African swine fever: Forgotten contagion
Viruses, it seems, are at war with life forms. While the world is struggling with the novel coronavirus, another one has been killing pigs, …
Most disease maps unreliable
Disease maps help capture distribution of pathogens and their transmission intensity. An international team of researchers has reviewed 355 of …
Advertisements: Flu good, no?
Avian influenza (AI) is spiralling out of control in Asia. So also is the spin being put to the disease. There was the spectacle of Thailand …
The pollution story In Black And Pink
Life in Delhi is a capital punishment. The city's air is so polluted it claims a victim every hour. The level of small particles less than 10 …
Deadly Particles
They are tiny and deadly. Recent research has brought to light the existence of airborne particles so tiny they defy measurement. Toxic particles …
Non-profit diseases
There is a logic to the idea of neglected diseases. Historically the diseases poor people get--largely in the poorer parts of the world--haven't …
Of stoves, kilns and a fine distinction between emissions
In the second week of March, activists, academics, policy-makers and experts in various fields came together in Delhi to throw light on the …
Unhealthy countryside
It was once associated with the rich and urban. Today, hypertension is fast spreading in rural India. This is a cause for concern because …
Clear as air
The grim picture of a lung scarred by pollution is of no shock value today. An ailing populace continues to throw up a phlegm of protests. To …
Food processing industry takes a toll on country's health
Eating at home isn’t the in thing anymore. Hanging out is hip, especially in the mushrooming fast food joints that blister the skylines of …
Cockpit
In early December 2007, the country prided itself on providing the world with a road map to check the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5NI.…
More arsenic
Exactly how widespread is the presence of poisonous arsenic in the groundwater that Indians drink? In Delhi, a doctor's phone call propels Down …
`We've strong evidence that eating sugar contributes to heart disease'
Kimber Stanhope, nutritional biologist at the University of California, Davis, US, is studying the health effects of fructose, a component of …
Lethal link
An expert on toxicology and a campaigner deeply concerned with the health impact of chemical pesticides, Romeo F Quijano was at the forefront …
Fat of the matter
What does 'healthy oil' really mean? It is difficult to tell. The Centre for Science and Environment studied branded edible oils to understand …
A plant breeder comes into his own
Awards are finally coming to K Vinod Prabhu, 54, a plant breeder, for his work on building resistance in wheat, mustard and rice through the …
Future shock
As the world continues to pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the global temperatures could rise by 3°C by mid-century, says a soon-to-…
Vitamin D complex
When sunlight falls on the skin, it forms an essential nutrient, vitamin D. For people in India, which has an average of 300 clear sunny days in …
The new obesity
A growing number of people are unable to shed those extra pounds despite strict diet regimes and long hours of workout. Evidence shows that the …
Troubled Beautiful Minds
They are there—each residential area has its mentally disturbed people; each family has anecdotes of crazy relatives. Nobody wants to …
Heart disease risk is more in wealthy and urbanised states
States that are wealthier and more urban on an average have a higher risk of heart disease incident within a decade, shows a new study
Why we are bugged
Book>> Spillover • by David Quammen • W Norton and Company • Rs 1,550
A new approach for controlling intestinal worm infections could help millions of the world's most vulnerable people
There's a growing body of evidence that shows we could be doing more for the close to billion children at risk of intestinal worms. We simply …
A higher share of older Indian women physically active than men: Study
A greater share of those above 45 years in the rural areas are physically active compared to their urban counterparts
Understanding the bug
Book>> The Viral Storm • by Nathan D Wolfe • Penguin • Rs 450