Health

New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) A newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) tool, that uses data from the low-cost electrocardiogram (ECG), may be more accurate in identifying hidden heart disease than cardiologists, according to US researchers.Structural heart disease, including valve disease, congenital heart disease, and other issues that impair heart function, affects millions of people worldwide. These often remain undetected due to lack of a routine and affordable screening test.To address the gap, a team from Columbia University in the US has developed an AI-powered screening tool, EchoNext, that detects structural heart diseases using ordinary ECG data.EchoNext identifies patients who should have an ultrasound (echocardiogram) -- a non-invasive test that is used to diagnose structural...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The recent move by the Ministry of Health to install sugar and oil boards in workplaces as well as schools is a key initiative to build awareness on healthy eating in the country, an expert said on Wednesday.Speaking to IANS, Dr. Rima Dada, Professor at AIIMS Delhi, said that the initiative comes at a time when Non-Communicable Diseases like obesity and diabetes are on the rise, especially among the young."This is a very good initiative by the Ministry because over the past few decades, obesity has been increasing not just among adults but also among children," Dada said."Diseases that used to appear in the third or fourth decade of life -- like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure -- are now showing up in children. This early onset of lifestyle diseases is dir...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on Wednesday launched India's lightest active wheelchair -- YD One -- weighing just 8.5 kgs.YD One is also the country's first indigenously developed precision-built monu-tube rigid-frame wheelchair destined to match the world's best.While the current wheelchairs weigh about 17 kgs, YD One, certified by ISO, weighs just 8.5 kgs.“With YD One, we have achieved 50 per cent weight reduction,” Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director IIT Madras, told reporters.“To reduce the weight, researchers and scholars from mechanical to metallurgy got together and built a very interesting composite of carbon fibre plus aluminum,” he added, noting that the product has undergone a lot of modelling and stress tests.“It will be available in the mark...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The timing of eye contact is key to how we communicate with both humans and robots, revealed a study led by Australian researchers on Wednesday.Researchers from Flinders University found that not just making eye contact, but when and how it's done, fundamentally shapes how we understand others, including robots, according to a statement from the HAVIC Lab (Human, Artificial + Virtual Interactive Cognition), Xinhua news agency reported."Our findings have helped to decode one of our most instinctive behaviours and how it can be used to build better connections, whether you're talking to a teammate, a robot, or someone who communicates differently," said cognitive neuroscientist Nathan Caruana, who led the HAVIC Lab.In a study with 137 participants, researchers found...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Indians consume salt 2.2 times more than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), posing severe health risks such as hypertension, strokes, and kidney disease, among others, according to ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology.WHO recommends less than 5 grams per day of salt (roughly under a teaspoon) or below 2g of sodium per day.However, “the mean salt consumption per day by an Indian is 11 grams per day, which is 2.2 times more than the WHO recommendation”, the ICMR-NIE said.According to the apex research body, regular iodised salt contains 40 per cent of sodium, much higher than the WHO limit. The WHO also suggests the use of low-sodium salt to ward off the risk.“Major salt source is hidden in Indian diet and the hidden salt is fuelling...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Hearing loss combined with the feelings of loneliness accelerates cognitive decline, leading to dementia in older adults, according to a study.Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland showed that isolation, communication difficulties, reduced alertness, and hearing impairment or loss are a real challenge in daily life.The findings, published in the journal Communications Psychology, showed that hearing loss accelerates cognitive decline, particularly among individuals who feel lonely, regardless of whether they are socially isolated.‘‘We found that people who were not socially isolated but who felt lonely saw their cognitive decline accelerate when they were deaf,’’ said Matthias Kliegel, professor in the Cognitive Ageing Laboratory in UNIG...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Hearing loss combined with the feelings of loneliness accelerates cognitive decline, leading to dementia in older adults, according to a study.Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland showed that isolation, communication difficulties, reduced alertness, and hearing impairment or loss are a real challenge in daily life.The findings, published in the journal Communications Psychology, showed that hearing loss accelerates cognitive decline, particularly among individuals who feel lonely, regardless of whether they are socially isolated.‘‘We found that people who were not socially isolated but who felt lonely saw their cognitive decline accelerate when they were deaf,’’ said Matthias Kliegel, professor in the Cognitive Ageing Laboratory in UNIG...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) The India pharma market (IPM) grew at a strong rate of 11.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in June, due to a surge in acute therapies, according to a new report on Wednesday.In comparison, in June last year, the IPM recorded 7 per cent growth. In May 2025, the pharma market grew 6.9 per cent, revealed the monthly report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.It noted that the latest growth was driven by a strong show in segments such as respiratory, cardiac, central nervous system (CNS), and pain therapies, which outperformed IPM in June.Acute therapy growth stood at 11 per cent in June (vs. 7 per cent in June 2024 and 5 per cent in May 2025) owing to seasonality. Notably, anti-infectives showed considerable recovery in YoY growth in June vs prior months.Price (4.2 per ...

New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Severity of menopause symptoms and lack of emotional support are likely reasons why some women experience depression during early menopause, finds a study on Wednesday.Premature menopause, medically known as premature or primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), is a condition in which the ovaries cease to function normally before the age of 40. It has been linked to an elevated lifetime risk for depression and anxiety.Affected women not only experience the effects of oestrogen deficiency, but they also experience the unanticipated loss of reproductive function. However, some women are more adversely affected by depression and anxiety by these changes than others.The study, published online in the journal Menopause, suggests that risk factors include younger age at dia...

Washington, July 16 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said his administration might start imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports at the end of the month, while noting the timeline for duties on semiconductors was "similar" to that of those on pharmaceuticals.Trump made the remarks, suggesting that his administration will phase in the tariffs on pharmaceuticals to allow time for companies to construct their production facilities in the United States, reports Yonhap news agency."Probably at the end of the month and we are going to start off with a low tariff and give pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we're going to make it a very high tariff," he said during a press availability after returning from a public event in Pittsburgh.Trump also said his timeline for i...