Quickline method developed for reducing sulfur emissions
A University of Tokyo research group said it has developed an efficient method using finely powdered quicklime to remove sulphur compounds from the gas emissions at coal-burning power plants. Compared to the conventional desulfurization technique, which involves passing the gas through water mixed with limestone, the new method achieves the …
Bacteria outnumbers stars in universe
For the first time scientists have a direct estimate of the total number of bacteria on earth and it is an almost unbelievable figure. The scientists from the University of Georgia estimate the number of bacteria on our planet to be five million trillion trillion--that's a figure with 30 zeros …
Tax on plastic goods in HP condemned
The plastic industry today condemned the Himachal Pradesh Government for its decision to impose goods tax at the rate of Rs 500 per tonne on all plastic--raw material as well as finished products in the state.
Dentists suggest control over sweets, pan masalas
Dentists have recommended control over sweets, chocolates, aerated drinks, pan masalas and related products as these are causing a large number of oral diseases. The rate of dental problems in India is very high as 90 per cent of the population suffers from gum diseases while 80 per cent children …
New drug for breast cancer
Breast cancer patients won a breakthrough new treatment late on Friday as the Food and Drug Administration approved Herceptin the first in what promises to be a wave of therapies attacting cancer at its genetic roots. Herceptin is not for every woman with breast cancer. But for the 30 per …
Frozen mammoth
A team of French and Russian scientists is about to leave for the Taimyr peninsula in northern Siberia to dig up the carcass of a mammoth preserved for some 50,000 years in the permanently frozen ground. "This operation is in fact the culmination of the first stage of a programme …
'Viagra' death reported from north-east
A 44-year-old man died after taking the wonder sex drug 'Viagra' in the north-east, Dr. K. K. Aggarwal, vice-president of the Heart Care Foundation of India said.He said this was the first 'Viagra death' in the country.
Health services under-utilised
That barely 12 per cent of all illnesses taking place in rural areas recieve treatment at any public health facility in Bangladesh is an eye-opener. According to the "World Bank Agenda for Action-Bangladesh, 1996", a good deal of attention to maternal health and child nutrition is still sorely needed, for …
Pickle manufacturers say ban will hit their trade
The total ban on mustard oil announced on Wednesday is expected to deliver a severe blow to the pickle trade in the city. Worried pickle manufacturers complaining of sale slumps, say production of pickles had been hit since news of even branded mustard oil samples having been found adulterated started …
Lanka epidemic in '96 not due to Indian vaccine
A special presential commission in Sri Lanka has ruled there is no scientific evidence to prove that sub-standard Indian vaccine supplied had led to a whooping cough epidemic in the island nation in 1996.The three member commission,which inquired into the allegation that a vaccine imported from India in 1996 and …
Ayurveda meet to highlight industry's ills
The Rs 2,500-crore Ayurveda industry is finally gearing up to survive in the WTO regime, even as the govenrment has yet to get legislations protecting India's biodiversity in place. The first-ever three-day national symposium starting on August 27, being organised by the Ayurveda Drug Manufacturer's Association and the ministry of …
FDA clears Lilly's Gemzar as treatment for certain cancer
The Food and Drug Administration gave approval to Eli Lilly and Co.'s Gemzer anticancer compound for first-line therapy against non-small-cell lung cancer, a potentially significantly development for an already moderately successful drug.
Govt responsible for '96 dengue deaths
HC : The Delhi High Court has held the Union and the Delhi Governments responsible for hundreds of dengue deaths in the Capital in 1996. The ruling said it was beyond comprehension why the two governments did not heed to the findings of the International Conference on Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever …
Sale of loose mustard oil banned
Sale of mustard oil in Delhi was banned today as dropsy epidemic caused by adulterated oil claimed 18 lives in the Capital. However, unconfirmed reports put the death toll at 20. About 500 persons have fallen ill after consuming adulterated mustard oil.
Unleaded petrol must in Delhi from Sept 1
The use of unleaded petrol will be made compulsory in Delhi for all vehicles, including those without catalytic converters, from September 1 but there is no proposal to extend this measure to other cities in the country.
Centre lays down rules for treatment of hospital waste
The Centre has framed new rules to deal with the problem of disposal of hospital waste. In a set of guidelines issued in July, the Ministry of Environment and Forests has acknowledged the environmental hazards posed by the use of incinerators to burn hospital waste and restricted their due to …
State Govts get leeway in clearing hydel projects
The State governments will henceforth be empowered to clear hydel projects that involve an investment ceiling of up to Rs 250 crore from the present limit of Rs 100 crore without being referred to seek the prior techno-economic clearance from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
Punjab plans to provide health service for all, says minister
The Punjab Government is committed to provide health services to one and all and has now prepared a plan to achieve this. Health and Family Welfare Minsiter Manoranjan Kalia said here that there would be a confluence of medical therapies."We have sought to envourge homoeopathy and ayurveda and decided to …
Soya power to check cancer
Soya beans are beibg touted as the new miracle food for women and may be for men, too, if recent research from Japan, the US and UK is to be believed Indian food scientists and technologists, who met recently at an annual convention in Mumbai, cited several international studies presenting …
