Workshop to train doctors on endoscopy
Experts on non-surgical procedures for food track blockages and tumours are going to train specialists and general physicians on the latest developments in the field. The Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India, in collaboration with the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, is going to organise a one-day Therapeutic Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Workshop on …
Latest stimulant Lebanese herb
The plant known as Shirsh Zallouh has grown high in Lebanon's mountains for millennia, disturbed only by herbalists who prescribe it as a stimulant. The sudden surge in demand by Lebanese men and women seeking a sex panacea is causing scientists to fret about the plant's possible extinction.
Ranbaxy wants decontrol of indigenous drugs
Ranbaxy Laboratories wants the government to exempt all drugs manufacturered in the country from price control, subject to the condition that the drug is manufactured by at least two producers and no single formulator has a market share of 80 per cent.
Mid-day meal scheme faces problem in Orissa
The mid-day meal programme introduced all over the country a few years ago by the Centre , is likely to come to a grinding halt in Orissa as the Food Corporation of India has stopped supply of free rice to the state from July 27, this year.
Fighting mosquitoes with pond scum
A Florida researcher Dov Borovsky has come with a novel way to control mosquitoes-put them on a diet. He perfected a diet pill that alters mosquito digestion, making it impossible for them to feed and lay eggs. He synthesizes the hormone that switches the mosquito's digestive system on and off.
Bellary included in World Bank project
Bellary district has become one among the 100 districts in the country to be selected by the World Bank for malaria eradication project, Bellary City Municipal president S Markandeya said.
Take my fat - please
About five years ago, Harvard University chemist George Whitesides had a brainstorm. Because polymers can be constructed with chemical arms able to selectively grab onto other molecules, why not design an indigestible version that can rid the stomach of unwanted substances? Like fat, for instance. The idea spawned GelTex Pharmaceuticals …
Making sex safe from disease
America is in the midst of an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). STDs strike some 10 to 12 million people each year. One in five adults now has herpes, for instance. As a defence agains STDs, a number of companies are developing antimicrobial salves.
China draws up blueprint for hydro-electric power
China plans to construct five large hydro-electric power stations costing a total of $7.23bn by 2010, creating significant demand for international financing and equipment from foreign suppliers. The plan, reported by the official media, comes as China has overcapacity in many provinces, industry executives said.
No need for needles
Diabetics who must jab themselves to test their sugar levels may soon be able to throw away their needles, according to a recent study. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston have started Preliminary trials on a technique that uses ultrasound waves to test the glucose levels of …
One doctor, 370,000 nurses, and a bounty of findings
More than 20 years ago, a doctor who was curious about the effects of long-term oral contraceptive use sent questionnaires to 370,000 registered nurses. The answers he and colleagues recieved have turned into the largest and longest repeated follow-up study of a group of women, a fountain of information about …
DuPont gets U.S. clearance for AIDS drug
A new and powerful AIDS drug will soon be available for use in the combination drug therapy that has helped many HIV-infected people fight off the AIDS virus. If it is as effective as some believe, the new drug eventually may help lower the number of pills patients must take …
Rs. 590 cr. for woman, child nutrition project
The Tamil Nadu Government, the World Bank and the Union Government will together spend Rs. 590 crores on the health and nutritional status of women and children in the State over the next five years. The State Government, with an allocation of Rs. 162 crores, will be the second biggest …
Keeping alive traditional medicine
Keeping alive thr country's traditional wisdom in medicine is a group of health practitioners caled "Gunis". Once spurned as mendicants by townspeople and despised as quacks by the men of modern medicine, the Gunis are now an organised lot thanks to the efforts fo the Udaipir-based Jagran Jan Vikas samiti. …
Lab tests clear blood bags
The blood bank at R.G. Kar hospital has started using Hindustan Latex Limited-manufactured polybags after tests at the hospital's biochemistry laboratory confirmed the white sediment in the bags, detected after blood was stored in them last month, were "harmless," a senior technician at the bank said today. A report in …
10,500 cancer patients in city
An estimated 10,500 people in Delhi suffer from cancer and nearly 15 to 18 lakh are at the risk of developing the deadly disease, Delhi Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said here on Sunday.Announcing the launch of a two-day cancer control programme all over the city from Monday he said …
Fetal research yields immune clues
Chalk it up to a lucky accident or a flash of inspiration. Either way, the outcome was the same: Two Georgia researchers have come up with a novel exploatnion of why a pregnent woman's body doesn't reject her fetus, the way it would a transplanted organ. Theoretically, it should. But …
Meanwhile, in the U.S.
"Alternative" therapies - particularly herbs, acupuncture, massage therapy and homeopathy-are fast growing in popularity among American consumers. The trend is part of a movement calling for more 'holistic' approach to medicines that combines mind, body and spirit.
Signs of life
Fifty years ago, good health in Asia meant merely surviving. Malnutrition was widespread, and so were diseases associated with poverty: cholera, dysentry, typhoid and parasitic infections. In 1955 the average life expectancy was 48 years; by 1995 it had climbed to 65 years. Some Asian countries enjoy even higher numbers. …
Rushing into the rain forests for herbs
A licensing pact with Pfizer Inc. is a key vote of confidence for Phytopharm PLC, a fledgling British firm that is combing jungles from South Africa to Indonesia in search of new plant-based medicines. Under an agreement potentially worth up to $32 millions in research funding, license fees and other …
