Gene's variations help explain drug's success
In a step towards developing customized medical care, researchers have found that normal variations in a single gene can help explain why a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine works well in some patients but not others. Dr. Eric Boerwinkle, a geneticist at the University of Texas-Houston Health Sciences Center is …
Patients benefit from DOTS programme
Many patients in Kalikot district of Nepal which lacks adequate health facilities, have been taking advantage of the Direct Observation and Treatment System (DOTS) for curing them of tuberculosis.
EU opening to Third World hailed
The European Union's decision to open its markets to almost all products from the world's poorest countries is being hailed as a dramatic gesture that could help alleviate some of the suspicions that many developing countries hold against the world trading system.
Lukewarm
Japan was widely criticized for failing to provide strong leadership in the run-up to a United Nations summit on climate change that it hosted in Kyoto in 1997. Three years on, the lack of leadership persists. Environmentalists say the government is more concerned about upsetting powerful business groups than it …
Local govts face dilemma over nuclear power policy
A pluthermal project that was to start in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) from April had again been postponed after Fukushima Prefectural Gov. Eisaku Sato said Monday that he has decided not to accept the project for the time being.
Environmentalists seek to save new Calif. nat' monument
Several big environmental groups launched a drive on Tuesday to save California's newly-established Giant Sequoia National Monument, saying a lawsuit seeking to dismantle it would spell disaster for the world's oldest and largest trees. In papers filed in District Court in Washington D.C., the Sierra Club, the Earthjustice Legal Defense …
Bush weighs curbs on carbon dioxide
Calling global warming "a real phenomenon" the Environmental Protection Agency chief, Christe Whitman has said the Bush Administration is considering limits on carbon dioxide emissions as part of a broader anti-pollution strategy.
Foot - and - Mouth spreads in UK, panics Europe
Foot-and-mouth disease spread from England to Scotland and Northern Ireland Thursday, prompting other European countries to tighten steps to disinfect travelers and vehicles from the British Isles. As officials confirmed the highly contagious disease had crossed the Irish Sea and into Scotland, the Irish Republic strengthened its defenses by setting …
Bush seeks to fully fund US food safety programs
President George W. Bush proposes in his first budget to fully fund the Agriculture Department's food safety programs, including money to pay for 7,600 meat and poultry inspectors. According to White House budget documents, Bush also plans to prioritize USDA research to provide new emphasis on biotechnology and developing new …
Karnataka's anti-blindness programme extended
A national mission in bioinformatics, extension of a Rs 140-crore Denmark-assisted programme on control of blindness and allocation for the Bharat Gold Mines Limited for separation of manpower are some of the high-lights of the Union Budget for Karnataka.