U.S.
Astronaut Scott Kelly returns to Earth this month after spending a full year in space, the longest mission for any American. Kelly is one half of nasa's Twins Study, an investigation into how life in microgravity affects physiology. His identical twin and fellow astronaut, Mark Kelly, remained on Earth.
U.K.
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An e-cigarette manufactured by British American Tobacco has received approval as a doctor-prescribed aid for quitting smoking. National health insurance will cover the vaping device.
CHAD
An outbreak of Guinea worm disease in dogs could thwart the anticipated eradication of the parasitic infection. Although only 25 human cases were reported globally in 2015, more than 450 infections were reported in dogs in Chad last year. Experts suspect canines are passing the parasites to humans.
CHINA
Xiaoice, an artificially intelligent computer program developed by Microsoft, has become a trainee weather anchor for Dragon TV, one of the country's largest news broadcasting channels. It currently delivers daily forecasts.
VIETNAM
The online video-streaming service Netflix expanded into Vietnam and more than 130 other nations, bringing the total up to 190 countries.
ANTARCTICA
Atmospheric scientists have started to gather information about clouds over Western Antarctica for the first time since 1967. The experiment will run until early 2017 and help climate modelers determine how warming at Earth's poles could change global weather patterns.
