The report presents a mixed picture. Over the past 25 years, there have been notable improvements in child well-being in the group of countries examined in this report: steady decline in child mortality, overall reduction in adolescent suicide and increase in school completion rates. But the last five years have …
for years, scientists have implicated respiratory problems with pollution particles less that 10 microns in diameter, but to what extent they affect the respiratory system was not known. Now, a study proves that these particulate matters penetrate very deep into the lungs of even healthy children. The study was conducted …
seventeen children have died and thousands of others have reported sick after being administered the pulse Vitamin A dose in different districts of Assam. The dose was given as part of an immunisation programme organised by the state government and aided by the United Nations Children's Fund (unicef). Even as …
A study of commonly used pressure-treated lumber boards in the US suggests that the risk of arsenic exposure from these is higher than previously feared. Environmental Working Group, an environmental organisation, in conjunction with public interest groups and an US government-approved lab have made this claim. The group said it …
exposure to environmental pollutants present in mothers' blood and breast milk can hinder the development of a baby's brain before and after birth, research shows. Gerhard Winneke and colleagues from Heinrich-Heine University, D
living in an environment polluted with even low levels of benzene can cause cancer. While exposure to benzene at work places have been known to cause cancer, a study published recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that exposure to low concentrations of the chemical such as those present …
If it was Lucknow which mourned its dead children a few weeks ago, it is Guwahati which is a mute witness to its children literally dropping dead. And no one seems to care. Does life really have no value for us, especially those of our young. In Lucknow, several new-born …
The lack of health infrastructure and malnutrition in India's rural regions has left the people vulnerable to a number of health problems. Children are the worst affected with life expectancy levels in some states dipping to a dangerous low. Wasting, a measure of child health, built upon the weight to …
tens of millions of children could face starvation in 20 years time if the governments across the world do not focus on irrigation, education and agricultural research for poor countries, according to a new analysis. The analysis was performed by the world's most complex computer model of the global food …
Developing nations prioritise expenditure and social costs, like that for pubic health, are the first to be axed. The Human Development Report 2001 indexes the overall development by including the expenditure made on health related activities. Developing countries, specially India, come out culprits for ignoring the health of its citizens. …
a recent study has proved that exposure to pesticides such as ddt (dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane) can increase child mortality ( Lancet , Vol 358, July 2001, pp 110-114). Mathew P Longnecker of the Epidemiology branch of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, usa and his colleagues used the serum samples …
A child's tinkertoy was all that the scientists used to explain why cyclists, stilt-walkers as well as drunkards can gain stability while moving. Just as the toy gains stability from walking, Michael Coleman, researcher at the Cornell University, USA, and his colleagues showed that it is momentum and not friction …
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a genetically prepared vaccine against asthma. The vaccine has been prepared by introducing a gene from dust mites, a common cause for allergic asthma. The vaccine prevents children from developing asthma when exposed to allergens, as antibodies are already present in …
rachel Carson couldn't have been more accurate. A disturbing silence is the overarching presence in lands doused with chemical pesticides. Not just Padre
babies playing with cats are vulnerable to kitty-induced allergies and asthma later on, researchers in Sweden report. Their findings add to a body of conflicting evidence on whether being raised with a cat sensitises young children to the animals. While the majority of research in this area has found early …
How serious is the problem of lead poisoning in India? The problem of lead poisoning is quite grave in India with 53.5 per cent of our children below the age of 12 years having their blood lead levels above 10 microgramme per deci litre (
Respiratory problems among children have risen threefold in the city of Bangalore during the last 20 years. The rise has been directly linked with the increase in the pollution levels in the city. The study is based on correlating the respiratory ailments of 20,000 children below the age of 18 …
researchers in the us have created artificial human eggs that contain a copy of the mother's chromosomes. Such eggs could be fertilised with the partner's sperm just like a normal egg. Researchers of the Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Cornell University, New York, usa, created the eggs. They …
When roads become an extension of living rooms When Hannes Linck moved in August 1999 to Quartier Vauban, a newly-built neighbourhood in the southern German city of Freiburg, he decided to sell off his car. Hannes lives with his wife and two children in a flat built by a housing …
