Health

Bhopal, July 12 (IANS) A three-member delegation from the Embassy of Nepal, including Minister Counsellor Ambika Joshi, visited the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Bhopal on Saturday.After a customary welcome from the AIIMS Bhopal, the delegation visited the campus, including the medical college, and hostels for doctors and students to understand the quality health services being provided to the patients. The delegation also held a formal meeting with Dr. Ajay Singh, Executive Director of AIIMS Bhopal, and other senior administrative officials of the premier medical institute. The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral academic relations between India and Nepal, promoting the welfare of international students, and exploring long-term collaborations between medical in...

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The recent move by the Ministry of Health to install sugar and oil boards in government offices as well as schools is an excellent step towards developing healthier workplaces and building a healthy India, said experts on Saturday.Taking to social media platform X, ICMR - National Institute of Nutrition informed that the Ministry of Health “has urged all govt offices to prominently display Sugar Boards” in the push for building healthier workplaces.The boards consist of informative posters and digital boards highlighting the harmful impacts of the amount of sugar and oil present in popular food items, including samosas, kachori, pizza, pakoras, banana chips, burgers, soft drinks, and chocolate pastries.It also displays the effects of these foods on the human body ...

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi, is set to organise a three-day national seminar to explore trends in Ayurvedic surgical practices, the Ministry of Ayush said on Saturday.Shalyacon 2025, to be held from July 13-15, will mark the auspicious occasion of Sushruta Jayanti. Celebrated annually on July 15, Sushruta Jayanti commemorates the legendary Acharya Sushruta, revered as the Father of Surgery.“Since its establishment, AIIA has remained dedicated to promoting Ayurveda worldwide. Shalyacon, organised by the Department of Shalya Tantra, reflects this commitment by fostering the integration of Ayurvedic principles with modern surgical advancements. The initiative aims to equip emerging Ayurvedic surgeons with enhanced competencies and confidence...

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) on Saturday announced the launch of a cutting-edge Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) research facility to boost innovations in medical imaging.Established under the Institute of Eminence (IoE) initiative, the facility is equipped with a 1.5 Tesla clinical-grade MRI scanner.It is the first of its kind among leading engineering and technology institutions in India, dedicated exclusively to research and teaching.Unlike conventional MRI setups embedded within hospital ecosystems, this facility is designed to foster unrestricted innovation in medical imaging, particularly in the field of MRI.This facility will enable cutting-edge research in various areas across applications in MR imaging, including the development of...

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged India’s pioneering efforts in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with traditional medicine systems, particularly Ayush systems, said the Ministry of Ayush on Saturday.In a significant milestone for India’s ancient healthcare systems, the WHO featured the country and its efforts to incorporate digital technologies into traditional medicine systems in its landmark technical brief titled “AI in Traditional Medicine”.The recognition comes after India’s proposal on the subject, leading to the development of WHO’s first-ever roadmap for applying AI in traditional medicine, the Ministry said.Welcoming the recognition, the Ministry called it "a testament to India’s leadership in creating a robust scientific ecosys...

New Delhi, July 12 (IANS) A team of scientists in Australia, led by those of Indian origin, has developed a new once-a-week injectable drug that could transform the lives of more than eight million people living with Parkinson's disease, potentially replacing the need for multiple daily tablets.Frequent dosing is a burden, especially for elderly patients or those with swallowing difficulties, leading to inconsistent medication levels, more side effects, and reduced effectiveness.To address this, the team from the University of South Australia (UniSA) developed a long-acting injectable formulation that delivers a steady dose of levodopa and carbidopa -- two key medications for Parkinson's -- over an entire week.The biodegradable formulation is injected under the skin or into muscle tissue, ...

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) High levels of toxic metals like lead and arsenic in breast milk may impair growth in infants, according to an alarming study.Breast milk is the best source of nutrition for infants under six months of age. However, tt can also be a potential route of exposure to toxic metals and other contaminants that may impair neurological development and immune function, said the researchers from the University of Arizona in the US.The team focussed on Mayan women in Guatemala's Lake Atitlán watershed region, and found concentrations of arsenic and lead that exceeded World Health Organization safety standards in breast milk in mothers."Detecting toxic metals in breast milk is deeply concerning and highlights the potential role of environmental pollution in undermining chil...

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) German researchers have developed two novel antibiotics that have shown promise for millions of patients with tuberculosis (TB), leading to lesser side effects than the currently available treatments.The drugs, sutezolid, and delpazolid, have demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity and a notably better safety profile compared to the currently used linezolid, with the potential to replace this current cornerstone in the treatment of drug-resistant TB.Two international clinical studies on the antibiotics published in two peer-reviewed articles in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases showed that both sutezolid and delpazolid are safe, effective, and potential alternatives to linezolid in the treatment of TB.“Seeing fewer side effects with sutezolid and delpa...

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) India is capable of manufacturing low-cost and quality-assured HIV diagnostics, and medicines, and also supplying them globally, said Dr Ishwar Gilada, the Secretary General of People’s Health Organisation (India) on Friday, even as UNAIDS sounded alarm on “a historic funding crisis” that can risk millions of lives with HIV.Gilada, the only Indian serving on the International AIDS Society (IAS) Governing Council, assured the country has the potential to develop generic versions of the new lenacapavir -- a long-acting injectable drug that offers near-complete protection against HIV with just two doses a year.“India has a time-tested and proven capacity to manufacture HIV diagnostics, medicines, and robust supply chain mechanisms to deliver them worldwide sustainabl...

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Microsoft’s new AI system BioEmu will help decode protein motion and help in faster discovery of drugs, said CEO Satya Nadella on Friday.Biomolecular Emulator-1 (BioEmu-1) is a deep learning model that can generate thousands of protein structures per hour on a single graphics processing unit (GPU).“Understanding protein motion is essential to understanding biology and advancing drug discovery,” said Nadella, in a post on social media platform X.Sharing a research paper on the model, Nadella added that “today we’re introducing BioEmu, an AI system that emulates the structural ensembles proteins adopt, delivering insights in hours that would otherwise require years of simulation”.Proteins play an essential role -- from forming muscle fibers to protecting against dis...