Round

Miracle cure for Alzheimer’s around the corner

Alzheimer’s Disease, one of the most common and perhaps the most dreadful kind of Dementia, where there is degeneration of the brain tissue, might at last have the much awaited miracle cure round the corner. A vaccine made headlines sometime ago, as being efficient in reducing plaque formation in mice, which is characteristic of Alzheimer’s. Latest reports say that it also improves mental...

Immune cells halt round in space

An immune cell swallows a small capsule-shaped bacteria. The immune cells which help protect us from disease does not generally work the way they should in space travellers and it could be something to do with their shape. Researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) have been studying how immune cells behave in microgravity as part of their research on the health effects of space on astrona...

Groundbreaking Study Gives Hope For Patients With Kidney Cancer

German researchers have developed what appears to be an effective vaccine against recurrent kidney cancers.// Kidney cancer accounts for about 3 percent of all cancers and causes about 12,000 deaths in the United States every year. The disease most often strikes those in their 50s and 60s. Standard treatment involves removal of all or part of the kidney. Unlike some other cancers, however, kidney...

'Art of Living' concept expanding around the globe

Indian spiritual guru Ravi Shankar's Art of Living methods for a stress free and healthy life will soon touch lives in Russia. The Art of Living foundation and the Krasnoyarsk State Medical Academy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaborative research and community healthcare initiatives.// The MoU was signed during Ravi Shankar's two-day visit to Krasnoyarsk from Mo...

Controversy Surrounding The HIV Positive Reports Of One-Year Girl In Kerala

A cloud of controversy has surrounded The Thiruvananthapuram medical college following the report claiming that a one-year-old girl who had received a transfusion form the hospital blood bank has been tested positive for HIV infection. // According to the inquiry, one-year-old Reshmi, who is HIV-positive, was given blood, which had been taken from a person who was HIV-negative. <b...

Mystery Surrounding Use Of Abortion Pill Yet To Be Resolved

Reports of the death of four Californian women due to the toxic shock syndrome following consumption of the abortion pill RU-486 (Mifeprex) has created much confusion // and controversy among members of the scientific community. It has been confirmed by health officials that it is due to the toxins produced by the highly lethal bacteria - Clostridium sordellii. So far, there have been o...

The Looming Controversy Surrounding Facial Transplant

Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts. ~Martin Buxbaum Jacqueline Saburido was a very normal girl who was in pursuit of her dreams until 6 years ago. // A tragic incident that occurred on the 19th of September 1999 changed her life. She met with a road traffic accident in which more than 60% of her bod...

Surroundings Have An Effect On Weight

A study conducted by the University of Michigan’s researchers has revealed that those children who live in surroundings which are considered // unsafe are likely to put on weight. As many as 16% of those belonging to the 6 to 11 year age group in the US are reported to be overweight, while in the UK the number of six to 15-year-olds who are overweight has tripled since the early 1990s....

Death Wishes Influenced By Ethnicity and Racial Background

A new study published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society says that the dying wishes of people are based on their ethnicity and racial backgrounds. // The study found that Arab Americans did not want to spend their last days at a nursing home, while African Americans did not mind it. Hispanic people want to die with dignity and were very worried about it. <...

Labs around the World to Join Hands to Detect Bird Flu

Researchers have asked the World Health Organization to investigate the possibility of building the labs across the world to detect outbreaks of bird flu//. They are already ready to invest $1.9bn from various developed countries where the investigation with bird flu virus is already being done. Tony Blair while facing questions in the House of Commons about the UK's preparedness for an...

Fresh Cases of Bird-Flu Prepares the Ground for More Chicken Martyrs

India: Samples taken from 13 new towns and villages in western India have tested positive for bird flu, implying that bird flu had indeed spread its wings// in many more regions, even beyond the areas from where it was formerly reported. According to, state animal husbandry commissioner Bijay Kumar, workers are getting their act together again to put to sleep some 300,000 chickens in...

Chicken takes a walk round the country side !

Chicken has always danced to the taste buds of many a watering mouth. Yet, by a quirk of fate, the lives of chicken have turned somber//. Cast away from star hotels and foreign trips, to land only at Cul de Sacs, their lives have been cathartic, to say the least! Taking a trip down memory lane, chicken has now found loyalty at the roots, from the very own sons of the soil-amongst peop...

White House recipes doing the rounds for commoners!!

The prerogative of dining like the Prez and the first lady used to lie to no one. Still if being a donor helped you had to shell out large sums of money//. Not now, as wn ex chef brings it all to you. What was eaten by Clintons and the Bush clan could be yours for a price which is much less as compared to being a donor but worth it they say! The man in question is Chef Wa...

Seizure of Low Quantity of Heroin is No Ground for Bail: HC

New Delhi, June 11 The mere fact that the quantum of narcotics seized from an accused was low will not entitle him to bail, the Delhi High Court has ruled. Dismissing a batch of bail applications moved by those accused of trading in heroin, //Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed directed the trial courts to invoke the criteria of "proportionality" of a sentence period while granting bail in cas...

Hydrogenated Fat Pts Weight around the Abdomen

According to a study it was found that hydrogenated fat or processed fat resulted in potbelly. These types of fats are used mainly in biscuits to cut manufacturing costs of foods and increase their shelf life //. They are found in abundance in pastry and ready meals. People put on weight especially in the stomach which can accelerate ill health. Hydrogenated fat is made by heating natural fats to...

Around 20 Percent Take-Out Foods Are Unhygienic

The British Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said that one in five take-out meals are unhealthy and unhygienic. This is bad news for over 1.3 million Britons// who thrive on take-out meals. The government watchdog expressed concern since many fast-food restaurants were found to have staff who did not wash hands properly before packing the food. Also infestations of mice, rats, and cockr...

Older, More Rounded, and Artier Applicants make Better Medical Students

Older, artier, and better rounded applicants, with at least one year’s work experience would make better medical students and happier doctors, suggests a leading// educationalist philosopher in the Journal of Medical Ethics. Dr Christopher Cowley, of the School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice at the University of East Anglia, sets out five new admission criteria to select the...

Groundbreaking Asthma Intervention Lessons Help Inner-City Children

The Inner-City Asthma Intervention (ICAI), a four-year project at 25 health care institutions around the country funded by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention// (CDC), implemented findings from successful clinical trials to help inner-city children with chronic asthma and their families. The purpose of the ICAI project – published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Imm...

Beating around the berry bush

Scientists are mustering their prowess in adding muscle to existing blackcurrants with a view to making them a storehouse of Vitamin-C// , which will reflect in nutritive fruit beverages. The Scottish Crop Research Institute in Dundee has zeroed in on how Vitamin C is manufactured in the blackcurrant bushes, so that they could look at innovating the process for a better yield. This stu...

Environmental Surrounding Affects Human Behaviour

The North Desert Village landscaping experiment was conducted in the Arizona State University's (ASU) Polytechnic campus. The findings of this experiment were that the graduate student families //in the cluster of six houses adjoining the green and fertile lawns and ornamental bushes spend time together talking while their kids play outside whereas, the families in a nearby cluster of six homes o...

Bird-Flu Vaccine to go for second round of testing on humans

After the success of the first trial of the bird-flu vaccine on humans, China is all set to conduct the second trial for which it requires 400 volunteers.// The second stage of the trial will focus on measuring the duration of protection afforded by the vaccine in the human body against the lethal H5N1 strain. It is required that the vaccine undergoes three phases of trial before being considered...

Fimbriae Help Bacteria Stick Around Inside the Body

The hair-like protrusions of bacteria have a sticky protein on the tip that makes them cling to surfaces. The structure of these protrusions are in the form of a coiled// , bungee cord-like structure which helps the bacteria hang on tightly, even through rough fluid flow inside the body, researchers report in the journal PLoS Biology. A group of researchers at the University of Washi...

Scots expected to be around longer

The life expectancy of the Scottish is improving, but the chasm between the rich and poor is gaping, official data has shown.// The figures show the average life expectancy of a Scottish woman to be around the age of 79 and the Scottish male can expect to reach 74 years of age. A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said: "We welcome the fact that life expectancy for Scotland's council and...

Burnout imminent with round-the-clock stress

United Kingdom: A new survey has revealed that extreme and prolonged stress could lead to constant preoccupation heightened by an inability to switch off, could lead to grave health problems, a research has revealed.// The survey also found that not being able to sleep is a top worry for many, along with the rigors of coping with every day life. They are not so much concerned with th...

AIIMS Campus - A Breeding Ground for Mosquitoes

It's not surprising that mosquitoes have besieged the country's premier hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), with a huge drain// not far from its western perimeter and garbage littered across the campus. In the last 10 days, the raging dengue fever in the capital has exposed serious flaws within India's best known public health facility - often touted as the l...

A slum in Mumbai – breeding ground for disease

The Baiganwadi slum at Govandi is becoming a source of fright to the Maharashtra state and civic health departments//. Two confirmed polio cases have been reported in 2 weeks from this area. The water source and drains in this area are contaminated with dengue transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and malarial parasites. According to the BMC health department statistics, dengue has...

Watch out ! For excess fat around your child’s wais

Increase in the average tummy size of children is a cause for concern. Since, not all body fat is created equal, the fat that accumulates //around the waist is the most dangerous. Tummy fat is associated with insulin resistance that in turn increases the risk for diabetes. Doctors use BMI (Body Mass Index) to measure obesity. The amount of fat deposited is measured by Waist circumfe...

Underground Water Contamination In Tripura

Officials have reported about the underground water contamination in Tripura due to naturally present arsenic, fuelling fears of serious health hazards. // Tripura Public Health Engineering (PHE) department chief engineer Sunil Kumar Bhowmik said a study conducted by a Lucknow-based agency revealed that underground water contains arsenic of not less that 0.05 mg. The study sai...

Adequate Ground Work before a Pandemic Necessary

A woman in Connecticut is making news stock piling for a potential flu pandemic, since she feels the threat is looming, so it is better// to be adequately prepared for it. Stocks have been hoarded in the pantry and garage of her home, which is filled up to tide over a severe calamity. "We probably have preps for three months in this area. I might be a little bit overkill but people ar...

Hospital infections gaining ground in Pennsylvania hospitals

A report released in the state of Pennsylvania, U.S,reveals that there were over 19,000 hospital acquired infections recorded across hospitals there in 2005.// The report the first of its kind that tallied all infections of every kind in various hospitals spread all over the state released in Pennsylvania describes that a shocking 19,000 patients and more have contracted hospital acqu...

Researchers Study Effects Of Fat Around The Heart

With a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are exploring whether fat stored around the heart// accelerates the development of atherosclerosis. As people gain weight, fat can accumulate in the abdomen, as well as around the heart and other organs. The study will explore the hypothesis that fat around the art...

Polio Outbreak on Wane: Next Rounds Must Focus on Youngest Children

With this year’s polio outbreak on the wane and excellent coverage during recent pulse polio campaigns, the Independent Expert Advisory Group today advised// the government that the next few pulse polio rounds must effectively reach the youngest and most vulnerable children, who are not being sufficiently immunized early enough. The group is composed of independent Indian and international expert...

Having OCP’s All Year Round to Eliminate Menstrual Cycles Not Unsafe: Says Stud

Researchers have shown that oral contraceptives taken on a long term basis to do away with menstrual cycle is safe to use.They claim that it is both safe and effective.The study// was published in the journal” Contraception”.There are low dose OCP’s in the market that help to reduce the number of menstrual periods to four in a year. This study is the first one to contend that it is safe to do a...

Underground Air - Associated With - DNA Damages

According to a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, our everyday environments are full of airborne// particles that are harmful to varying degrees when inhaled. Particularly damaging to our cellular DNA are the particles from the underground system in Stockholm, Sweden. "Luckily, most of them do not remain in the underground for any length of time," says scientist Hanna Karl...

Ethnic Background Influences Health, Study

Australia – A survey by the New South Wales health department in Australia chose to understand the relationship between cultural background// and its influence on health. The study conducted over three years covered a gamut of 56000 people who responded to a survey. The results showed that a greater proportion of people born in Italy and Greece suffer from diabetes, in comparison with...

More Money to Flow for First Responders at Ground Zero

It may be described as a ‘drop in the bucket’ by protesters, but the White House assures that more money will follow the 25 million dollar fund allocated to the// treatment of first responders, of the 9/11 attack. Caesar Borja, 21, the son of a police officer who succumbed to pulmonary fibrosis, supposedly brought about by exposure to toxic dust at the World Trade Centre (WTC) has repor...

Gene Discovery Lays Groundwork for Targeted Therapies for Endometrial Cancer

Discovery of alterations in a gene called FGFR2 could accelerate the development of new treatments for endometrial cancer, a type of uterine cancer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen); the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which is part of Cambridge University; and New York University School of Medicine report...

Kenya, Surrounding Region Lack Capacity To Handle XDR-TB, Experts Say

Kenya and its surrounding region lack the capacity to handle extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, if the disease spreads to the region. //The TB virus is said to be resistant to two most potent first-line treatments and some of the available second-line drugs, according to some Kenyan medical experts. Treating a case of nondrug-resistant TB requires roughly $400, compared with $1...

White House Press Secretary to Battle Second Round of Colon Cancer

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has bad news. His colon cancer, which was treated two years back, has sadly resurfaced//. Snow was treated with chemotherapy in 2005 after doctors removed his colon in order to prevent satellite growths of tumors that could be metastatic. Yet after recent surgery to remove a growth in the pelvic area, doctors discovered additional tumors in his l...

School Playgrounds and Athletic Facilities Helps To Fight Childhood Obesity

A RAND Corporation study issued today says school playgrounds and athletic facilities can be important tools in the fight against childhood obesity//, but many are locked and inaccessible to children on weekends – especially in poor and minority neighborhoods. The study is a new analysis of data from a national research study called the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls. The data...