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Health

Take a closer look at the medical news and discoveries impacting our health and wellbeing.

Health News, Headlines and Videos

The suicide rate across the United States has risen 30 percent since 1999, and nearly 45,000 people took their lives in 2016, officials said Thursday.

The US Suicide Rate Has Risen 30 Percent Since 1999

Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images


Space & Innovation

Electric car sales around the world rose by 54 percent in 2017, taking global stock across the three-million threshold, the International Energy Agency said in a report Wednesday.

Electric Vehicle Sales Around the World Were Up Over 50 Percent in 2017

Junior D. Kannah/AFP/Getty Images

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it was awaiting formal approval from the Democratic Republic of Congo to send in unlicensed Ebola medication to help rein in an outbreak of the deadly virus.

Unlicensed Ebola Medication to Be Used in Deadly DRC Outbreak

BSIP/UIG via Getty images

A computer was better than human dermatologists at detecting skin cancer in a study that pitted human against machine in the quest for better, faster diagnostics, researchers said Tuesday.

In Human Vs Machine Study, AI Better at Detecting Skin Cancer

Junior Kannah/AFP/Getty Images

A deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has a clear "potential to expand", the World Health Organization warned Wednesday, as it reported seven more cases of the disease.

The Ebola Outbreak in the DRC Is on an ‘Epidemiological Knife Edge’

PNAS

Earth & Conservation

Thousands of bones from boys and men likely killed in a ferocious battle 2,000 years ago have been unearthed from a bog in Denmark, researchers said Monday.

Danish Bone Trove Yields Earliest Evidence of Barbarian Battle

Kike Calvo/UIG via Getty Images

Scientists have traced a deadly fungus responsible for killing frogs, toads, and newts worldwide to the Korean peninsula, sparking new calls for a halt to the international amphibian pet trade.

Global Amphibian Crisis Sparks Call for a Halt to Pet Trade

Michael Hanson and Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar

A gull lookalike with teeth: scientists refined their description Wednesday of a fascinating fowl at the evolutionary junction between dinosaur and modern bird — with skull features of both.

‘Fish Bird’ Had Avian Beak and Sharp, Curved Dinosaur Teeth

John Moore/Getty Images

Gorillas and chimpanzees may be twice as numerous in West Africa as previously thought, but the apes are still endangered, declining fast and in dire need of protection, an international study found Wednesday.

More Gorillas Roam W. Africa Than Previously Thought, But They Remain Endangered

Johns Hopkins Medicine 

Doctors at Johns Hopkins University said Monday they have performed the world's first total penis and scrotum transplant on a US military serviceman who was wounded in Afghanistan.

World's First Penis and Scrotum Transplant Completed in the US

Paul O'Higgins, University of York

Archaeology

The ability to raise an eyebrow in distrust or to furrow it in sympathy may have given our species an evolutionary edge, researchers in Britain said Monday.

Furrowed Eyebrows Helped Modern Humans Evolve

 John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

Conservation

In the mid-19th century, American writer Henry David Thoreau retreated to Walden Pond to connect with nature and write about the meaning of life for his celebrated book, Walden: or Life in the Woods.

AFP’s Recent Articles

The US Suicide Rate Has Risen 30 Percent Since 1999

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported significant increases in the suicide rate in 44 of 50 states.

Electric Vehicle Sales Around the World Were Up Over 50 Percent in 2017

The International Energy Agency said as many as 220 million EVs could be on the road in 2030 — if governments adopt more ambitious environmental standards.

Unlicensed Ebola Medication to Be Used in Deadly DRC Outbreak

Five unlicensed medications could soon be used to combat the deadly ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed 25 people.

In Human Vs Machine Study, AI Better at Detecting Skin Cancer

An artificial intelligence system accurately detected 95 percent of dangerous skin lesions in more than 100,000 images, compared to 86.6 percent by human dermatologists.

The Ebola Outbreak in the DRC Is on an ‘Epidemiological Knife Edge’

The World Health Organization says the outbreak, which has killed 27 people, is at risk of expanding into urban areas.

Danish Bone Trove Yields Earliest Evidence of Barbarian Battle

Archaeologists believe thousands of bones unearthed from a Danish bog are the remains of an epic battle 2,000 years ago.

Global Amphibian Crisis Sparks Call for a Halt to Pet Trade

The infectious disease, called chytrid fungus, passes from animals in the wild to pets.

‘Fish Bird’ Had Avian Beak and Sharp, Curved Dinosaur Teeth

Newly discovered Icthyornis dispar fossils reveal what bird beaks looked like as they first appeared in nature.

More Gorillas Roam W. Africa Than Previously Thought, But They Remain Endangered

An 11-year-long survey of 59 sites in five countries found higher lowland gorilla populations than in previous estimates, but still showed the animals remain at risk of extinction.

World's First Penis and Scrotum Transplant Completed in the US

Physicians are optimistic that the patient will regain near-normal urinary and sexual functions.

Furrowed Eyebrows Helped Modern Humans Evolve

Mobile eyebrows allowed humans to communicate non-verbally, which helped to form large, social networks.

Pollution Is Transforming Thoreau's Once Pristine Walden Pond

Sediment samples reveal swimmers and tourists are polluting the lake where Henry David Thoreau sought solace in the mid-19th century. And climate change is expected to exacerbate the damage.