A setback for Senator's space mission
For undisclosed reasons, Senator John Glenn has been dropped from one of the main age-related experiments in which the 77 year old former astronaut had planned to take part during the return to space next week, NASA officials have confirmed. Mr. Glenn is still scheduled to fly aboard the shuttle …
Ayurvedic drug to treat diabetes
An ayurvedic drug to treat mild diabetes without side-effects has been identified by the Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR).'Vijayasagar', a bark extract of a plant Pterocarpus marsuptum, was found to be effective in treating about 67 per cent of patients suffering from non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).Tests carried out …
Polio drive to begin on Oct 25
To eradicate the wild polio virus from high risk areas, the Delhi government will launch a door-to-door immunisation campaign on October 25 by administering additional polio drops to all children under five years of age.
Gastro-enteritis hits Rani area
A large number of people have been suffering from Gastro-enteritis in several villages in the entire Rani area of Assam since the last two weeks. It is learnt that about one hundred people have been seriously affected by the disease in the villages.
Germany challenges EU tobacco ad ban in court
The German government and German show manufactureer Salamander AG have launched a legal challenge to a European Union ban on tobacco advertising an sponsorship, the European Court of Justice said. The court said Bonn wanted the EU-wide ban on all advertising and sponsorship by cigarette companies, approved in July, to …
Waiting to Inhale
First oxygen bar for the city :The first oxygen bar in the city, one of the most polluted cities in the world, is attracting customers by promising that rarest of commodities - "a breath of fresh air." The "Life Care O2 Bar" in the heart of New delhi, opened in …
WHO finds tobacco's 'smoking gun'
The World Health Organisation is stepping up its fight against tobacco with plans to use the tobacco industry's own documents as a weapon for publicising the dangers of smoking. As a result of a court case against tobacco companies in the US state of Minnesota, 35m internal industry documents have …
Big 3 and oil firms developing cleaner fuels
Struggling to comply with federal fuel-economy and emissions regulations even as Americans buy ever-bigger family vehicles, U.S. automakers have quietly begun experiments with oil companies to develop potentially cleaner fuels. Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have entered long-term partnerships with oil companies, and Chrysler Corp. plans to announce …
Energy from effluents - Salem sago units show the way
Tapioca starch and sago units in Salem district of Tamil Nadu have taken the lead in converting effluents into energy. A beginning has been made by Mr. V. Anbalagan, Managing Director, Varalakshmi Starch Industries Ltd, a leading manufacturer of tapioca starch and sage, in association with the Salem-Dharmapuri Chamber of …
HAU scientists raise medicinal plants in test tubes
Scientists at the Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) have developed techniques to raise medicinal and flowering plants in test tubes using tissue culture techniques. A team of HAU scientists led by Dr T M Varghese recently devised a protocol for mass propagation of two pharmaceutically important herbs, solanum nigrum and cardiospermum …
Cauvery river authority to meet on Oct. 28
The first meeting of the Cauvery River Authority will be held in Delhi on October 28.The Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, will preside over the meeting in which the Chif Ministers of the four Cauvery basin States - Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Pondicherry, will participate.
Gas leak leaves 26 hospitalised
Twenty-six people, including 22 children, were taken ill following leakage of chlorine gas from a chemical plant at Shahad in Thane district, nearly 60 km from Mumbai on Monday.
EU antibiotics curbs to be accelerated
The European Commission is to bring forward proposals for restricting the use of some antibiotics in animal feed amid fears that human health is being endangered. However, Franz Fischler, the farm commissioner, told the European Union farm ministers that a blanket ban as urged by environmentalists could not be justified.
Burma gets malaria aid Insecticides and drugs handed over at border
Thailand has handed drugs and pesticides to Burma in an attempt to eradicate malaria from border areas. The nine-million-baht gift was made yesterday with a first batch of 38.5 tonnes of insecticides and quinine being donated. Further hand-overs will take place at border points in Chiang Rai, Kanchanaburi and Ranong. …
Knives out in tobacco battle
There were unlikely alliances yesterday when some of South Africa's most powerful institutions came to Parliament to do battle over the Tobacco Products Amendment Bill. The proposed legislation will ban tobacco advertising and sponsorship, and make smoking in public places illegal. In the camp ranged against Health Minister Dr Nkosazana …
Who decides who's first in line for kidneys?
There is a controversy raging in US the transplant world right now over which patients receive scarce organs. The Health and Human Services Dept. issued regulations in March requiring nationwide standards for allocating organs based on medical need to ensure " a level playing field" for patients, no matter where …
Workshop on biodiversity conservation
CEE North- east in collaboration with Field Studies Council, a charity based in United Kingdom, organised a 5-day workshop on 'Capacity Building of NGOs in Biodiversity Conervation' recently.
U.S. asks two researchers to halt distribution of sterilization drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked two American contraceptive researchers to "immediately halt" all distribution of quinacrine pellets, which have been used to irreversibly sterilize women in the Third World. An Oct. 14 warning letter to the two Americans, Dr. Elton Kessel and Stephen D. Mumford, said the agency …
Satellites brace for meteor show
The meteor storm, is soon to hit the Earth again, and this time space scientists are concerned about its effects. Every one of the 600-odd satellites orbiting the Earth will be hit by ultra-high-speed meteor dust. The storm of meteors, called Leonid meteors because they come from the direction of …
Hopes of a DNA vaccine for malaria
A new type of vaccine that is cheaper and easier to produce than traditional vaccines may some day be used to protect people from diseases such as malaria, researchers say. The new type of vaccine uses a virus's DNA to build up the body's immunity. Scientists tested it on humans …
