Climate hazards, including extreme heat, are associated with increased risks of developing complications that lead to adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. These may include multiple causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality such as gestational diabetes, hyper tensive disorders of pregnancy, preterm birth, low birth weight and stillbirth. In …
Wild sheep on a remote Scottish island are shrinking, and scientists blame global warming. Soay sheep are on average 5 percent smaller than 25 years ago, an indication climate change can have a rapid effect on natural populations and a sign of possible more widespread changes in future, researchers said …
Letter to Dow Chemical Company from Congress of the United States to immediately take steps towards remediation and redress of the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India.
Conceive around December, risk of birth defects is low ideally it is said a woman should be a mother before she turns 30. This keeps the risk of genetically conceived diseases low. Alcohol intake and smoking are maternal risk factors too and should be avoided. Time and again researchers have …
COULD the mystery over how depleted uranium might cause genetic damage be closer to being solved? It may be, if a controversial claim by two researchers is right. They say that minute quantities of the material lodged in the body may kick out energetic electrons that mimic the effect of …
By international standards, water supplies in Perth, Western Australia, contain high trihalomethane (THM) levels, particularly the brominated forms. Geographic variability in these levels provided an opportunity to examine cross-city spatial relationships between THM exposure and rates of birth defects (BDs). The goal of the study was to examine BD rates …
scientists may have found a new approach to muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder characterized by weakening of skeletal muscles. Not much is known about how the disease manifests itself. Recently, however, a team of French and German researchers found that a kind of muscular dystrophy is caused due to …
treating drinking tap water with chlorine makes it bacteria-free. But its by-products may increase the risk of abnormalities among newborns, says a recent study. Researchers studied data on 400,000 infants in Taiwan and by products of chlorine in the water separately from 2001-03. Using these two sets of data, the …
An Indian database has been created by profiling the population on the basis of changes in genes with disease linkages. THE first results from the project of the Indian Genome Variation Consortium (IGVC) have clearly demonstrated (Frontline, June 6) that even as the Indian population exhibits a genetic diversity unmatched …
Twelve-year-old Harsh is nourishing a dream of playing cricket like Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Like his friends in school, Harsh wants to take active part in sports, but a little strain on his body or a minor injury while playing can be life threatening. Because, Harsh is among …
- The discovery of the gene behind a rare form of inherited iron deficiency may provide clues for new treatments of poor iron absorption in the general population, according to a study released Sunday. Lack of iron is the most common of all nutritional deficiencies and the leading cause of …
Radioactive waste from three government-owned uranium mines has put about 50,000 people in Jharkhand's Jaduguda at risk. The people, mostly tribal communities, suffer from serious radiation-related health problems. But the mines in East Singhbhum district continue without adequate safety measures. On studying more than 9,000 people (over 2,000 houses) in …
thalassemia patients who undergo expensive treatment to remove extra iron from their system may now take to homoeopathy. Scientists have found a homoeopathic remedy that is inexpensive and without side-effects. The remedy, they say, lessens the frequency of blood transfusions. Thalassemia is caused by a defect in genes that code …
maharashtra has set up a committee to look into the growing prevalence of sickle cell anaemia in the state and prepare a plan to check the spread of the disease. The move comes in the wake of a recent study in 19 districts by the Nagpur-based Indira Gandhi Medical College …
genetic cracker: There's hope for people suffering from Huntington's disease. The lethal disease is programmed in the genes and appears at a predictable age in adulthood, causing a decline in mental functions and finally death. Such diseases are caused by an unusual genetic mutation; a three-letter piece of the gene …
Punjab's Malwa region, south of the Sutlej river, grabbed national attention a couple of years ago when its steeply rising cancer graph came to light. Studies had revealed the link between heavy pesticide use and the disease. Little has changed since then. Medical facilities remain dismal and farmers are still …
focussing excessively on neem-based products might be harmful to health. Kripa Awasthy from Jharkhand-based kkm College and Parimal Khan from Bihar-based Patna Women's College claim that leaf extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica) damage the genetic material of mice sperms. During their experiments, the researchers extracted the key ingredient of mature …
Do you believe that by being ecofriendly you are protecting future generations from the menace of pollution? Think again. A new study shows that pollution from coal fires triggers genetic defects that are passed down the generations. Christopher Somers, James Quinn and colleagues from the Ontario-based McMaster University have found …
