Spending on promotion of drugs soars
Television advertising of prescription drugs is spiralling upwards in the US after a rule change last year which allowed such advertising for the first time. Mass media campaigns promoting brand-name drugs began the day the rules changed, on August 8 last year. By the end of 1997, the top 10 …
Clinical trials for 'bioartifical liver'
A "bioartificial liver" based on pig liver cells, is set to go into late phase clinical trials in the US and Europe over the next two months. The HepatAssist Liver Support System is designed to support patients with acute liver failure, until a transplant organ can be found or their …
Law on biological diversity will be further delayed
The proposed law on biological diversity will be further delayed as the government is working on a broad consensus with experts before introducing it in Parliament. Experts from all over the country and state representatives were brought together on Wednesday to bring in modifications in the proposed draft.
Concern over poor quality water
A four-day national seminar-cum-biennial worksop on 'Strategies for Management of Poor Quality water' was held at the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal.
Kerala has 1,893 cases of HIV
At least 1,893 HIV positive cases have so far been reported in Kerala so far, state's health minister A C Shanmughadas told the State Assembly on Wednesday.The maximum number of 496 cases had been reported from Thrissur district followed by Kozhikode(492) and Thiruvananthapuram (425), he said.
New rabies vaccine developed
Scientists said on Monday they had developed a cheaper new kind of rabies vaccine that could protect poeple against the deadly virus. They said the new vaccine, which uses genetic material from the rabies virus, completely protected monkeys exposed to the virus.
Probe ordered against Teesta project officials
An inquiry has been initiated against at least 20 senior officials of the Irrigation Department for alleged involvement in irregularities detected in the multi-crore Teesta Barrage project in North Bengal.
Epidemic forecast centre
The Gujarat health Minister, Mr. Ashok Bhatt, has said that an epidemic forecast centre, the first of its kind in the country, would be set up in Ahmedabad soon.
UP's first-ever test-tube baby
Uttar Pradesh's first ever test-tube baby was born to Reeta and Kanchan Ahluwalia last Saturday at the Malhotra Nursing Home in Agra. Dr R M Malhotra of the Malhotra Test Tube Baby Centre announced the child's birth at a press conference on Tuesday.
Impotent potions
China recorded its first Aids case in 1985. Since then, HIV infections have risen to an estimated 300,000 say experts. A recent Ministry of Health report predicts the number could rise as high as 10 million before 2010 if no effective countermeasures are taken. Many people rely on HIV-fighting potions …
Is the next one OK?
Aspiring Thai monks may have to take urine tests. Thailand's education ministry wants men applying to become Buddhist monks to submit to urine test for drug use and the virus that causes AIDS. More than 60 complaints have been filed with the police in the past two years involving drug …
Retrovirus in diabetes' DNA
Swiss scientists have reported the discovery of a novel retrovirus (which converts itself from RNA to DNA after penetrating host cells and inserting itself into genes there) concealed in the DNA of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients.They first detected the activity of reverse transcriptase in fresh pancreatic-islet cultures from patients.They …
Patel for settling Cauvery issue by mutual consent
Karnataka on Wednesday made it clear that provisions in the Central draft and modified schemes for implementation of interim award of the Cauvery tribunal was "totally unacceptable" and calld on Tamil Nadu to "stop politicising" the issue and agree to solve it through mutual consent and cooperation.
Gulf War syndrome
Veterans of Gulf War have complained for years of a cluster of ill defined and often unexplained ailments they think are related to their service. Many believe that their wide ranging symptoms can be explained only by some hitherto undisclosed exposure to chemical weapons. But the symptoms attributed to "Gulf …
Water supply in Karachi may worsen
Minister of State for Water and Power Capt (retd) Halim Siddiqi expressed apprehensions that the water supply situation to many parts of Karachi would aggravate if the Sindh government did not make alternative arrangements to provide water to the affected areas after the stoppage of normal water supply from Hub …
Celltech approval 'a year earlier'
Celltech, the biotechnology company, said that its antibody treatment for Crohn's disease-a serious bowel condition-could reach the US market up to a year earlier than expected after the regulator decided to speed up the approval process.
'Soyabean industry benefits from mustard oil ban'
The noted ecologist, Dr Vandana Shiva, today added one more dimesion to the talk of a "conspiracy" behind adulteration of mustard oil and expressed suspicions about the soyabean industry being the main beneficiary of the ban on mustard oil. Addressing a Press conference, Dr Shiva said the government decision to …
'Refer coconut oil issue to WHO'
Kerala has urged the Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) to refer the controversy over the alleged ill-effects of coconut oil to the World Health Organisation for scientific verification. The matter was raised at the recent international seminar on coconut held at Indonesia by a State delegation in the light of …
Leech to cure varicose vein
Medical researchers in Mumbai have used leeches to treat patients suffering from varicose vein, enlarged and distorted blood vessesl commonly seen in the legs. The treatment, first described in ayruvedic text Sushruta Sumhita in 2000 BC, involved the use of leeches to suck and draw out blood from such veins.
