Launched in 2010, the website is affiliated to the Foundation for Research on Rare Diseases and Disorders, a Chennai non-profit. It provides information on over 400 rare diseases. It also provides basic reviews of the diseases as provided by volunteers, patients and their family members, and health experts. The site …
RESEARCH suggests that habitat loss, thought to be a major threat to amphibians across the world, might in some cases be protecting them from a deadly fungus. Amphibian species, which include frogs, toads and salamanders, have dwindled at an alarming rate since 1980s; a third of the world’s amphibian species …
Nine-year-old Rani is unhappy. She has to stay away from her mother Janki Patel, who is taking part in a clinical trial at a centre 10 kilometres from her house at Bapu Nagar in Ahmedabad. “I do not like these trials. They take my parents away,” says Rani. In their …
To tighten regulations around clinical trials, a bill was drafted in 2002. Framed as per the guidelines of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), it was submitted to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2007 to be tabled in Parliament. But it has seen no progress ever since. …
Instead of looking at the business of food, growing healthy food may be the target Once again there is a food safety scare. A deadly strain of E coli bacterium has hit Germany, where it has so far taken the lives of 25 people and affected another 2,300. German food …
JAIPUR: Member of Parliament and chairman of the Parliamentary Forum for HIV/AIDS Oscar Fernandes on Monday said that around 40% of the people living with HIV/AIDS are less than 15-year-old in the state. State legislators and experts on AIDS expressing their concern during the seminar held at the Birla Auditorium, …
The WHO has launched a report on health co-benefits of climate change mitigation in the housing sector, the first of a new series of reports on health in the green economy. The series undertakes a systematic analysis of climate change mitigation and green growth strategies in five economic sectors: housing, …
WORLD leaders trying to mitigate the effects of depleting biodiversity of various ecosystems have a reason to worry. Loss of biodiversity may make organisms, including humans, more vulnerable to infectious diseases and influence emergence of new illnesses. That is the conclusion of a paper which stated animals, plants and microbes …
The National Institute of Virology (NIV) has alerted medical establishments in Maharashtra to keep an eye on any patients of dengue showing Congo virus-like symptoms. This move is aimed at ruling out the presence of the newly-identified virus, initial infection signs of which bear resemblance to dengue haemorrhagic fever.
Jharkhand has the reputation of being India’s biggest producer of lac, a scarlet-coloured resin secreted by an insect on trees. The state accounts for more than 50 per cent of the country’s lac produce. In 2004-05, Jharkhand produced 10,780 tonnes of lac. This season, from March to October, traders were …
MARINE biologists had almost given up hope of saving the green sea turtle in the 1980s following an uptick in a tumourcausing disease among the endangered species. They thought the deadly condition might drive the largest hard-shelled sea turtle to extinction. “But that did not happen for a variety of …
What is exposome? Exposome is the record of every interaction an individual has with his or her environment since conception. These interactions could be external, such as exposure to air and water pollution and diet, or internal such as the body’s response to infection or psychological stress. Unlike genetic factors …
The journey of honey from bee farms to breakfast tables has become complex with time. From wild honey gatherers, honey supply has passed into the hands of cooperatives of individual beekeepers and then to big companies. The cooperatives could have helped beekeepers demand better prices, but they did not last …
THE little brown bat seen roosting in the eaves of buildings, crevices in trees and caves across North America could go extinct by 2026. So could several other bat species. Researchers warn that a cold-loving fungus is quietly attacking the bats in hibernation, waking them up in mid-winter. Once they …
How does artificial light affect insects? The strong illumination of artificial light attracts insects. We reviewed the epidemiological information on three insect-borne diseases, chagas, kala azar and malaria, and found artificial lighting changed the behaviour of insect vectors and thereby the modes of disease transmission. For example, the chagas parasite …
SOME soldiers wounded in a battle by arrows got cured of chronic diseases. So goes the popular tale about the origin of acupuncture. Practitioners of the traditional Chinese healing method believe health is a balance between the yin and yang—energy forces that govern the body. Chronic back pain, joint pains …
Although the issue of anthropogenic climate forcing and public health is widely recognized, one fundamental aspect has remained underappreciated: the impact of climatic change on plant biology and the well-being of human systems. The authors aimed to critically evaluate the extant and probable links between plant function and human health, …
The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2008 documents the extent of the epidemic, details how MPOWER will reverse it and assesses the current status of global tobacco control. The report provides rigorous information on the status of effective tobacco control measures in almost every country. The report’s appendices …
The State of the World’s Children 2008 assesses the state of child survival and primary health care for mothers, newborns and children today. These issues serve as sensitive barometers of a country’s development and wellbeing and as evidence of its priorities and values. Investing in the health of children and …
This report examines the progress that has been made to improving America’s ability to respond to health threats and help identify ongoing areas of vulnerability.
