Panel suggests changes in adulteration Act
A committee set up by the Delhi government to review the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act has suggested changes allowing the use of more food colours and negligible presence of todent hair in flour, etc.
It's a matter of timing
A study by a team at the University of California in San Francisco of 300,000 women suggests the interval between pregnancies can influence the weight of a newborn child. The researchers established that, from this point of view, the ideal interval between babies is 24 to 35 months.
Point of entry
A nasal spray that acts as a vaccine against influenza-that's what researchers at Vandebilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tennessee, are working on. Dr. Thomas Boyce says the experiments are based on the theory that establishing flu antibodies in the nose, where the virus enters the body, is more effective …
To the rescue
Scientists at the Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) say that, no matter how tea is drunk, it may have a role to play in the war against cancer.
Gene linked with physical fitness is identified
Scientists at University College London have identified a gene associated with physical performance in humans. Scientists found evidence that the I type of the ACE gene, rather than the D type, is associated with human endurance.
Strike threat to vital cancer therapy
A strike at a Canadian nuclear reactor is threatening the global supply of medical isotopes which are used in cancer therapies and to perform imaging procedures. If the industrial action continues, hospitals around the world will be forced to curtail such treatment by early next week.
Drug agency moves against an anti-cholesterol product
For more than a year, a California company has put red yeast rice from China into capsules and marketed them as a way to reduce cholesterol. But now, the Food and Drug Administration declared that those capsules which the company calls dietary supplements, are in fact unapproved drugs.
Deadly AIDS hangover from Malawi's warring past
Armies worldwide are vulnerable to major AIDS epidemics and the Malawian army is one of the worst affected. Around 20 soldiers a month die of AIDS-a problem stretching back fifteen years to the civil war in neighbouring Mozambique.
Screening backed in prostate cancer
A new study provides the first evidence that routine screening of men for prostate cancer can substantially reduce deaths from the disease. The research carried out on 46,000 men in Quebec, is the first large randomized trial to shed light on a highly controversial question. Does screening on apparently healthy …
Private practice by Bihar Govt doctors banned
The Bihar Cabinet today slapped a ban on private practice by government doctors with immediate effect. The decision will affect 10,000 doctors working in the eight medical colleges and all the government hospitals in the state.
It's time India, Nepal, Bangla rose above petty differences to save Ganga
Since time immemorial, Nepal, India and Bangladesh - three impoverished South Asian countries - have viewed the Ganga and its tributaries as perennial sources that sustain life.They warn that if nothing is done now by the governments and peoples of the region, the 'river of hope' could soon turn into …
World AIDS meeting may produce some bad news
The upcoming world AIDS conference may be in for some grim news as problems emerge with the "cocktail" therapy of protease inhibitor drugs, pioneering AIDS researcher Robert Gallo said on Monday. The 12th World AIDS Conference in Geneva from June 28 to July 3 could produce hopeful signs, but also …
Blood from voluntary sources is safer
The economics of blood donation has a direct bearing on the possibility of blood being contaminated with infectious diseases such as AIDS, Hepatitits-B, point out experts at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.According to the donor screening report for infectious markers at AIIMS, there are more instances of replacement …
69 pneumonia deaths in Nepal
At least 69 persons have died of contagious and seasonal diseases in Nepal. Pneumonia has claimed the lives of 36 persons in Humla district since March.
GPs threaten revolt over health reforms
Family doctor's leaders in UK are threatening a revolt over the government's NHS reforms, fearing loss of independence and freedom to refer and prescribe in the best interests of their patients.
