- Foetus can hear and learn at 20 weeks
Scientists have for the first time proved that unborn babies begin to hear and remember at just 20 weeks - at least four weeks earlier than previously believed. The ground-breaking research, to be released on Sunday, will have widespread implications for premature babies and early development.
- Clogged drain causes high rate of malaria
More than two lakh people in the industrial township of Modinagar(Ghaziabad) are living with sewer water and air pollution--and a high rate of malaria-- with neither the local city board nor the state pollution control board authorities doing much that is effective.
-20 patients blinded in world famous eye hospital
About 20 people reportedly lost their eyesight after undergoing intra-ocular transplant (IOT) operations at Basti branch of world-famous Sitapur eye hospital. Although cases of people losing their eyes after eye camps have been reported, never in the history of Uttar Pradesh have such a large number of persons turned blind …
- Instant HIV test
The US government is recommending use of a new HIV test that yields results instantly instead of a week later. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says the rapid test will address a major drawback of the current method: Nearly 700,000 people a year never return to …
- Increase in AIDS cases in Rajasthan
Experts have expressed concern over the drastic increase in the number of HIV positive cases in Rajasthan during the past three years. Till the end of the previous year, the State had 340 cases tested HIV positive and 58 cases of AIDS but the officials here feel that with every …
- Baby dinosaur's debut after 113 million years
A baby dinosaur, one of the most important finds this century, has been unveiled by palaeontologists. The hatching fossil, dating from 113 million years ago, provides an astonishing range of insights into dinosaur biology, according to Dr. Christiano Dal Sasso of Milan's museum of natural history and Dr. Marco Signor …
- New scheme checks population growth
"Vikalp", a programme to restructure reproductive health and family planning in Rajasthan's two most populous districts, Dausa and Tonk, has shown positive results. Launched in 1995, Vikalp was conceived by the Indian Institute of Health Management and Research (IIHMR) in view of Rajasthan's alarming population growth.
World Bank backs dam project in Laos
The World Bank spoke openly for the first time about its strong commitment to the Nam Theun 2 hydro-electric dam in Laoa and vowed it would not drop the project because of pressure from the public outside the country.
- Death in Oregon, with a doctor's aid
A woman in her mid-8os who had breast cancer and was told she had two months to live became the first known person to legally commit doctor-assisted suicide in Oregon, according to an advocacy group that fought for the medical suicide law.
- Drug cocktails cause big drop in AIDS deaths
AIDS deaths in the U.S. are declining sharply as a direct result of powerful drug cocktails first introduced in early 1996, according to a provocative new research report. AIDS activists and researchers hailed the new report, published in the latest New England Journal of Medicine, an evidence that widening use …
- Dengue vaccine developed
Thai scientists have developed the world's first successful dengue fever vaccine after 10 years of research with assistance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) , a senior official has announced.
- Australia to check student visas
Visas issued to thousands of foreign students are bging checked as a result of a tuberculosis scare after an Indian died in Queensland, the Immigration Minister said today.
Monsanto seeks FDA nod for 'wonder drugs'
Biotechnology giant Monsanto said Wednesday it hoped for US regulatory approval within three years for a range of "wonder" drugs and superfoods, including products that could help cancer and diabetes sufferers.
- Guidelines in battle for organs
In the battle over scarce organs for dying patients, the US government said that the nation's allocation system must send organs to the sickest donor. The Health and Human Services Department plans to formally publish the regulation next week, giving the United Network for Organ Sharing, which runs the system, …
- Tobacco says 'no' to price rise
The tobacco industry has warned the White House that it will oppose a national tobacco settlement measure, under negotiations with a key Senate Republican, to raise the price of cigarettes $1.10 per pack over the next five years.
- Research Society demands overhaul of Govt's AIDS control prog
The DAV Research Society for Health has demanded an overhaul of the government's AIDS control programme due to its miserable progress so far. In a statement issued during the AIDS awareness camp, organised for the truck drivers at Singhu border today, society's president Dr R.P. Parasher said the number of …
- Advertising code for tobacco drafted
Cigrettes have always generated a lot of smoke. This time the Advertising Standards Council of India has drafted a code of advertising for tobacco companies which advises, among other things- a stop to surrogate advertising-that young role models would not be featured in the advertisement material and does not suggest …
- India alcohol & drug project wins ILO applause
A multisectoral project currently being implemented across India to help alcohol and drug and addicts and to prevent addiction at the workplace has won fulsome praise of a key United Nations organisation. The Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO) says the programme has shown how different sectors of a society can …
- Brussels set for climbdown over BSE
The European Commission prepared for a climbdown over BSE, by signalling it was close to abadoning its fight for an early ban on potentially infectious animal parts. The European Union's executive stance means an EU-enforced ban on so-called "specified risk materials" in some countries from next January is extremely unlikely.
- More women take up smoking
The proportion of women in Britain who smoke has started to rise in the past couple of years after more than 20 years of steady decline, the latest General Household Survey reveals. The 26th annual snapshot of British life, shows the proportion of women smoking rose between 1994 and 1996 …
