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. …
Evidence is mounting that regular use of the drug Ecstasy may cause long-term brain changes. A team from the University College London, UK, has completed research that suggests that former ecstasy users may suffer memory impairment
bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( bse ) or mad cow disease, which has continued to trouble many European nations, is affecting India as well. Diabetic children are bearing the brunt of the disease as they have to pay four times more for genetically-engineered human insulin, which is the only alternative available …
almost a decade after the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( bse ) or mad cow disease was detected in Britain in 1989, the French government was once again forced to ban meat and bone-meal in all animal feed as a precaution against the disease. The disease, which was …
one disturbing aspect of the Indian population is the lack of reliable data pertaining to major epidemiological aspects of human disease. Information comes from a western population more likely as not. An example of this is the recent report that environmental influences may be far more significant than genetic ones …
with every passing day thousands of people set out on a quest for knowledge taking the Information Superhighway route. But an increasing number are having trouble staying off the net. After getting hooked on the Internet they are battling an addiction just as serious as those who compulsively shop, steal, …
for reasons that are unclear, some people especially young women develop potentially life-threatening eating disorders called bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa . People with bulimia , indulge in eating binges (episodes of eating large amounts of food) and purging (getting rid of the food by vomiting or using laxatives). People …
something as common and essential as atta (wheat flour) could be poisoned with pesticides. That's what is said in a new study conducted by the Consumer Education and Research Society, Ahmedabad. The study analysed 10 branded and three loose samples of atta collected from all over the country and found …
The South African government has severely criticised an offer of Pfizer Incorporation, a pharmaceutical company, to supply a powerful and expensive drug called Diflucan free of cost. Diflucan is used to treat a deadly AIDS-related infection. According to government officials, the offer is too restrictive to be of much benefit …
A thin strip of land trapped between the Arabian Sea and the Kerala backwaters. This is Challanam in Ernakulam district. Freshwater used to be very scarce. Although it rains in torrents during the monsoon, the water would flow into the sea. Groundwater was useless due to ingress of saline water. …
Leftist politicians have a reputation across the world for being immensely centralised in their thinking. So, what was different in Kerala, where the major steps in the decentralisation drive have been taken by the ldf alliance? For one, the socioeconomic conditions desperately called for a change. For another, a highly …
Four years of decentralised planning have resulted in a functional division between state plans and local plans. Policy analysts say this would lead to subsequent material improvement in local life, for example, better management of agriculture and water resources. "An important change is the right focus of planning and, so, …
The future of the decentralisation process is uncertain, and the real threat comes from the bureaucracy. A wide spectrum of people - from political leaders to policy planners - share such fears. "The bureaucracy is organised, and is a great problem. Earlier there was stiff resistance from the bureaucracy to …
A good pair of dentures may fend off dementia, says a new study from Japan. This is the first study that links tooth loss to dementia. The study, conducted by Minoru Onozuka and colleagues from Gifu University School of Medicine, Japan, claims that chewing prevents memory loss with age. In …
CONSUMERS have decided to stop using products containing chlorpyrifos till more information about it is available. Even store managers are going to lay off these products for the time being. The chemical poses a threat to children due to its effect on the nervous system and brain development and has …
among the most common activities performed by humans is going to a familiar place to carry out a routine, daily task. For example, we may need to chart out a fairly complex path each day from our home to the bus stop, but we do so without thinking about it. …
Surviving a plane crash is clearly better than the alternative. But it may actually have positive long-term effects, claims a study presented at the 107th annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Boston. It appears that crash survivors may enjoy better mental health than those who have never been …
it is a fix. Students are told that they would not do well in exams if they do not get a good night's sleep, while several immensely creative people hardly sleep at all. How important is sleep to the functioning of our brain? A recent study claims to have discovered …
Wearing socks to bed may just help people fall asleep. That is because the body appears to prepare for sleep by widening the blood vessels in the hands and feet to help radiate body heat away, according to a study by Anna Wirz-Justice of the Psychiatric University Clinic in Basel, …
A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that taxi drivers in London are working their brains so hard that it has become enlarged in the zone associated with navigation
For long, potted plants have been touted as a solution to the sick building syndrome, a range of symptoms that leaves people feeling tired and irritable but with no specific illness. But, Peter Dingle of Australia's Murdoch University thinks it is a "great urban myth'. He set up five cabins …
