This document is the second in a series of global reports describing progress towards the 2030 targets set in Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021–2030. It describes a wide range of activities, accomplishments and challenges across the portfolio of …
What exactly is the Unani system of medicine? The Unani system of medicine gets its name from Unan (Greece) where it originated. The system is research-based and incorporates a large number of drugs from Ayurveda and Siddha . According to this system, what is the reason behind one's ailment and …
the us Food and Drug Administration ( fda ) is planning to reintroduce Lotronex, a drug that was withdrawn from us markets in November 2000 because of its fatal side-effects. The drug is used to treat Irritable Bowel Syndrome ( ibs ), a debilitating disease characterised by excruciating pain in …
Modified poliovirus may be used to cure brain tumours in future. A study carried out by researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, USA , shows that the virus is effective in killing the cells of malignant gliomas, the most common and lethal type of brain cancer. The tumour …
Thousands of birds, including quail, pigeons and chicken, have died in Hong Kong due to a flu caused by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus. The virus, that killed six people in 1997, has not affected any human beings till now (Read: Fowl play, Down To Earth, January 31, …
The presbyterian church of Kenya has urged the people to vote against the present ruling party during the forthcoming elections, as the government has failed to combat pollution. "The government's attitude is leading to serious environmental degradation,' the church alleged. Heaps of garbage are scattered in many urban areas, including …
the first genetically altered human babies have been born and are healthy, claim researchers in the us . These babies have dna (deoxyribonucleic acid) of three parents, instead of two. The children were born to infertile mothers who were treated using a technique called ooplasmic transfer. This technique involves taking …
You were a professor of computer sciences at the University of Arizona, usa , how did you move to the field of genomics and bioinformatics? In 1994, I read about Craig Venter ( acknowledged as the guru of the shotgun sequencing approach ) and his team at The Institute of …
A sealed card is at the heart of Japan's bid to unmask the genetics behind various diseases including arthritis and asthma. The Japanese Institute of Physical and Chemical Research plans to push Japan to the forefront of the global effort to interpret the human genome. The facility will use its …
The Himalayan newt, also called the Indian salamander, takes shelter among bamboo stumps in and around the hills of Darjeeling. It lives close to calm and still waters. During the monsoons, it feeds on algae, water beetles and bugs. After the showers, it leaps down on insect larvae, snails, slugs …
celera genomics, the private company to map the human genome, has now come up with the map of the common laboratory mouse. The company has decided to sell the genetic information for a price, rather than putting it in the public domain. Eugene W Myers, the company's vice-president for informatics …
Why have we been witnessing so many different communicable diseases recently? Increase in population has given rise to densely inhabited areas leading to poor sanitation. This gives perfect opportunities to microbes to spread. Along with this is the problem of malnutrition, which sometimes goes hand in hand with the increase …
To contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, Indonesia has banned the import of leather goods from Argentina and France. The country's agriculture department issued the ban and said that it would lift the ban only after Argentina and France are declared free from the highly contagious disease (see Down To …
While older women run a higher risk of having babies with birth defects, it has long been presumed the age of men does not cause the deformities. Think again. A new study, conducted by the New York School of Medicine, USA, says older fathers are more likely to have children …
Uk 's woes with the foot-and-mouth disease just don't seem to end. A man suspected of having contracted the human form of the disease is being investigated in northern England. The suspected victima resident of Cumbriathe centre of the foot-and-mouth epidemic sweeping the ukhad been slaughtering farm animals infected with …
the UK government's indifferent attitude regarding the ongoing controversy about insurance on the basis of genetic testing is creating more confusion, says a report released by the House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee. The government had said that the insurers themselves should be able to use the information available …
With the emergence of vector-borne diseases, population pressure and unhealthy living conditions, a very focussed approach and long-term planning is needed in disease control. If all human-made changes and pressure of unscientific exploitation of natural resources are not halted, the planet Earth will not remain a habitable place. The case …
the Bihar government has been spending over Rs 2.22 crore annually for 17 years on the salary of those employed in its small pox eradication programme though the world was declared free from the disease in 1984. The staff of the programme is getting salary for sitting idle, according to …
