New Delhi, November 15:Got questions about pregnancy, puberty or plain simple facts about the birds and bees? If you have such queries on your mind and are afraid to ask parents or share with friends — just dial a government-run toll free helpline.
The helpline (1800-11-6555 or 011-6666-5555), run by the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK) or the National Population Stabilisation Fund of the health ministry, receives over 300 calls per day.
Geneva, November 14: More than 6,250 people have died in the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organisation data has showed, as the global death rate appeared to slow.
The number of deaths from the A(H1N1) pandemic in the week to November 8 grew by about 179, against 224 a week earlier and a leap of about 700 in the last week of October.
The pandemic now stretches across 206 countries or territories worldwide, the WHO added in a statement.
Geneva, Nov 14: More than 6,250 people have died in the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organisation data has showed, as the global death rate appeared to slow.
The number of deaths from the A(H1N1) pandemic in the week to November 8 grew by about 179, against 224 a week earlier and a leap of about 700 in the last week of October.
The pandemic now stretches across 206 countries or territories worldwide, the WHO added in a statement.
Chandigarh, Nov 14: After successful tests by a team of doctors of the Department of Endocrinology, PGIMER, a rare technique of curing Type 2 diabetes through bone marrow derived stem cell transplantation will now be available.
It is expected to be a breakthrough in treatment of patients suffering from this more common type of diabetes at a cost of Rs 20,000.
Ludhiana, Nov 14: Diabetes, a silent killer disease, is begining to have a vice-like grip on India. It is matter of grave concern that due to unawareness and altered life-style, India will become the world’s diabetic capital by next 10 years. This was disclosed by Dr Kamal Maseeh, oncopathologist and medical suprintendent of Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC&H) here.
He said, “Urban people are more prone to the disease than their rural counterparts although the latter too of late have started falling prey to this disease with increased frequency.”
Pune, Nov 14: The city’s Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade said here on Friday that a second wave of the H1N1 virus had neither arrived in the city nor was it expected to arrive.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Zagade clarified that his assessment was not based on any scientific study. “We don’t think there is going to be any second wave of the swine flu virus. But we are going to be prepared if it does come. If you want peace, you have to be prepared for war,” he said.
New Delhi, November 14: A medical and nutritional panel has released new guidelines for Indians to tweak their diets and lower the risk of chronic diseases.
They suggest reducing carbohydrates, adjusting fat quality, taking less salt and drinking more water — and a little alcohol, but only by those who are already in the habit.
The dietary guidelines developed through consultations involving nearly 100 experts from across India are designed to match the revised cut-off waistline and weight values for overweight and obese Indians finalised by a similar panel last year.
London, November 13: Contrary to popular perception, exercising up to the end of pregnancy seems to be healthy for the baby and mother, says a new study.
Research by Polytechnic University-Madrid (PU-M) shows there is a positive relationship between the weight of sedentary mothers before pregnancy and the body size of their babies.
“An exercise regime carried out during the second and third trimester of pregnancy does not harm the health of the foetus,” says Jonatan R. Ruiz of Karolinska Institute, Sweden, and principal study author, who has collaborated with PU-M.
Washington, November 13: Chocolate lovers now have one more excuse to grab a choco bar, as a new study by an Indian researcher claimed that eating over an ounce of dark chocolate a day helps reduce stress.
Regular intake of a “specific amount” of chocolate cuts levels of stress hormones and rebalances other chemicals in persons with high anxiety, said the study led by Sunil Kochhar at the Nestle Research Center, Switzerland.
New York, Nov 13: Cataract surgery does not appear to worsen the course of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive loss of vision due to deterioration of nerve tissue in the retina, a new study shows.
The finding, however, does not yet settle the long-standing controversy over the appropriateness of cataract surgery in eyes with this disorder, an editorial warns.
AMD is the most common cause of blindness in adults 55 years of age and older.
Lucknow, Nov 13: Two new cases of dengue have been confirmed here, health officials said today.
Siddharth Pandey (3) and Anarul Nazir (30) were admitted to Balrampur hospital here with high fever and were tested positive for the vector borne disease yesterday.
The condition of the duo was stable, they said. Two persons have succumbed to the disease this season so far in the state capital, the officials said, adding that measures are being taken to check the disease.
–PTI
Allahabad, Nov 13: A project to harness country’s rich reserves of Indian gooseberry as a safe, natural and universally acceptable source of Vitamin C has been approved by the Union government.
“The Government’s Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has entrusted the Centre of Food Technology at Allahabad University to standardise the processing of the gooseberry, also known as ’amla’, Professor G. K. Rai told.
London, Nov 13: Over 2.5 lakh British teenagers are at high risk of developing malignant skin cancer due to the use of tanning beds, a new research claimed today.
According to a report published in British Medical Journal (BMJ), “A quarter of a million children in England aged 11 to 17 face a higher risk of developing melanoma — the most lethal form of skin cancer — by using tanning beds“.
Ahmedabad, November 13: The Gujarat High Court has ruled that children born to surrogate mothers on Indian soil are Indian citizens by birth, irrespective of the nationality of their fathers.
It has urged the central government to immediately frame laws to clear the confusion.
Chandigarh, November 13: With six students of Punjab Engineering College testing positive for swine flu, health authorities have asked the institute to close down for a week, an official said here Thursday.
‘In order to prevent the spread of the virus further, we have directed the PEC authorities to close their institution for at least one week,’ H.C. Gera, Chandigarh’s nodal officer for swine flu, told IANS here.
The college is located in Sector 12.
Melbourne, Nov 13: Australian scientists have found a new laser treatment that can reduce chronic neck pain, a condition that affects up to one person in four.
According to the researchers from the Brain and Mind Research Institute of University of Sydney, low-level laser therapy (LLLT), a non-invasive, cold form of laser treatment, can help people suffering from chronic neck pain.
The team led by Roberta Chow carried out an overview of 16 randomised trials that put this increasingly popular procedure to the test.
Washington, Nov 13: Teens are less likely to wash their hands while cooking and are more likely to cross-contaminate raw food than adults, says a new study.
“While half of the adults we observed washed their hands after touching raw chicken, none of the adolescents did,” said Casey Jacob, study co-author and food safety research assistant at Kansas State University (KSU).
New Delhi, November 13: The number of dengue cases is multiplying every day. The total number of dengue cases in New Delhi has reached 661 including 45 cases reported on Wednesday. Dengue has taken two lives till now. On an average 20 to 23 cases are reported everyday.
Singapore, Nov 12: Haute couture has come to the tea cup, with a luxury tea retailer launching collections to complement the colours, scents, trends and tastes of each season.
Singapore-based TWG Tea, set up last year with the aim of infusing the ubiquitous drink with new levels of luxury, is offering patrons a combination of new and existing blends in the collections that echo the trends on global runways.
We want to bring couture into tea, TWG Tea Chairman Manoj Murjani told Reuters.
United Nations, Nov 12: Nearly 200 million children in developing countries suffer from stunted growth and health problems due to poor nutrition in their early years, the U.N. children’s foundation UNICEF said on Wednesday.
However, the percentage of children with retarded growth in Asia fell to 30 percent last year from 44 percent in 1990, and in Africa to 34 percent from 38 percent over the same period, UNICEF said in a report.
Burdwan (WB), November 12: A four-kg tumour was removed from the abdomen of a four-month-old baby girl at a government hospital here yesterday.
A team of six doctors led by paediatric surgeon Naren Mukherjee took four hours to remove the tumour from the baby at the Burdwan Medical College Hospital.
Mukherjee said, the girl, Chhoti Kumari of Jharkhand’s Palujora area, was born with the tumour which was gradually increasing in size.
She was admitted to the hospital a week ago when her weight was 7.8 kg.
Washington, Nov 11: A researcher has found a way to turn the throwaway kernels in mangos into a natural food preservative that could help prevent Listeriosis, which is a serious infection caused by contaminated food.
The findings can also apply to other fruit seeds like grapes, said Christina Engels, who conducted the research at the University of Alberta (U-A).
New Delhi, Nov 11: A city-based NGO will take out rallies, hold street plays, protests marches and community discourses in Haryana with one message — do not kill unborn daughters. The state has one of the worst sex ratios in the country, 819 women per 1,000 men.
The two-year campaign Fight against Female Foeticide will be launched by the Centre for Social Research (CSR) as a pilot project in two districts of Haryana, Kurukshetra and Ambala, which have the lowest sex ratio — 770 females and 784 females per 1,000 males respectively.
Panaji, Nov 11: The Goa directorate of health services Wednesday appealed to residents of the state not to travel to parts of India hit by swine flu unless the trip was essential.
The state government’s official travel advisory endorsed by Health Service Director Rajnanda Dessai has been published in all local newspapers.
“In view of prevailing situation of H1N1 (swine flu) Influenza, people are advised not to undertake non-essential visits or travels as far as possible to the H1N1 affected states,” the advisory reads.
Washington, Nov 11: Researchers have discovered ways to create tastier and healthier ice-creams.
University of Missouri-Columbia (UM-C) researchers found the secret is to add fibre, antioxidants and probiotics.
‘The idea of putting a functional ingredient into a food instead of just using the nutrients found in the food naturally takes a multi-functional approach,’ said Ingolf Gruen, professor of food chemistry and ice-cream researcher at the UM-C.
‘Food provides calories and comfort – people want to indulge. We’re working on making ice-cream satisfying and healthy,’ he added.