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This week on Our World: A progress report on vaccinating children ... a way to invigorate high school science teaching ... and turning spoiled food into fuel ...

MORRISSEY: "That farmer could literally harvest his or her entire crop, send it to the ethanol plant, and at least get something out of it instead of taking a complete loss."

Those stories, experts advise NASA on our next move in space exploration, and more.

I'm Art Chimes. Welcome to VOA's science and technology magazine, "Our World."




More Children Vaccinated against Killer Diseases

A new report finds significant progress has been made in immunizing the world's children against preventable, killer diseases. However, it says millions of children still do not have access to these life-saving vaccines. The report, called State of the World's Vaccines and Immunization, is produced jointly by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

SCHLEIN: The report says immunization rates are at record highs and vaccine development is booming, worldwide. It says 106 million infants were vaccinated against DTP -- diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis or whooping cough 鈥?last year.

One of the biggest success stories involves measles. The report says measles deaths worldwide fell by 74 percent between 2000 and 2007. The largest reductions occurred in Africa.

Alison Brunier is communications officer for the department of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals at the World Health Organization.

She tells VOA vaccines are available against 120 diseases, a record number. And new vaccines are coming through the pipeline.

BRUNIER: "During the last years, there have been new vaccines put on the market against rotavirus diarrhea, against meningococcal meningitis, against pneumococcal disease, and also against human papilloma virus, a cervical cancer vaccine."

SCHLEIN: In addition, she says more than 80 new products are in late-stage clinical testing, including more than 30 that target diseases, such as dengue and malaria, for which no vaccine currently exists.

SCHLEIN: Brunier notes life-saving vaccines are now common in wealthy countries. She says, unfortunately, these same vaccines still do not reach millions of children who live in poor countries.

BRUNIER: "Some of the basic challenges relate to issues such as difficult geographical situations, political strife, insufficient basic health care, infrastructure in countries."

SCHLEIN: Health officials say at least an additional $1 billion a year will be needed to make sure new and existing vaccines will be delivered to all children in the 72 poorest countries.

The report says manufacturers in developing countries now are meeting 86 percent of the global demand for traditional vaccines.

Lisa Schlein for VOA News, Geneva.



Experts See Different Path for US Space Exploration

A panel of experts has delivered its final report assessing America's options for future human space exploration.

The sobering report says there isn't enough money in NASA's current and proposed budgets to do what the space agency plans to do in the coming years, including a return to the Moon. Chairman Norman Augustine briefed reporters on Thursday.

AUGUSTINE: "The premier finding of the committee is that the human space flight program that the United States is currently pursuing is one that is on an unsustainable trajectory. We say that because of a mismatch between the scope of the program and the funds to support the program."

The committee was asked to come up with some realistic options for space exploration in the coming decades, rather than to make one particular recommendation. But some common elements emerged. Most of the options include using commercial vendors to get astronauts into Earth orbit, leaving NASA to do more difficult and cutting-edge work. That would probably mean scrapping the Ares I rocket that NASA has been developing, and which is set for its first test flight on Tuesday. The committee also wants NASA to fly the space shuttle at least into 2011, rather than grounding it a year from now, which is the current plan.

Some of the options outlined by the committee focus on a return to the moon, but there seemed to be an unstated preference for what they call the "flexible path" options 鈥?including flying to an asteroid or going to Mars, but not landing there. Committee member Ed Crawley is an engineering professor at MIT. He described some of the advantages of the flexible path approach.

CRAWLEY: "What you build is the booster and the capsule, and then you can start going places. You can go on an orbital flight around the moon. Then you can build a little bit more, an in-space hab, and you can go to a near-earth object. You know, what this flexible path does is it allows us to take some of the components that you would build first anyway 鈥?the heavy booster and the capsule 鈥?and start exploring while we're building the lunar landing system and the lunar surface system, so that when they become available, it's time to go to the Moon."

Committee chairman Norman Augustine is