Way to curb nicotine addiction
A team of French researchers said on Thursday that it had isolated the key component in the brain that controls nicotine addiction, a discovery that may eventually make giving up smoking as easy as swallowing a pill.
'Purifying wall' intercepts, clean water
Taisei Corp. has established new technology to clean up large scale areas of polluted underground water. The general contractor hopes to put the new technology to practical use to prevent an increase in water contaimination by factories. The new technology sets up a "purifying wall" consisting of reactive materials and …
Some salts may reduce risk of stroke
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco compared the effects of various potassium compounds in the diet of rats genetically predisposed to high blood pressure and stroke. During the three month study, the animals fed a supplement of potassium citrate or potassium bicarbonate had consistently lower blood pressure than …
Experts concerned over threat to UP wetland
A recent survey of the Hastinapur wildlife sanctuary in western UP by researchers from the Wildlife society of India has revealed that over the last two years, there has been a "massive increase in the destruction of swampy areas within the sanctuary "by organised mafias" who are exploiting certain legal …
Wide prevalence of maternal anaemia in India
The National Human Rights Commission has been told that "there is a definite link between infant mortality, human development and human rights in India." According to a study supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the UNICEF on an average 40 per cent babies born in India …
Tabeez and acupressure
The locket and tabeez that the grandparents tied around the neck of the young ones weren't, after all plain superstition. They served another purpose : of applying light pressure on the upper chest overlying the thymus gland to improve its functioning. The accupressure experts had gathered in New Delhi from …
Hubble photos offer proof of new planet
Pictures taken by the Hubble Space telescope support the view that a new planet has been created by debris cast off by the star Beta Pictoris about 61 light years from earth.
New cataract removal method demonstrated
Phaco-emulsification, a new technique for the removal of cataracts, is becoming popular because of its inherent advantages over traditional surgery. Four leading eye-specialists from the regiona successfully operated on cataract patients using the new technique-commonly shortened to phaco--at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) at Chandigarh on …
The curse of the water hyacinth
Lake Victoria's shoreline have been taken over by water hyacinth, ringing the lake with a thick green curst where water used to be. Controlling the weed has become a priority for Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, which border the lake. The thick green mats of plants hamper fishermen.They bang up the …
Meet on earthquakes from Jan 25
A five day Chapman conference (American Geophysical Union) on stable continental region earthquakes will be held on the premises of National Geophysical research institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad from Jan 25.
Tests indicate avian flu isn't spread by people
Early tests, indicate that the avian flu that has sickened 16 people and killed 4 in Hong Kong is not spreading from person to person, U.S. health officials said. But they will not rule it out.
Nutriceuticals head the menu
A yoghurt was invented by Scottish biotechnology company Scotia. It tastes like ordinary yoghurt, but has a component, called Olibra, that makes the eater feel full. It works, says Scotia, by stimulating the nerve endings in the small intenstine that tell the brain eating time is over.
When genes and lifestyle go against urban Indians
A medical study indicates that ethnic Indians are far more susceptible to heart disease than other ethnic groups. The British study by Dr. Colin Bary, a consultant cardiologist from Manchestor, found that CHD (coronary heart disease) sets in earlier among Indians, than other nationalities. His study, which included Southeast Asians, …
Provisional lab testing for bird flu
The Union health and family welfare has made provision for laboratory diagnosis of avian influenza at the National Institute of Virology, Pune and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in New Delhi as a precautionary measure.
HC favours an early law to ban quacks
The Delhi High Court hoped that the city government would initiate steps for an early passage of an Anti-Quackery Bill, making the practice by quacks in the Capital a cognizable offence.
Is chyawanprash harmful
Chyawanprash, the Ayurvedic health food, is under fire for a variety of reasons. Critics allege that the modern version does not follow the original recipe and is too sugary for diabetics : a report.
Mineral water to carry BIS certification
Mineral water bottles will now have to carry certification of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). At present, mineral water bottles do not carry a mark pertaining to the quantity of mineral content in the water.
Discovery that might cure disease of smoking
Scientists in Europe say they have isolated a chemical compound that is responsible for creating nicotine addiction among smokers. "For the first time, one particular molecule has been shown to be critical for the events leading up to nicotine addiction," according to Marina Picciotto, a member of the research team …
