In India, a country with a vast population and a diverse socio-economic fabric, healthcare remains fraught with challenges including disparities in access. These socio-economic disparities are deep, and they influence health outcomes. It is imperative to bridge these gaps amid the ongoing epidemiological, nutritional and demographic transitions that are bringing …
after treating it as a grey area for a decade, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (usepa) has finally declared in black and white that diesel exhaust is a "likely human carcinogen'. The usepa officially acknowledged this in the final version of its report,
During recent laboratory experiments, researchers have discovered that mice slathered with caffeine develop fewer skin tumours than untreated animals. This suggests that the chemical that adds zip to coffee also provides protection against skin cancer. The researchers from New Jersey-based Rutgers University found that a skin lotion spiked with caffeine …
See Score Card Raw material sourcing phase To rate the companies on the raw material sourcing phase, grp used the following indicators: the quality of input salt, transportation of salt, self-sourcing of water (water harvesting) and the use of renewable and clean fuels. The Indian caustic-chlorine industry has performed poorly …
Pondicherry-based Chemfab Alkalis Ltd (cal) has been rated as the greenest caustic-chlorine company in India. With an overall score of 46.7 per cent, it has been given the Three Leaves Award. Set up in 1985 by Krishnamurthy Rao, a technical expert, cal set the trend by going in for membrane …
Although there has been a belated shift from the polluting mercury cell technology to the membrane cells, mercury pollution in India is still very high. India does not produce mercury and relies completely on imports. Between 1998-2001, the annual mercury imports stood at 170-190 tonnes, which is 10 per cent …
It’s a Catch-22 situation. How does one rate an industry where the pollution is minimal at the production plant and peaks the moment the product leaves the factory gates? How does one rate an industry that is the mother of all chemical industries? How does one rate an industry that …
What would you say of an industry that takes common salt and turns it into one of the most environmentally deadly substances we know of today, namely chlorine? And what if in its production process it uses yet another deadly substance, mercury? We are talking about India's caustic-chlorine industry. Centre …
researchers have found that increased production of src, a protein found in the membranes of all the cells, is responsible for cancerous cells breaking away from the affected body parts and spreading further. A comprehensive understanding of this process is likely to help find better treatment for cancer. The findings …
Prescription drug Prempro, used to treat menopausal symptoms, is under the scanner in the US following a government study that has linked it to other health problems. Class action suits have been brought against the drug's maker, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Company spokesperson Natalie de Vane, however, claims the charges are baseless. …
transgenic potatoes may be used in the future to vaccinate women against cancer of cervix caused by the human papilloma virus (hpv). It is the most common form of cancer afflicting Indian women. The vaccine was developed by a team of scientists from us-based University of Rochester, Cornell University and …
The lac dye is bright red. It is derived from insects like cochineal, kermes and lac, also called Kerria lacca. It takes about three lakh insects to yield one kilogramme of dye. These scale insects thrive on a variety of trees and bushes such as kusum (Schleichera oleosa), palash (Butea …
We know the potential, we know the opportunity. We have the necessary diversity and the knowhow. But still, not many plants are in use for extraction of dyes in India. Of 40 species of indigo found in India, only 16 yield the dye and only four are commercially grown in …
Five years ago, Ama Herbal, a Lucknow-based company, quick to see potential in the natural dye industry, started to manufacture natural dyes. “The response was tremendous. Everyone asked us for samples within 15 days of writing to them,” says Y A Shah, the company’s managing director. “But later, everything backfired. …
The Bandi river in Rajasthan is dying. Flowing through various villages of Rohet tehsil in Pali district, its water has a reddish hue like red rum. It can no longer be used for irrigation or drinking. "Even animals do not drink this water,' says Gangadhan Charan, a resident of Gadhawara …
peruvian farmers and indigenous peoples' organisations are up in arms against two us patents on maca ( Lepidium meyenii ), a plant related to the mustard family, cultivated for centuries in the Puna highlands of Peru. Maca is a staple food crop of Peru and is widely marketed in the …
a simple, cost-effective and easy test for detecting the presence of aflatoxins in foodstuff has been recently developed by Andhra Pradesh-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Aflatoxins are chemicals produced by the fungus Aspergillus that commonly grows on food material. Even small doses of the toxins …
The Brazilian government will provide about us $2 million to support research in areas such as therapeutic cloning, which involves using cells and tissues from cloned human embryos to replace those damaged by cancer, heart attacks, car accidents, burns and other kinds of mishaps. The new fund known as the …
