Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
We take life for granted because that is all we see around us, till death steps in to remind us how easy it is to take life away. The tobacco industry is not dying, but those who smoke are. Slowly but surely they are killing themselves to fill the coffers …
A US study shows that increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmosphere result in improved photosynthesis, helping trees grow faster. Scientists at the University of Georgia, USA, have evaluated the response of loblolly pines to increasing concentrations of CO 2 and measured the photosynthesis, respiration and …
many times patients complain that doctors order more tests or perform more expensive procedures than required. Now sophisticated new computer models will enable millions of patients to analyse their medical records and help them determine the cheapest and the most effective way of treatment. The largest us hospital company, Columbia/ …
doctors often warn women who have breast cancer not to get pregnant. Since estrogen is believed to stimulate tumor growth, nine months of elevated levels of the hormone seem just too big a risk. But a study conducted by scientists in Copenhagen suggests that the risk may be worth taking. …
irradiated sewage sludge would be used to make the deserts bloom and increase food production. Radiation will be used to convert sewage into fertiliser in a commercial plant that would be the first of its kind in the world. The International Atomic Energy Agency ( iaea ), Vienna, and the …
high levels of radioactive discharge into the English Channel from a reprocessing plant at La Hague, France, have increased the incidence of leukaemia in children of the region. The alleged removal of an underwater monitoring equipment by Cogema, the company that operates the plant, has led to the serious problem. …
poaching of spiders, reptiles and other rare insects has spurted into national parks of the southwestern us , as these species attract high value in the overseas markets. traffic , a division of the World Wide Fund for Nature ( wwf ) that tracks the impact of poaching around the …
Women are more efficient than men in using the world wide web, according to a survey. A test conduced by MCI, an American Telecommunication company, at the site http://www.nettest.mci.com, attracted thousands of people to answer five general interest questions using the Net. The company found that overall women aged between …
the use of appetite suppressant drugs adversely affects the health of people, according to reports published in the uk and usa . Dexfenfluramine, a commonly prescribed dieting drug, boosts the levels of serotonin in brain and influences the neurotransmitter that carry chemical signals across the tiny gaps between one neurone …
a recent study has established that mobile phones can disrupt implanted heart pacemakers. The interference caused by hand-held wireless telephones may prevent cardiac pacemakers from functioning properly. A team led by David Hayes of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, came to this conclusion after conducting studies on 980 patients …
british immunologists have developed artificial antibodies that help in setting the body's immune system into action. Antibodies are y -shaped watchmen of the immune system that identify harmful cells and infectious organisms. They simultaneously get hold of diseased cells and immune system proteins to initiate a full-scale attack on invading …
scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology ( iicb ), Calcutta have developed kits that use radioactive tracer drugs to assess functioning of vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and liver. They include radioactive tracer drugs to measure kidney functioning and indicate the success of a kidney transplant …
Nearly 140 people were killed and over 20,000 injured due to floods in southern China this year. According to Red Cross officials this year's floods were not as devastating as last year's. This year's floods have destroyed tens of thousands of homes in five provinces - Zhejiang, Fujian, Guang-dong, Guangxi …
A project worth US $1 billion has enabled Pakistan to reclaim about 260,000 ha of waterlogged farmland. The project was launched with an assistance from the World Bank. Although Pakistan has the best canal irrigation systems in the world, the country's agricultural production has been badly affected by waterlogging and …
up to three per cent of worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide, the major global warming gas, could be emanating from the natural fires that are rampaging through coalfields in northern China. The situation is so serious that the Chinese government has called in Dutch scientists to help it put them …
a team of doctors at Mumbai's Nanavati hospital have achieved a major breakthrough in the treatment of coronary diseases. They recently inserted radioactive stents (metal stems) in the coronary artery for the first time in Asian medical history. The process involves declogging arterial blocks through radioactive exposure or therapy. Once …
health is not only - or even primarily - the concern of doctors and nurses. The community has a major role to play in creating an environment that makes available better health care facilities and is conducive to prevention of diseases. In the current environmental situation, which continues to get …
according to a study of the us department of agriculture( usda ), more than one fourth of the food produced in usa is either spoilt, unused or is uneaten on the plate. The study estimates that the food lost in retail stores, restaurants and people's homes in 1995 was more …
public health officials in west Africa say the hunting and consumption of bushmeat (meat from hunting wild animals) leads to the transmission of hiv related virus among local villagers. The major outbreak of Ebola virus in Gabon last summer that claimed the lives of 13 villagers has also been linked …
