BSE safeguards 'not properly policed'
Abbattoirs in UK would have paid more heed to regulations aimed at protecting the public from BSE if they had been forced more properly by the Ministry of Agriculture, the public inquiry into the handling of the crisis was told.
Diarrhoea, gastro claim 37 lives
The outbreak of diarrhoea and gastroenteritis in Orissa's Kalahandi district has claimed 37 lives during the last 10 days, according to health department sources.
Venom cure
A team of US researchers said that a protein found in snake venom might fight breast cancer. Reports from Boston quoted the researchers as saying that the protein halted tumour growth by preventing tumour cells from spreading throughout the body and also by stopping them from growing tiny blood vessels …
Wonder drug to target mid-day meals
A wonder drug containing all the nutrients, proteins and vitamins needed for a child's development could soon form part of the mid day meals given in schools. Obtained from the fresh water algae, spirulina, the drug's capabilities have been ascertained by a multi-disciplinary research team consisting of scientists from molecular …
The "jiggasha" programme
A rather novel approach to reproductive health education emerged from the programme undertaken by the Bangladesh Centre for Communication Programmes (BCCP) in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Unversity's Centre for Communication Programmes (JHU/CCP), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Directorate of Family Planning and the IEM unit. The purpose of …
Viagra coming to India in January
Viagra, the "wonder drug" that cures erectile dysfunction or male impotencu, will be introduced in India in January, subject to the approval of the drug controller of India.
Bill to protect local herbalists approved after a long wait
The cabinet in Thailand approved the long-awaited Thai Medical Intellectual Protection and Promotion Bill, aimed at protecting traditional healers and existing knowledge of Thai herbs and traditional medicine. Despite widespread use of herbal medicines, Thailand has not yet listed the existing local knowledge of traditional healers, nor have their ingredients …
India's amateur 'doctors' ease pain of being poor
As the rural poor have streamed into India's great metropolis in recent years, the"indigenous practitioners" in the polite terminology of health experts or quacks in other words, have come along with them. As there is currently no law that explicitly prohibits their work, they operate with impunity in more than …
Govt stops issue of NOC for export of new molecules
The Government has stopped issuing no objection certificate (NOC) for export of new molecules for drugs and has referred the case to the Law Ministry for examining the legality of such exports under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The matter came to light following the export of sildefulcitrate, the active …
Rothmans proposal under fire again
The lobby against the UK based cigarette manufacturer, Rothmans International, has become active again, with its proposal for setting up a 100 per cent Indian subsidiary, coming up for consideration with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) next saturday. The onslaught on company's proposal was again unleashed on Monday, by …
UK cattle passport to ease beef ban
The British government inaugurate a cattle passport system that it hopes will lead to the lifting of the worldwide ban imposed on exports of British beef by the end of this year. A computer system has been put in place to track British cattle from birth to the abattoir at …
Fall in water table may reduce food output by a fifth
The international opinion of India's agricultural bounty is not as rosy as projected within the country, or so it seems from the latest report ' Beyond Malthus: Sixteen Dimensions of the Population Problems' by renowned population scientist Lester Brown of the WorldWatch Institute. The Washington-based WWI's report suggests that many …
Chinese pharma major plans greenfield project in India
The $450-million private sector pharma major in China, Shanghai, Fortune Industrial Company Ltd, has decided to put up a plant in India. If everything goes well, the venture will be the maiden greenfield plant by any Chinese firm in India. As a first step towards setting up a plant for …
New gene a factor behind Alzheimer's disease
Research has confirmed suspicions that a new gene could be yet another causative factor that makes people susceptible to Alzheimer's disease, an expert said. "Work that my group has been involved in confirms earlier suspicions that there is a susceptible gene in chromosome 12 that is a causative factor," Dr …
India's answer to Viagra
Penigra : An Indian variant of Viagra will hit the market next March with the claim that it will not hurt the customer's pocket. Penigra, being manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Cadilla Healthcare Limited, would cost nearly Rs 80 per piece.
Memory building
How people remember things, why some things are more memorable than others, and how memory might be improved, are slowly being cleared up : a report.
Gujarat to boycott world panel visit
The Gujarat Government had decided to boycott the proceedings of the World Commission on Dams during its visit to India from September 19 to 22 to study the merits and demerits of major dams in the country. The Minister for Narmada Affairs, Mr Jaynarayan Vyas, in a letter to the …
Watershed projects
Cost-benefit analysis 'faulty': The conventional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) used by the Centre and States to ensure efficient allocation of resources for watershed projects grossly overestimates the ground reality, according to a new study by the Overseas Development Institute, London.
$32.4m WB aid for first-track project
The World Bank has approved a US$32.4 million credit for "Fast-track Project" to assist Bangladesh in addressing arsenic crisis, the largest poisoning effect in the country. The Arsenic Mitigation Project will provide alternative water supplies and emergency relief to people living in areas where arsenic contaminated groundwater is now causing …
'HIV cases on the rise among black women '
Young black women in a job-training programme for disadvantaged youths were much more likely than other participants to be infected with the AIDS virus, federal health officials said. The centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, women aged 16 to 21 who entered the federally-funded job corps programme between …
