Alert on outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis
At least five persons have died in Kerala in a recent outbreak of viral meningitis with clinical features resembling Japanse Encephalitis (JE). The highest number of cases and deaths have been in Kottayam, where 28 cases and four deaths have been reported so far.
Drying centre in Lingshi for medicinal herbs
The chances of medicinal herbs from Lingshi losing much of their potency during transportation will be reduced, now that a drying centre in Lingshi is ready to begin work. It was constructed with a Nu 2.1 million fund from the European Union through the National Institute of Traditional Medicine (NITM).
Environmentalists to save lake
Bhutanese environmentalists have stepped in to save a drying lake in Wangduephodrang and assuage the fear of local people who believe it might spell misfortune for their community.
3rd AIDS-resistant gene is found
United States researchers have found a third genetic mutation that gives people some resistance to AIDS, offering clues in the search for a cure.
Salt iodisation scheme a success
The Central Government's programme for evaluation of the impact of salt iodisation on neonathal hypothyrodism in UP has remained a non-starter even as the ongoing successful effort to eradicate nutritional iodine deficiency (NID) is saving hundreds of thousands of newborns from mental retardation.
A case to document biological wealth
On the face of it, the fact that there are over 8.5 lakh species of insects in the country, and of them only about 50,000 have so far been identified may not mean much. But, it assumes importance, considering that India is a party to the Biodiversity Conservation. It has …
Huge army deployment for Pak census
As many as 150,000 Army troops will be deployed for the Pakistani national census being held from March 2-18 after a group of 17 years. The last census was held way back in 1981.
World Bank aid sought for food testing labs
The Health Ministry is negotiating with the World Bank for a $100 million term loan for setting up a chain of quality testing laboratories in the country. The laboratories would be authorised to confer ISO and Codex Alimentareus certificates for food products.
Researchers find gene to help AIDS patients
Researchers have found an altered gene that helps to explain why some people infected with the Acquired Immuno Defeciency Syndrome virus remain healthy and alive for years after their infection. In a study to be published in the Journal Science, researchers at the National Cancer Institute said that alteration of …
Alternative fuel vehicles the new Telco mantra
Telco is proposing to commercially produce compact, efficient and economically viable vehicles which use alternative fuels within the next two years. The company has already made a start by launching a fully-functional long haul bus with CNG as a fuel, at the Auto Expo '98.
Consumer seen as victor in beef row
The European Commission hailed a ruling on hormone treated beef as a "victory for the consumer", even though the decision leaves it unclear whether the European Union will be able to continue indefinitely its ban on imports of the meat from the US and Canada.
Tobacco suit in Spain
A Barcelona lawyer, has filed the first wrongful death lawsuit against Spain's state run tobacco company, seeking $400,000 in damages for the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer in 1993.
Jet lagged? Shine a bright light behind a knee
In an experiment described as flabbergasting, US scientists shined a bright light on the backs of human knees and , in some mysterious way reset the master biological clock in the human brain. Those treated with the light had their body clocks advanced or delayed by up to three hours, …
Tobacco firms memos took aim at the young
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, the second largest cigarette company in the United States, sought for decades to reverse the declining sales of its brands by developing aggressive marketing proposals to reach adolscents as young as 14 years old, according to company documents. The 81 internal memos and other documents, released …
Reproductive health, a state of social well being
Wide publicity on "reversible sterilisation" is questionable, the authorities of the Health Manpower Development Institute, DANIDA Health Care Project, have contended. In a paper on "ethics in reproductive health" at a recent international seminar on ethics in medicine and science, held in Salem, Dr. V. Sivaramamurthy and Dr. A.K.Kannan said …
