Swallowing bitter pills
Fake and adulterated medicines are posing health risks greater than the disease they're meant to cure : a report.
An attack on aging
A study proves that each of the 1 trillion cells in the human body contains its own biological clock, which tells the cell when to stop growing and start dying.It is based on an experiment sponsored by the National Institute on Aging and the Geron biotech company of Menlo Park, …
Pseudo virus offers hope against AIDS
A research group from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tokai University said it has developed a technology that might prove effective for developing a vaccine against the AIDS virus.
Tumours are frozen out
A new technique to freeze out secondary liver cancers in patients with colon cancer is being hailed a success by British doctors.
GREEN WATCHDOG
The Supreme Court recently cleared the constitution of a five-member environmental protection authority (EPA) by the central government. A three-judge bench observed that the authority for the national capital region is "not only appropriate but also timely'. The EPA would include Anil Agarwal, director of the Centre for Science and …
Miners ruling may cost $1.6bn
The UK government faces compensation bill approaching $1.6bn after British Coal lost a land mark High Court case brought by six former miners suffering from respiratory diseases caused by coal dust.
Buying a gulp of the Colorado
The basin of the Colorado River covers 244,000 square miles of territory and provides water to 25m people, 16m in California alone. So much importance is attached to the distribution of the river's annual surplus of water that the decision is made by the secretary of the interior, no less.
Under the influence
ZymeTx, a biotechnology company has developed, and recently obtained official approval for, a kit that can tell whether your sore throat and running nose really are the result of a virus or whether something else is to blame. The kit, is able to detect an enzyme that is an essential …
Donor law prompts fears of organ seizure in Brazil
Brazil has passed a new law concerning donating organs, which has come into operation at the beginning of the year. The law, which is designed to increase the number of organs available for surgery, makes all Brazilians over 21 automatic donors unless they register their objection on their identity cards. …
Judge okays $25bn tobacco settlement
A Federal judge has approved Texas' $15.3-billion settlement with America's tobacco industry, the largest court settlement in the litigation history of the United States.
HK to lift ban
Hong Kong said on Friday it would end a ban on fresh chicken imports early next month as a "bird flu" outbreak which prompted the ban appears to have been contained.The Government would end the ban on the import of fresh chickens from February 7, said Mr. Michael Suen, head …
Four out of 10 children suffer from malnutrition
Four out of every 10 children below the age of five years in India suffer from malnutrition, according to a recent U.N. report. Research in the field has revealed that malnourished girls give birth to children who are not only weak physically but also have IQ five times less than …
Madcow
Seven people died in Hong Kong after being injected with a medical reagent possibly contaminated by the protein which causes the human form of "mad cow" disease. The seven were among 108 heart and lung patients injected upon at six hospitals between July to December to test the radioactive reagent …
Lead alert
A small pilot study carried out by Prof Veen Kalra at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has revealed that a shocking 70 per cent of Delhi's school going children have unacceptably high levels of lead in their blood. Though the study involved only 200 children, it has …
Drops for diabetes
Scientists may soon develop vaccines for diabetes, a renowned Swedish scientist, Professor Holmgren announced recently. The new, orally administered vaccine should be ready for full-scale testing on humans within two to three years.
Mussel power to heal wounds
New Zealand scientists said recently they were synthesising a protein produced by mussels in the hope that it will lead to the closing of human wounds without stitches. The protein forms the strong natural glue that sticks the shellfish to rocks.
Anti-mosquito drive by Corporation
The Cochin Corporation has announced a series of anti-mosquito programmes in the wake of reports of meningitis fever and the increasing menace of the mosquitoes in the city.
Rising HIV cases point to coming health care crisis
As more and more Nepali citizens begin to be diagnosed with Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome, better known by its acronym AIDS, health officials have begun to worry about the coming crisis in the nation's health care system.
Japanese encephalitis looming over Kochi
Japanese Encephalitis(JE) which has a mortality rate of over 40 per cent, is looming over Kochi yet again, with the fading of the monsoon and the salubrious mosquito-breeding season, with the hotting up of the weather the stagnation of drains and canals and the generally lackadaisical approach of the City …
