Category: Science

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the great crises of the 21st century, and Staphylococcus aureus is an important bacteria species leading this charge. In 2019, for example, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) — a strain that can resist several antibiotics — was responsible for more than 100,000 deaths. Fortunately it is still significantly vulnerable to vancomycin,…

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Representative image. | Photo Credit: Aarn Giri You’re likely to have heard about the butterfly effect and just as likely to have heard the example of a butterfly flapping its wings in one place and causing a tornado thousands of kilometres away. The discovery of the effect has its origins in the work of the…

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All four antibiotics tested were capable of breaking down the mucus barrier. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Besides causing antimicrobial resistant bacteria, irrational use of antibiotics can also act directly on host cells. A recent study published in the journal Science Advances has found that even a short-course treatment of mice with antibiotics twice a day for three days…

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A study has found that voluntary dunking of heads in water maintained at 22 degree C by dogs with limited water ingestion is the most effective method for rapid cooling after exercise. It reduces core body temperature within five minutes. Dunking of heads in water is a viable option when whole-body water immersion is not due…

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A few days ago, Sujatha Rao, former Union Secretary of the Health Ministry, quit the Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System. In 2020, the Union government intensified its efforts to privatise health care in India when NITI Aayog proposed and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech that district hospitals will…

Read More “Commercialisation of health services can be a recipe for disaster, says Sujatha Rao” »