Health report 2016: a glance at major developments
Down To Earth takes a probing look into key health issues that raised concerns and dominated medical discourse in 2016
One in four Indians above 30 risks dying of lifestyle diseases: WHO
Report shows India has no multi-pronged plan to reduce NCDs or a proper monitoring and surveillance system
LIC’s unhealthy choice
Life Insurance Corporation invested more than Rs 3,500 crore last year in the tobacco industry
Sitting Ducks
As polluting asbestos units and illegal mining thrive amid lax laws, lakhs of workers become easy prey for dreaded diseases
India Exposed!
It is unimaginable. Air quality in most Indian cities is at critical levels. And the culprit - respirable particulates - are way above danger …
National List of Essential Medicines: 34 drugs enlisted in update after 7 years
The latest National List of Essential Medicines features 384 medicines, drops 26 old ones
Why we should test everyone's genes to predict disease
If a test could reveal the diseases you and your family might be more likely to get, would you get it?
'To eat or not to eat'
A CSE study found Potassium Bromate, a possible carcinogen, and Potassium Iodate in bread samples. Potassium Iodate can affect thyroid function
UN conference calls for global action to save people from toxic chemicals
Delegates agreed though that the key 2020 goal for sound chemical management could not be met by that year
WTO gives India a clean chit
Apex trade regulator finds nothing amiss in India's intellectual property laws after exhaustive review
Keeping cancer alive
Punjab has been in the grip of cancer for over a decade but the government has ignored the threat. Sonal Matharu reports with photographer …
Fuelling a debate
Ethanol is a clean and cheap fuel blend. But the Indian government is impeding the use of ethanol when it is callously promoting cancer-causing MTBE
No Escape
A recent US study has conclusive evidence on the deadly nature of fine particulate matter in the air. These unseen particles, mostly emitted by …
Poisoned Punjab: Three children in this Fazilka village family are intellectually disabled but there’s no aid
Contaminated canal, groundwater linked to huge disease burden in Churi Wala village, show ground visits by DTE
Poisoned Punjab: Children with intellectual disabilities, severe skin allergies are common in this village
Ground visits by DTE in Dharangwala village reveal 12-13 cancer deaths every year, teetotallers with liver cirrhosis
Six years on, authorities clueless about Fukushima
Abnormally high radiation preventing humans and robots from cleaning the damaged reactors
Cost of cancer treatment could drop to Rs 1,000 a month
Tata Memorial Hospital’s preliminary studies of combination therapy prove successful; clinical trials to begin soon
Testing the CL route
Roche’s Herceptin will be a test case for government and generics industry as India readies to issue compulsory licences for life-saving drugs
Will appellate body uphold grant of compulsory licence to cancer drug?
Hearing on Bayer's appeal against manufacture of generic version of Nexavar to conclude this week
Ethics on trial
Five per cent of the clinical trials conducted across the world will be in India by 2012. They are vital for confirming the efficacy of a new drug,…
Tata Energy Research Institute In service of polluters
The Swedish experts have identified traces of over 40 substances in diesel exhaust that are listed by the epa as hazardous air pollutants and …
The dark zone
When Down To Earth correspondents nidhi jamwal and d b manisha started filing their reports on the problem of fluoride and arsenic in groundwater,…
How COVID-19 affects the brain
Inflammation of the brain; blood clots; damage to the nerves in the body — how COVID-19 virus SARS-CoV-2 affects the human brain&…
Microplastics time-bomb: Why we should not reuse plastic water bottles
Whether microplastic particles cause long-term damage is uncertain but reducing our exposure to them will be wise.
2022 Chemistry Nobel awarded for ‘click chemistry’, which has possible applications in healthcare
Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless worked on click chemistry, or linking chemicals together, and biorthogonal reactions, …