Waste

Watch Out! Pollution hazard from E-waste recycling in India & China

Recycling of e-waste has resulted in the release of toxic chemicals, including heavy metals, in the surrounding areas of recycling yards yielding reason for concern in India and China. // What is all the more alarming is that toxic chemicals are released during each stage of the recycling process into the workplace and in many cases into the surrounding environment. Concentrat...

Bacteria Commonly Seen In Radioactive Waste, Hot Springs Found Inside Humans

A group of bacteria, previously known to exist in radioactive waste, hot springs and fecal matter of animals has now been found to reside inside the human stomach. // This finding could eventually pave for a better understanding of gastrointestinal diseases and newer treatment strategies. The bacteria 'Helicobacter pylori', that was discovered about 20 years ago, has been largely blam...

Best out of supposed modern life waste: rice bran is a mine of good health

Scientists in Japan reveal that waste product of rice processing, called rice bran, significantly lowers blood pressure in rats whose hypertension resembles that of humans.// Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, published by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society holds the nuances of the study. Tohoku University and Japan’s National Resear...

Health Promotion Drives Waste Money, Claim Nurses

Health promotion campaigns worth few million dollars do not change people’s behavior and are a mere waste of money and other resources, argue nurses //. Additionally, they have also called for directing these funds to treat patients and target at-risk groups rather than spending the amount on hosting high-profile advertising pushes. The issue would even be taken up for discussion at t...

More Than ￡500m Wasted On Drugs; MP Blames NH

The NHS has been accused of wasting over ￡500m associated with overpayment for a handful of drugs by Liberal Democrat John Hemming// who cited government figures on three drugs to substantiate his statement. He further added that once the drugs lost their patent, the NHS was slow to react to fall in drug prices. The Birmingham Yardley MP blamed the health department for making a mess of...

India's Economic Boom Pack To Waste Children Life

Kamini Tumda (a 4 year old girl) lies in a hospital bed mourning in agony and pain, as a nurse gently removing flakes of tender skin that hang from her body//. Her condition seems to be life threatening, when swollen limbs stick out from a bony frame (a classical sign of malnutrition) was seen. Bharat Mahale, one of the doctors treating the girl in the western state of Mahara...

NHS Computer Link Plan Is Wasteful, Feel Experts

The NHS computer link, which was to have cost ￡6.2 billion, originally is now being spoken of as a ￡20 billion projects//. Experts say this is a waste of the taxpayers' money. Prof Martyn Thomas, visiting professor at Oxford University Computing Laboratory, said, 'This programme shows many signs that it is at risk of failing. We are hearing concerns about computer products being used...

Best out of waste: Microbiological revolution!

Initiated by their professor - high school and college students are now co-authors in a research article in Pittsburgh. Isolation and characterisation of 30 macrophages has been made possible by digging in the backyard. // PLoS Genetics issue of June 9, 2006 has a report of a research team lead by HHMI professor Graham Hatfull at the University of Pittsburgh. The report is a...

Urine Purification to Revolutionize Waste Water Management

Recent research has revelaed that it is better to collect and purify urine separately, rather than simply allowing it to flow into the sewer, from an environmental// and cost perspective. This research was conducted by Delft University of Technology researcher Jac Wilsenach, who on Monday June 26 will receive his PhD degree based on this research subject. Wilsenach estimates that subs...

Meconium, no mere waste

U.S. researchers have discovered that fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) found in meconium may be able to reliably portray the extent of fetal alcohol exposure//. "There are only a few biomarkers that indicate if an infant has been exposed to alcohol during pregnancy, and most of them are not strictly associated with alcohol use," said Enrique M. Ostrea, professor of pediatrics at Wayne...

Living Near Toxic Waste May Bring On Diabetes

Living near toxic waste may make you diabetic, says a study that tracked hospitalisation rates of patients in New York between 1993 and 2000.// Type-two diabetes has seen a two-fold increase - from 5.8 million to 13.3 million Americans from 1980 to 2002. While scientists scramble to find explanations for the rise, experts point to the obesity epidemic for the growing diabetes rate....

Hazardous Medical Waste Discovered Again In San Jose

A worrying trend of untreated medical waste dumped in landfills, is emerging from areas of the South Bay region of San Jose, US. Just days from when a significant// amount of hazardous medical waste was traced to three South Bay hospitals, the fourth catch from another hospital- Los Gatos Surgical Center, was obtained. The medical waste was discovered at the Guadalupe landfill during...

Treaty With Japan may Legalize Dumping Toxic Waste in India

Environmental groups and NGOs in India are up in arms against a coming India-Japan treaty regarding the export of old Japanese ships and toxic chemicals to Indian shipyards. The India-Japan Economic Agreement is in the final stages of discussion and is due to be formalised in October. Another contentious issue is the amount of electronic and machinery waste that comes...

Hazardous Medical Waste Discovered Again In San Jose

A worrying trend of untreated medical waste dumped in landfills, is emerging from areas of the South Bay region of San Jose, US. Just days from when a significant amount of hazardous medical waste was traced to three South Bay hospitals, the fourth catch from another hospital- Los Gatos Surgical Center, was obtained. The medical waste was discovered at the Guadalupe landfill during...