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. …
Iraq has agreed to allow a United Nations (UN) team of experts into the country to remove toxic substances left behind in Baghdad by disarmament inspectors. UN secretary-general Kofi Annan's special envoy to Iraq, Prakash Shah, said Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, notified him of approval for the visit. …
often mothers leave lights on in the nursery or where babies and toddlers are made to sleep. This could be either due to the feelings of mothers that light could be comforting or just as a precautionary measure as light is always more reassuring for one's security. However, research just …
leading chemical companies called for European Union ( eu ) legislation to regulate the use of pvc -softening chemicals to guarantee public safety and stop a proliferation of unilateral national restrictions. eu consumer affairs commissioner Emma Bonino unsuccessfully pushed last year for an eu -wide ban on toys containing phthalates …
twenty years ago, the world received a major jolt when reports about the existence of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) virus was confirmed. It has spread so fiercely over the years that it now rivals history's deadliest epidemics
The world's 12,000 top researchers believe that HIV-infected mothers can protect their babies from the killer virus. Recent studies reveal that if the infected mother is administered the anti-HIV drug, AZT, and gives birth by caesarean, chances of the virus transfer to a baby is virtually eliminated. The studies are …
Overweight children face a greater risk of heart attacks than those of normal weight, reports a study from the US Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health conducted by Johanna Dwyer of Tufts University, Boston. These children have a distinct possibility of very serious cardiovascular problems when they grow up. …
The European Commission (EC), the Brussels-based executive arm of the European Union (EU), backed away from imposing a Europe-wide ban on phthalates, potentially dangerous chemicals used in children's toys. Environmental groups allege that the EC bowed to pressure from the chemicals industry. In the decision taken on July 1, the …
a recent study has shown alarming levels of lead in the schoolchildren of Delhi. The study was jointly funded by the World Health Organisation and the ministry of environment and forests. Nearly 56-72 per cent of the school children were found having higher levels of lead in their blood. The …
a recent study conducted in Delhi has found alarming levels of metals such as lead and cadmium in several placental tissues. This has sharply highlighted the hazards of air pollution as these metals are both toxic and often, are the cause many irreversible health effects. The threat unborn babies face …
Nearly 600,000 women die of pregnancy-related complications every year. One woman in 30 who develop chronic, debilitating problems, dies. Each year, nearly 3.4 million infants die in the first days of their life. And for every baby that dies, another is stillborn. These deaths are due to poor health and …
Mothers should breast-feed their babies for at least the first year as it benefits both the baby and the mother, says the American Academy of Paediatrics. In a policy statement issued recently, the academy says that studies have shown that breast-feeding can decrease the incidence or severity of conditions such …
a nasal spray vaccine may prove effective in preventing influenza in children. Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (niaid) , Bethesda, usa , have succeeded in controlling the infection with the help of this viral vaccination. They have also developed a sprayer that is capable of …
• The prestigious Sasakawa-dha Disaster Prevention Award for 1997 by the United Nations has been awarded to Anand Swarup Arya, an internationally renowned earthquake expert. • The Centre has released Rs 24 crore during the current financial year for desert development in Rajasthan. The scheme is meant to stop the …
according to the United Nations Children's Fund ( unicef) annual report, malnutrition kills more children in the world than any infectious disease, war or natural disaster. Malnutrition kills more than six million children every year around the world. More than half the number of children under-five in South Asia and …
On the results of the study on childhood asthma among Delhi children: The preliminary results show that nearly 16 per cent of the children, in the age group of five-16 years, suffer from asthma. If we add old asthma cases - those who had asthma in the past but do …
A plasticizer is a substance normally incorporated to a PVC resin or some other materials such as paints, to improve some of its properties as flexibility or processability. Phthalates, adipates, phosphates and some others are the main compounds used as plasticizers. Some of these compounds, as bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DOP), are …
"Guard well your baby's precious head, Shake, jerk and slap it never, Lest you bruise his brain and twist his mind, or whiplash him dead, forever" writing in the us medical journal Pediatrics in 1974, paediatrician John Caffey was making a point that few have taken. In November 1997, Matthew, …
