- China develops birth-control pill
A Chinese pharmaceutical company has developed a "morning-after" birth control pill that once made widely available, could cut the number of abortions each year by as much as 40 per cent, The China Women's News reported on Monday.
Seoul City Population Declining While Males Outnumber Females
The population of Seoul declined for the fifth straight year in 1997 and the number of males is steadily outnumbering females, a demographic tally showed yesterday. The city's analysis of registered residents in Seoul said there were nearly 10.39 million people living in the capital last year, 0.77 percent less …
- Uri hydroelectric project does NHPC proud
Rs 31,000-crore Uri hydroelectric power project in Jammu and Kashmir generated 2,100 million units of power by March 31 last, way above the targeted 1,500 million units fixed for the year 1997-98. Sources close to the National Hydroelectric Power Generation Corporation (NHPC) said that power generation could have been even …
- UN projects in six states
On the occasion of World Health Day, the United Nations Population Fund will support the Integrated Population and Development Projects at the district level in approximately 40 districts in six states. The UNPF had approved a comprehensive population programme in India to the tune of $100 million over a five-year …
- DMA will hold free camps
The Delhi Medical Association will be holding 25 free anti-natal check-up camps for pregnant women at its different branches in the Capital on April 7, on the occasion of World Health Day. The theme of WHO this year is "Safe Motherhood, Pregnancy is Special : Let's make it safe".
Radish-sprout growers irked by government tests
Government officials trying to solve the mystery of what caused two O-157 E.coli bacteria food-poisoning outbreaks are again making radish sprouts their prime suspect. Growers of the Japanese staple food in Japan and in the U.S. counter that there isn't sufficient evidence to do so.
Dual-fuel cars to debut
Volvo cars Japan Corp., the Japanese arm of Volvo AB is aiming to increase sales of sport utility vehicles by offering an environment-friendly model that will run on either compressed natural gas or gasoline. The vehicle is equipped with a CNG tank which holds 20 cu. liters of natural gas …
- India ill-equipped to fight AIDS menace
The Hollywood star Mr. Richard Gere today lamented the widespread ignorance regarding AIDS in India and the dearth of basic infrastructure to alleviate suffering of the growing number of people affected by the deadly virus.
Attacking winter depression
In two preliminary studies, Dr. Alfred Lewy and his colleagues at Oregon Health Sciences University showed that properly timed doses of melatonin in amounts much smaller than are being sold could reset people's body clocks and lift their sprits. Dr. Lewy maintains that the findings strongly support the theory that …
- Gastroenteritis
girl dies, 235 affected: A 12-year-old girl, Hussainamma, died of gastroenteritis and nearly 235 persons of Kondreddipalle village in Vemula mandal were down with illenss due to consumption of contaminated well water on Sunday.
- TN a model for AIDS control
Tamil Nadu was one of the first states in India where HIV cases came to light in India. The work of Tamil Nadu in the control and prevention of AIDS has been appreciated so much that the World Bank considers it as a model for implementation in other states.
- Human milk bank is a boon to new mothers
Sion hospital's Human Milk Bank and Research Centre, the only such facility in the city (Mumbai), has come as a boon for neo-nates, who for some reason or the other , are deprived of their natural mother's breast milk. The concept, which was started in 1989, is slowly picking up.
- Vaccine to ward off killer HIB
Doctors say the best answer to a killer bacteria which stalks Indian children is the addition of HIB vaccine to existing vaccine schedules. The haemophilus influenza type-B (HIB) is an organism which lurks harmlessly in the throats of adults but attacks children upto the age of seven resulting in pneumonia …
- Indians to become guinea pigs for testing 'banana vaccine'
India will become a testing ground for anti hepatitis-B vaccine which is yet to get the US FDA approval for human testing. Cornell University , US, is believed to have chosen India as the test site for the vaccine christened as the 'banana vaccine'. It has been developed by the …
- Smoking more likely to kill women
Women smokers have a 50 per cent higher risk of dying from a heart attack than men who smoke, say researchers. A likely reason is that tobacco smoke has an adverse effect on the female hormone oestrogen. A study by Institute of Preventative Medicine at Copenhagen University monitored nearly 11,500 …
Tackling the water crisis
Ninety eight per cent of Dhaka'a water requirements are met from ground water but, due to the excessive dependance on tube wells, the groundwater level has been falling at an alarming rate. Experts have cautioned about the ecological and geological consquences of the depleting ground water for some time now …
- Harsh Vardhan introduces Bill on Indian System of Medicine
A Bill to form a council to regulate education and practice of the Indian System of medicine in the Capital was introduced by Delhi health minister Harsh Vardhan in the Delhi assembly on Friday. Introducing the Delhi Bharatiya Chikitsa Prashad Bill 1998, Dr Harsh Vardhan said so far, hakims and …
- Hydrogen fuel cell buses for Indian roads
The metro cities to begin with - and Delhi is on top of the list - may soon have commercially sustainable and low-on-emission hydrogen fuel cell buses plying on city roads. The buses are likely to become an integral part of the urban mass transit system in the country under …
- Dengue toll rises to 21 in Indonesia
Dengue fever has killed 21 people and infected thousands more in the Indonesian capital Jakarta since the start of this year, sparking fears of an epidemic.
