Author Archives: A.M. Costa Rica Wire Services

Scientists have discovered how heart disease patients with dangerously blocked arteries are able to grow new blood vessels to by-pass the blockage and keep oxygen-rich blood flowing through their bodies. The discovery is raising the possibility of new treatments for … Continue reading →

A team of engineers at Harvard University has taken cues from Nature to create the first robotic fly. The mechanical bug has become a platform for a suite of new high-tech integrated systems. A team of engineers designed a robot … Continue reading →

Amateur and professional skywatchers all over the world send observations to the Minor Planet Center, which collects information about near-Earth objects. The clearinghouse is just one way people are working to protect the Earth from asteroid strikes. Scientists also are … Continue reading →

U.S. researchers say urban dwellers exposed to the highest levels of fine particulate air pollution had faster hardening of the arteries, putting them at increased risk of stroke, compared to people in less polluted sections of the same city.  The … Continue reading →

U.S. officials are investigating a report of human trafficking at a suburban Washington home owned by Saudi Arabia. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brandon Montgomery says agents removed two possible victims of domestic servitude from a Saudi diplomat’s home … Continue reading →

Former pope Benedict has moved back to the Vatican in an unprecedented arrangement that will see a ruling pontiff and his predecessor live side-by-side as neighbors in the tiny state. Pope Francis welcomed Benedict Thursday outside his new retirement home, … Continue reading →

Democratic lawmakers are seeking a federal review of security at industrial chemical facilities after the deadly explosion at a west Texas fertilizer plant in April. The blast killed 15 people and injured scores more. U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of California, … Continue reading →

This is the time of year when farmers in the northern hemisphere count on bees and other insects to pollinate orchards, vegetables and berry fields. But what has the beekeeping world abuzz this season is the continuing phenomenon of mass … Continue reading →

The unpublished lyrics of an anti-nuclear protest song written by Bob Dylan 50 years ago are to be sold in London next month after being found in a drawer in Sweden. Auction house Christie’s said the song, “Go Away You … Continue reading →

In a move to help ailing eurozone economies, the European Central Bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent, and raised prospects of a further rate cut, if needed. The move by the … Continue reading →

Two ancient Egyptian deities are set to rendezvous in space later this decade, but it’s a meeting of a scientific, not mythological, kind. The U.S. space agency, NASA, announced Wednesday that Asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 has been renamed Bennu after … Continue reading →

The European Union has decided to impose a two-year ban on three of the world’s most widely-used agricultural pesticides. The move follows a report in early April from the European Food Safety Authority that the three pesticides pose an acute … Continue reading →

President Barack Obama is considering naming a senior diplomat to work on sending prisoners at Guantanamo Bay home or to third countries as part of a renewed effort to close the detention camp at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba, … Continue reading →

A new strain of bird flu that is causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday. The H7N9 strain has killed 24 people and infected … Continue reading →

The U.S. central bank has decided to continue with its aggressive measures to boost the sluggish U.S. economy. After a two-day meeting in Washington, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would continue to buy $85 billion in U.S. Treasury debt … Continue reading →

A leading U.S.-based human rights group says the number of people living in societies with a fully free press has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade. In a report issued Wednesday, Freedom House pinned the overall … Continue reading →

The story of South Korean rap sensation Psy’s ascent to global stardom with his megahit “Gangnam Style” has now been immortalized in full color and with appropriate dramatic flourishes in a comic book. Fame:Psy, which went on sale in the … Continue reading →