Besides treatment, there is an urgent need for monitoring tuberculosis treatment to achieve better results. Researchers from the National Jalma Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, have succeeded in identifying a couple of cell-based markers to study the response of TB patients to treatment.Currently, studying the sputum of the …

Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune propose a change in the way epidemiologists estimate the growth and adaptation rate of bacteria. The paper, to be published in Evolutionary Biology, poses this challenge to both theoreticians and experimentalists who are studying the growth of asexual populations …

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and IIT Kanpur have used a different approach to mimic the development biology pathway by which adult load-bearing, long bones are formed. The bone construct was fabricated by combining tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting. The study also helped in understanding the detailed …

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that the U.S. health-care law known as Obamacare is unconstitutional — a ruling that Opposition Democrats quickly vowed to appeal.aU.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling came on the eve of the Saturday deadline to sign up for 2019 coverage in the federal health-care …

In the whirlwind seven weeks of political impasse, Colombo witnessed a string of incessant protests by concerned citizens, including women’s groups, members of the LGBTQ community, artistes and professionals.A little different from each other, the agitations — at the Liberty roundabout, Lipton Circus or Independence Square in the heart of …

The Chinese establishment has been hit by three major interlocking incidents since the beginning of December. On December 1, a much awaited meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina, ended in applause. A truce in a bruising …

the fiscal deficit is In a particularly trying moment of an interview on BBC’s Hard Talk last week, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Asad Umar seemed to lose his temper when asked about the U.S.’s statements on curbing the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s loans, given Pakistan’s debt to China.“We will worry about …

On December 6, Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) held its party meeting to elect a leader to replace Angela Merkel when she steps down. Many observers had anticipated that Friedrich Merz, a politician and lobbyist who works with BlackRock, an American investment cooperation, would become Ms. Merkel’s successor.Mr. Merz …

Western nations jeopardised their own values during the ongoing crisis in the Gulf region, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Saturday. He was speaking at the 18th edition of the Doha Forum, a dialogue platform attended by leading global players.To a question whether Western nations had …

After disputably holding on to the post of Prime Minister for weeks, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday said he had “resigned”, and vowed to clinch power in the next election. Backing down after the Supreme Court declined relief to an appeal court order restraining him from acting as PM, …

In its order on Saturday setting aside the Tamil Nadu government’s order on the closure of Sterlite’s copper smelter in Thoothukudi, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said, “In the present case, TNPCB has adopted a hyper technical approach unmindful of object of law.” So long as establishment is complying with …

The governments of India, Nepal and Bhutan are actively considering having a joint task force for allowing free movement of wildlife across political boundaries and checking smuggling of wildlife across the Kanchenjunga Landscape, a trans-boundary region spread across Nepal, India and Bhutan.The development comes after forest officials and representatives of …

India and France are moving fast towards operationalising the nuclear power project at Jaitapur, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Saturday.Addressing presspersons after holding discussions with her French counterpart, Ms. Swaraj said both sides were working in the field of energy and also intensifying international developmental and counter-terrorism cooperation.The …

negotiator says delegates from nearly 200 nations have reached a ‘landing zone’ of agreement, but differences remain on issues of ambition Nations on Saturday inched towards a deal to implement the Paris climate goals, after all-night negotiations over a plan to limit global temperature rises exposed a range of conflicts.Speaking …

Indian plastic packaging manufacturers have made a small start towards recycling plastic. But unless they step up efforts in the coming years, they are unlikely to make a dent on the pollution problem When the Centre published the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules in 2016, a key element of it …

It looks like any other mass of rock. But the pieces extracted at Thenpoondipatti in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu are put to a specific use. Taken to the neighbouring village of Jaderi, they are crushed and soaked in water to obtain a fine paste which goes on to adorn …

The National Green Tribunal has set aside the Tamil Nadu government’s order for the closure of Sterlite’s copper smelter in Thoothukudi, terming the decision “unjustifiable.”“We allow this appeal, set aside the impugned orders and direct the TNPCB to pass a fresh order of renewal of consent and authorization to handle …

It is a truism that a not-so-healthy and ill-equipped force cannot guard a nation’s borders properly.Nearly 82% of Border Outposts (BOPs) of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), deployed along the inhospitable and rugged China border, do not have access to clean drinking water. Over 40% are unconnected by road, according …

The government moved the Supreme Court on Saturday for a correction in the Rafale judgment, saying the court had erred in English grammar to “misinterpret” information submitted to it in a sealed cover note about the pricing of the 36 fighter jet deal.The eight-page “correction” application, filed by the Ministry …

The days when inflation could topple governments appear to be gone. It is now time for the government to worry about falling prices, especially of food. Retail inflation dropped to a 17-month low of 2.33% in November, as compared to 3.31% in October, primarily due to the fall in the …