Infants deprived of life-saving vaccine
Health officials in Kathmandu always claim that the Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) is doing well in all districts of the country. But fresh reports from far-flung districts reveal that thousands of infants are still deprived of life-saving vaccination against deadly diseases.
Milk to treat Alzheimer's
A UK biotechnology company ReGen Therapeutics, is developing a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease based on colostrum - the first milk produced by mammals after giving birth, which offers certain immune properties. The company has acquired the rights to colostrinin, produced from colostrum, from the Polish Academy of Sciences where …
New method could help parents choose a baby's sex
Doctors at a fertility center near Washington report that they can substantially stack the odds that a couple using artificial insemination can have a baby of the sex they choose. The method, developed by the Genetics & IVF Institute in Fairfax, Virginia, involves sorting sperm by the amount of DNA …
World Commission on dams cancels visit to Gujarat
The 12-member team of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) , which was to visit Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to examine the controversial narmada project later this month, has cancelled its proposed visit to the Sardar Sarovar project area in Gujarat. The chairman of WCD and minister of water affairs …
Anti-malaria drug from Chinese herb
By exploiting a compound isloated from a Chinese herb, researchers in Lucknow have developed an anti-malaria drug to cure cerebral malaria. Scientists at the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) and the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic plants have jointly developed the drug, 'Arteether' that can project people against plasmodium …
Govt to push hydel projects
Faced with severe energy shortage, the government is pressing ahead with 12 major hydro power projects in a bid to speed up generation of electricity from water. The projects are all scheduled to be completed by 2002, the end of the current five-year-plan period.
Oil adulteration has HC worried
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday expressed concern over the Central and Delhi Government's failure to establish how large quantitites of adulterated oil suddenly came to the city market causing dropsy disease which so far has claimed 52 lives in the capital.
Ball-shaped polymers help proteins regain stable shape
A group at Keio University in Tokyo said it has developed a method using a ball-shaped polymer to help proteins fold back into their most stable three dimensional shape. The technique could be a boon to drug manufacturers, who can synthesize various useful proteins as straight line molecules but then …
Jurors award damages in stealth jet suit
A jury in Los Angeles has assessed punitive damages of more than $760 million against five oil and chemical companies for injuries suffered by workers building the Lockheed Corp., according to lawyers involved in the case. The jury verdict, handed up in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, followed a …
2.5 lakh mentally handicapped for iodine deficiency
Some 2.50 lakh people become mentally handicapped in Bangladesh every year for iodine deficiency as the iodisation drive failed to make a dent in the crippling public health hazard. A recent survey by the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) found some 70 per cent of the population iodine-deficient, and 47 …
DMA deplores opening of 'oxygen bar'
A large number of medical practitioners associated with the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) have expressed shock and concern over the opening of an 'oxygen bar' in the capital without going into any scientific details of such a venture.
HIV positive donors on the increase
The prevalence of HIV positive cases in the blood being collected from voluntary donors by 27 government and private blood banks in the Capital, has increased over the last two years, reveals a status report prepared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Mir 'could hit' populated areas
The troubled Mir spacecraft could land on populated areas when it ends its 13 -year endurance trial in orbit, say British scientists.
Promoting drugs
American consumers are being deluged with advertisements for prescription drugs. The Food and Drug Administration reluctantly opened the floodgates last August by allowing companies to promote medicines on television, and the pharmaceuticals industry has responded by pouring an estimated $1.3bn into consumer advertising this year. (editorial)
Cancer cases in Assam increasing
The number of cancer patients in Assam and other parts of north eastern region is increasing with every passing year and according to Director of Dr. B Barooah Cancer Institute Dr. Gazi G Ahmed, the majority of the patients are of the age group of 45 to 55 years. In …
Flesh-eating bacteria cases surface in US
Two cases of the flesh eating bacteria have surfaced at Philadelhia hospitals. Necrotizing Fasciitis infects 500 to 1,500 Americans a year and is fatal in about 30 per cent of cases, according to the centres for disease control.
Drug shows promise on breast cancer
A new drug cuts the rate of breast cancer deaths by two-thirds among women at high risk of getting new tumors, researchers led by Ingo Diel of the University of Heidelberg reported. The drug, clodronate, is one of a class of compounds known as bisphosphonates that prevent bone loss from …
On the trail of the human line
The human line has emerged from Africa not once but twice. That is the ingenious and far reaching surmise proposed in the latest issue of Current Biology by Caro-Beth Stewart of the State University of New York at Albany and Todd Disotell of New York University. Their conclusion emerges from …
Monsanto's milk hormone linked to cancer ?
Two journalists in the US are thwarted in their efforts to tell an important public health story-that Monsanto's genetically engineered milk hormone may promote cancer in humans. Their story, is killed by the very TV station that had commissioned the story, caving in to threats by Monsanto.
Fasting rejuvenates human system
study: Fasting rejuvenates the entire human system, says a study. Adding to the long list of the beneficial effects of fasting, the findings of a study conducted by the city-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) might ultimately lead to unravelling the mystery of the ageing process.
