A key to AIDS virus defences
After more than 15 years of effort, US researchers have finally been able to puzzle out the three-dimensional structure of a key protein on the surface of the AIDS virus, a feat that provides the first good explanation why an infected person's immune system is unable to fight off the …
Pharma cos, govts to stick to WHO production norms
Killer cought syrup, that led to the death of 100 children in Haiti, has led to stringent standards in the handling of pharmaceutical chemicals the world over. Now, pharmaceutical companies and governments are expected to adhere to what the World Health Organisation (WHO) terms Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Both active …
Scientists unravel how HIV infects
In a breakthrough that could aid the development of an AIDS vaccine, US researchers have discovered one of the ways HIV infects the body, the latest issue of the Science magazine reports. For HIV to enter a cell, glycoprotein GP120 , which is found on the surface of the virus, …
Eli Lilly loses appeal over Prozac in China
U.S. pharmaceuticals giant Eli Lilly & Co has hit another obstacle in its quest for copyright protection in China for the drug Prozac. The Beijing Municipal People's High Court last week upheld a verdict by a lower-level Beijing court not to grant the company so-called administrative protection for the antidepressant …
Pfizer hails major test of insulin inhaler
The first major test with humans using a Pfizer Inc. device to inhale insulin found it could safely replace most injections for diabetics, a step toward an elusive goal. The Pfizer tests presented at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association, are important because they are the first solid evidence …
AIDS case detected in Arunachal
Arunachal Pradesh - which was the only state in the North-eastern region to be free of the dreaded AIDS has finally caught up with rest of the region with the detection of one case in the State recently.
Minister takes on tobacco lobby
Stopping young students in university and school from taking to cigarette smoking and consuming tobacco is perhaps one of the most daunting problem being faced by health and education minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.In a hard hitting attack on the cigarette industry and tobacco manufacturing units Dr Harsh Vardhan said that …
Village beats blindness
A little known village of Kerala's Alappuzha district, Ariyad, has emerged as the country's first complete blindness-controlled region. Consisting mainly of coir and farm workers and fishermen, Ariyad could achieve this thanks to the efforts of the Blindness Eradication Society.
Algorithms may signal cancer breakthrough
Accurate protein analysis is crucial for many branches of cancer research. The Imperial Cancer Research Fund, the UK charity, is working with consultants from EDS, the information technology group, to develop sophisticated signal-processing algorithms to help with the analysis.
Now, drug makers vie for wonder cure for arthritis
Drug makers, eyeing Viagra's runaway success with profit envy, expect the drive for arthritis relief will yield the next wonder drug. Some industry experts believe Celebra, a painkiller that cuts inflammation but avoids the stomach-damaging effects of aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, could outsell the impotency drug by millions of dollars …
Haffkine Biopharma files plea in HC over polio vaccines
Haffkine Biopharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd (HBCL), a state govvernment undertaking, told the Bombay high court on Wednesday that the potency of about 600,000 polio vaccine, which they had manufactured , would expire if the Central Government did not buy it under the pulse polio immunisation programme.
P&G defends Olestra
Consumers who switch to potato chips with the fat substitute olestra are no more likely to have diarrhoea or cramps than people who munch on conventional chips, according to new studies given by Procter & Gamble to federal regulators on Monday.
Failing hearts need no transplant
The long held belief that damaged heart tissue can never recover may be wrong. When patients awaiting heart transplants were placed on a mechanical pump to keep them alive, their dying heart cells showed new signs of vigor, including greater ability to contract, a Temple University study found.
River of no return
The life-affirming river Ganga might actually disappear sometime in the hypothetical expanse of the future. This is a fear which has been haunting environmentalists and scientists over the years. Glaciology experts have reinforced what is common knowledge in the hills - that the Gangotri glacier has been receding at an …
Dakshina Kannada gears up to tackle malaria menace
Malaria is a recurring menace in Dakshina Kannada and it becomes more acute during the rainy season.As the monsoon has already reached the Mangalore shores, the citizens and administration are once again gearing up to face the problem.
WHO recruits 12 Indian docs to work in Lanka
A batch of 12 Indian surgeons recruited by the World Health organisation (WHO) would shortly be arrive here (Colombo) to supplement the government medical services in rural areas, official sources said today.
Beware of the 'magic mineral'
The town of manville, New Jersey, is where the Johns-Manville Company manufactures the largest amount of asbestos products. Its profits have been ploughed back for the people's welfare. The incidence of lung cancer among the company's employees is four times the national norm. Mesothelioma--a form of chest or abdominal cancer--that …
LF intensifies protest
The official protest launched by the ruling Left Front in Kerala to a the Central government against the pressure tactics of the AIADMK chief, Miss J Jayalalitha, on the disputed Mullapperiyar dam on Kerala-Tamil Nadu border revives the issue, this time with stronger political overtones.
Keep your weight under check, people warned
Maintaining one's Body Mass Index (BMI) within normal range is the best way to protect onself against the ill effects of vehicular pollution, according to an environmental epidemiological survey. Conducted by the Centre for Occupational and Environment Medicine, Maullana Azad medical Collge, the survey warned people to keep their weight …
