For childless couples, strict taboos
Although Japan is in the midst of an alarming decline in birthrate and fertility problems are rising, many people are reluctant to use the medically assisted reproductive techniques done every day in the United States and other advanced nations.
Is AIDS forever?
Experts now agree that a vaccine is our only hope of stopping AIDS. The quest to develop one is gaining momentum : a report.
Eking out a life in ice
Glaciers harbor microbes. In small, ice-covered lakes created by glacial runoff live fibrous mats of algae and plankton. And in a paper in last week's Science, researchers decribe an aggregate community of microbes living in oases of liquid water inside the lake ice. These ecosystems raise the hopes of exobiologists, …
The next killer virus
The number of cases affected by a deadly new virus has risen to more than 50,000 in Taiwan and the death toll to at least 50, mostly infants and children under the age of 5. The controversy has been intenified by debate about whether all the deaths can be linked …
Dinosaurs of a feather
Two new fossils show clear signs of plumage, confirming that birds probably did evolve from dinosaurs : a report.
Steroid users at risk of HIV
Almost 20,000 Victorian athletes who use steroids are at risk of contracting hepatitis or HIV, a study has warned. The research, based on interviews with 134 Melbourne steroid users, found 29per cent had shared needles, injected drugs from a shared container or re-used syringes, exposing themselves to serious health risks. …
Report highlights harmful effects of cosmetics
The environmetal group Vatavaran has released a report that details a raft of potentially hazardous effects of cosmetic use. The report, authored by Vatavaran director Iqbal Malik and Delhi University chemistry student Jyoti Sindhu, says dangerous ingredients in common cosmetic products like talcum powder, perfumes, and nail polish can cause …
Stalked by enemies, killed by disease
At least 500 Riang tribals from Mizoram are feared dead as gastro-enteritis and cholera have been taken epidemic proportions at refugee camps in northern Tripura. The tribals had fled Mizoram in October because of ethnic conflict and took refuge in these camps to escape attacks by the Mizos. One out …
A novel idea to solve sanitation problems
Experts in the field of social sanitation have suggested a change in the Union Government's policy to subsidise construction of toilet blocks as they feel that a demand driven subsidy would help in reaching the goal of sanitation for all. While the government presently provides hundred per cent subsidy to …
New vaccine for hepatitis on anvil
Medical researchers worldwide are working on new Hepatitis B vaccines that can be produced cheaply in large quantities and do not rely on human by-products. They are also studying now Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine can be combined with other childhood vaccines such as DPT, according to experts investigating the huge …
City scientists claim vindicated
The theoretical calculations and observations made by Dr. K.D. Krori and his junior collaborators Dr. T. Choudhury of Cotton college and Prof. R. Bhattacharjee of Guwahati University in 1982 on neutrinos, ghostly particles generated mostly by the sun's nuclear reactions, has been vindicated by the data collected recently from Super …
Water disputes
T.N. writes to Kerala: The Tamil Nadu Government has written to the Kerala Government that it would be ready for holding Ministerial-level talks to find an amicable solution to the inter-State water disputes anytime after July 10.
Mir heading for premature retirement
Bowing to U.S. pressure and domestic financial woes, Russia has decided to bring down its veteran Mir space station next summer, six months ahead of schedule. The Russian Space Agency is now targetting July 1999 for Mir's controlled plunge through the atmosphere, although earlier plans called for the station to …
India tops in HIV cases
UNAIDS and WHO have highlighted that India topped the league of nations in the number of HIV-infected cases, with the country estimated to account for 4 million patients, out of the total global caseload of 30 million. In a joint report on the global AIDS scenario, UNAIDS and WHO have …
Canal ready for Krishna water release
The Kandaleru-Poondi canal portion of the Telugu Ganga project, a length of 158 km, has been dressed up again after repairs and kept ready for the release of the Krishna water to Chennai for the third consecutive year this year starting from July 15 as sought by the Tamil Nadu …
Not so many
Researchers are being asked to simplify the "cocktail" of protease inhibitators so AIDS patients don't have to take so many pills each day. Physicians attending the World AIDS Conference in Switzerland complained that the regimen, initially hailed as a breakthrough that gave years of life to people with HIV, is …
No sunny side up
According to recently repeated warnings from the Centres for Disease Control, the Department of Agriculture and even the egg industry itself in US, eating eggs in less than hard boiled state may make you ill or even kill you. A particular serotype of Salmonella enteritidis has managed to infect the …
An ounce of prevention
The theme of the 12th World AIDS Conference, which has just taken place in Geneva was "bridging the gap" between the ways that the disease is dealt with in rich and poor countries. A lot of construction work is still needed.
World Bank okays $300-m loan for women, child development projects
The World Bank has approved a $300-million loan for a woman and child development projects in Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, aimed at reducing the number of infant, child and maternal illnesses and deaths. An additional $76.4 millions has been sanctioned by the Bank for a health …
