.  The people from Washington cleaned facilities at an infected chicken farm after birds were culled to contain the virus, the Washington State Department of Health said in an email on Thursday.  Officials tested workers who had symptoms, including red eyes and respiratory issues, and those with potential exposure to the birds, the department said. People …