SAN FRANCISCO — If learning a new language as an adult seems like a challenge, you’re not alone. A study by neuroscientists at UC San Francisco has shed light on the age-old question of why it’s so difficult to learn a second language as an adult. The study in patients with epilepsy is helping researchers understand how the brain manages the […]

NAIROBI, Kenya — Mercy Nandutu, 42, a single mother of two, left her native home in Chwele, western Kenya, more than a decade ago to work in the tea plantations in Kericho County—the leading tea producer in the country. “I started picking tea by hand in 2010, which has been my only source of livelihood since […]

GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Aug. 30 listed the Mu Covid-19 variant as a “variant of interest.” The World Health Organization on Aug. 30 added the Mu variant — known by scientists as B1621 — to the list of “variants of interest” because of preliminary evidence that it can evade antibodies. The Mu variant has […]

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Chiedza Sobwe, 20, fell pregnant aged 15 while still in school. Still, her parents forced her into an abusive marriage with a 20-year-old man from Chitungwiza, 30 kilometers [18.6 miles] south of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city. She sought help from a neighbor who introduced her to a local movement that advances the rights […]

It was a sobering jobs report on Friday, with hiring sharply down, leaving many economists and other observers surprised at the sudden falloff in new employment. The rise in the Delta variant provided the United States economy with a Covid-19 deja vu. But some economists said the slowdown isn’t an indication of a coronavirus recession […]

NEW DELHI — India is recognized as a sunrise sector in medical technology with a potential to reach $50 billion by 2025, said Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology.  Singh spoke at the virtual inaugural session of the 13th edition of the Global MedTech Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry on […]

NEW DELHI — The Indian Supreme Court on Sept. 2 expressed its displeasure and concern over the way a section of web portals, social networking sites, and channels run fake news and harm reputations in the absence of a regulatory mechanism. The apex court said they only listen to powerful voices and write anything against judges, institutions without […]

DELHI, India — Sheenam Sharma, a 24-year-old from the hill state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, hasn’t had a decent date since the pandemic started. The freelance digital marketer who lives in the state’s capital, Shimla, rues that while she has been striking up exciting conversations on dating apps, she has made no actual connections […]

WASHINGTON — A new study has sought to examine what happens to couples who seek online help for their relationship but have to wait six months before beginning an intervention program. The findings of the study titled “Trajectories of relationship and individual functioning among waitlisted couples for an online relationship intervention” were published in the journal […]

WASHINGTON — A new study has shown that people with depression and multiple sclerosis may be more likely to die over the next decade than people with just one or neither condition. The study “Interface of Multiple Sclerosis, Depression, Vascular Disease, and Mortality: A Population-Based Matched Cohort Study” is published in the journal “Neurology,’ the medical […]

NEW DELHI — India has not seen the conclusion of the second surge of the pandemic, despite a consistent decline in daily Covid-19 cases, said Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary. “There is a consistent decline in weekly positivity for the last three months. Daily new cases continue to show a decline,” said the Union Health Secretary briefing […]

GENEVA — Covid-19 affected the world in every possible way, from personal to professional, in the last two years. However, after numerous measures taken by governments (from vaccination to providing face shields), air travel demand has risen. Both international and domestic air travel demand showed significant momentum in July compared to June, but demand remained far […]

WASHINGTON — Since March 1, in the United States, at least 15.1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine were thrown at a time when the world is undergoing a shortage of vaccines. This, in turn, is leading to deaths in emerging countries across the globe. The action has been undertaken by the pharmacies and the state […]

GULU, Uganda — When Uganda closed schools in March 2020 to curb the spread of the Covid-19, the National Curriculum Development Centre, developed audiovisual and print materials to be distributed to students to facilitate the continuity of learning activities. However, this sparked a national uproar because the travel restrictions and lack of funds to deliver the materials meant many […]

After a year and a half of distance learning and “capsules” in classrooms — and despite a record 11,077 new COVID-19 diagnoses on Monday — Israel’s schools opened this week for about 2.5 million students. Each pupil must present confirmation of a negative result from a rapid test performed at home. Face masks are required […]

WASHINGTON — New research from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland University of Medicine and Health Sciences has demonstrated the beneficial effects of breast milk consumption on cardiovascular health and early cardiovascular development in premature infants. The study “Cardiac Performance in the First Year of Age Among Preterm Infants Fed Maternal Breast Milk” is published in the […]

WASHINGTON — Rock band Kiss postponed its next four concerts after one of its members, Gene Simmons, tested positive for Covid-19. Simmons updated his fans on Twitter about his condition. “During my quarantine (thanks to the vaccine, I’m really fine. Thank you for asking. My security guy bought me this comic, which was in the display window of a […]

A bionic arm that allows users to think, behave and function as if there had never been an amputation has been developed by an international research team. “We modified a standard-of-care prosthetic with this complex bionic system which enables wearers to move their prosthetic arm more intuitively and feel sensations of touch and movement at […]

WASHINGTON — A new study has found that on the days that leaders and managers were better able to reattach to work in the morning, they experienced higher positive moods and work focus which allowed them to be more successful throughout the day. The findings of the study titled “Reattachment to work in the morning and […]

WASHINGTON — In a series of studies, the researchers found that when given the option, people often chose to avoid feeling compassion for others and reported that doing so was mentally effortful, which was linked to their choices. The findings of the studies titled “Caring is costly: People avoid the cognitive work of compassion” was […]