‘COVID-19 could have started 3-4 months before December in China’
Down To Earth speaks to Maureen Miller, infectious disease epidemiologist and medical anthropologist about the possible origins of the novel …
Mosquitoes in a warming world: Aedes the menace
Latest Zika outbreaks indicate mosquito-borne diseases are fast spreading to new populations and regions & are no longer restricted to monsoon.…
Will this be the fourth consecutive warm winter?
Longer monsoon spell, warm winter lengthen mosquito-borne disease outbreaks across India
Indian scientists identify cells linked to obsessive-compulsive behaviour
Targeting the development of cells that triggers obsessive-compulsive behaviour can help treat the root cause of autoimmune diseases rather …
Did Pentagon weaponise ticks: US Congress orders probe
US Department of Defense asked to provide information on whether it accidentally or deliberately released disease-causing ticks into the environment
Dual drug delivery system may make heart stents safer
A group of Indian researchers has developed a dual drug delivery therapy to minimise such stent-related complications
World Malaria Day: ‘If we don’t become complacent, we can eliminate malaria like 1965’
PL Joshi, former head of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme talks to Down To Earth about how malaria vaccination, surveillance and …
World Malaria Day: More cases in states less prone to disease
While the total number of cases in India declined in 2018, there was a bump in less susceptible states like Uttar Pradesh
Gene-editing in embryos is concerning. New study shows why
Extensive copying of genetic information from one parent to another due to CRISPR could give rise to mutant copies of disease-causing genes in …
COVID-19 testing led to new techniques of disease diagnosis: Progress mustn’t stop now
In the past three years, focus of disease testing moved from simple detecting & understanding to incorporating speed, efficiency & …
The imminent threat of celiac disease in India
Panel discussion sheds light on prevalence of celiac disease in India, which has increased four folds since the 1960s
The Zika virus is here to stay in India, Kanpur just latest victim
The presence of the vector and the virus together makes India extremely vulnerable to Zika
Researchers find new gene providing resistance to last-resort antibiotic
The finding comes eight months after the first-ever gene responsible for resistance to colistin, a last-resort drug for multi-drug-resistant …
Simon Schama’s history of 18th and 19th century disease outbreaks speaks powerfully to the present
At the core of Foreign Bodies is Schama’s understanding that “all history is natural history”
Combination of heatwave & high air pollution may double risk of heart attack deaths: Report
Women at higher risk of fatal heart attacks during extremely hot days & older people on days with extreme cold or high PM2.5
Run-up to pandemic treaty: WHO’s 10 proposals call for high-level council, changes to health regulations
Observers had earlier criticised the absence of independent monitoring for ensuring compliance with the pandemic accord
Antimicrobial resistance: Can sustainable integrated multi-trophic aquaculture reduce AMR in aquatic systems
Developing sustainable and well-maintained integrated multi-trophic aquaculture systems could be a new hope to constrain AMR
Is it climate change that impacts trajectory of dengue in India?
Dengue transmission is closely associated with three key factors — rainfall, humidity and temperature
Livestock farming is a crucible for zoonotic disease; here is how
Artificial oceans of pigs and poultry in the hinterlands become mixing vessels for viruses from humans, livestock and wildlife, while other …
Lumpy skin disease epidemic in Saurashtra; 39 animals dead: Govt
Government takes measures to control epidemic spread in animals; over 25,000 cattle vaccinated across affected areas
First ever national survey shows the extent of South Africa’s TB problem
In 2019, 58,000 people died of TB in South Africa and 1.4 million people died from TB globally
US doctors customise drug to treat girl with rare genetic disease
The drug Milasen was designed to treat only Mila Makovec suffering from a form of Batten disease — a rare, fatal and inherited disorder …
Bihar braces for dengue outbreak after floods, cases cross 1,100 mark
Patna is worst hit as several areas are still water logged and serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes
"Cape Town's consciousness about water consumption has helped reduce demand"
Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services & energy speaks on water restriction rules …
Here is how nutrition may help overcome genetic risk of diabetes
B12 and folic acid supplements have a beneficial impact on genes associated with Type 2 diabetes, says research by the Council of Scientific and …