“In school meal programmes, high school students are less likely to select milk, whole fruit, and water when fruit juice is available, thereby decreasing the nutritional quality of their lunches.” — Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity study, University of Connecticut Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/healthline-ritesh-kumar/article25529111.ece
Read More »Daily Archives: November 18, 2018
Beaming out malaria
Non-invasive test kit:A few years ago, a group of students pursuing science and technology degrees in Uganda, often missed class because of malarial attacks. A medical check, in many instances, ended up with them being misdiagnosed. It was such experiences that spurred them to think of developing a low cost …
Read More »Road map to affordable medicines
It goes without saying that no government can allow market forces a free hand in the pricing of medicines. Affordability of medicines has to be ensured so that no person in need of it has to suffer. This is especially true in India where a large number of people are …
Read More »Yoga, as heart healer
Preliminary results of the largest ever multi-centre randomised trial on cardiac rehabilitation and of health benefits of yoga have shown that it is safe and offers “similar” benefits as cardiac care typically prescribed after surgery. The study was conducted in 24 centres across India and recruited close to 4,000 patients …
Read More »When CEOs linger too long
Last year, amendments to the Companies Act caused one of the biggest disruptions to India Inc’s functioning in recent times. Under the new Act, all companies were mandatorily required to rotate their auditors, the people who draw up and certify the financial state of health of any business enterprise. Rotating …
Read More »Reasons to go
The end of the year is a time for taking stock, and for me the process is best nudged along while immersed in travel literature. In fact, there is a subset of accounts of great journeys that holds a particular enchantment: walking in the footsteps of someone long ago. Pilgrims …
Read More »Chaotic versus meticulous packers
When I was a kid in a family of three, there were clear roles demarcated for my mother, my father and myself, with additional walk-on parts for the people who worked in our house. My mother would prepare the food with the cook, the other staff member would wash and …
Read More »The sacred Indian games
One evening, many years ago, my father asked if I would accompany him to a town in northern Kerala called Thirunavaya. The place was known, particularly among the Hindus of Malabar and Kodagu, for a small Vishnu temple. More importantly, it was famous as the place where one went to …
Read More »Lower the carbs
Popular advice on weight loss promoted by health authorities might be outdated It has been a fundamental tenet of nutrition: When it comes to weight loss, all calories are created equal. Regardless of what you eat, the key is to track your calories and burn more than you consume. But …
Read More »International Commission questions the studies on cancer induction by cell phone radiation
Researchers had published results of their animal studies on the cancer-inducing potential of cell phone radiation With the phenomenal growth in the number of users of mobile phones worldwide, there is public concern that cell phone radiation may cause adverse health effects such as brain cancer. Recently, the US National …
Read More »Ape fossil 11 million years old unearthed in Gujarat
Tireless fossil hunting under the scorching heat of the Kutch basin, Gujarat proved fruitful and palaeontologists unearthed a fossilised upper jaw (maxilla). Further studies showed that the fossil find was highly significant: it is the oldest and the only known ape fossil discovered in peninsular India. Ansuya Bhandari from Birbal …
Read More »For Delhi’s black kites, it’s a trade-off
Black kites in Delhi actively choose to live near humans, even accepting food that they offer. But the birds perceive people near their nests as potential predators, suggesting that they can react to people based on the context, shows a recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE . In …
Read More »Novel strategy to treat diabetic wound infection
By using virus that infects bacteria (bacteriophages), researchers from Panjab University have successfully treated multidrug-resistant bacterial infection in diabetic mouse model. People with diabetes are more prone to fungal and bacterial infections and the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms has worsened the situation. Researchers have been searching for alternative treatment approaches …
Read More »When laws are framed to make voting difficult
The November 6 U.S. midterm elections may have come and gone, but the issue of voter suppression still lingers, drawing responses mostly along partisan lines. Many Republicans have wanted to tighten laws around voter eligibility, ostensibly to prevent fraud, and Democrats have wanted to make it easier for people to …
Read More »Sustaining the embrace of democracy
It was as if the collective mood of optimism had a fragrance, and it wafted through the narrow streets of Male, bringing the Maldivian citizenry to its feet. People thronged to the picturesque Republic Square that overlooked the presidential jetty. Saturday was a day of monumental change in this tiny …
Read More »The growing calls to keep fracking at bay
Last Monday, a group of environmental activists occupied the front entrance of the London offices of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. They spray-painted doors and windows with the symbol of the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ campaign group to protest, among other things, the government’s support for fracking. Later in …
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