Digital technology start-ups have the potential to transform healthcare in India for the better. At least one entrepreneur, prompted by the suicide of her hostel mate, is trying to harness that energy to improve the country’s mental health. Several companies have already been successful in bringing so-called ‘digital health’ to the country, utilising features such […]
Science and Technology
Indian research may point to new treatments for psychological trauma
A single severe stressful event can cause delayed and long term psychological trauma. This is according to new research by Sumantra Chattarji of the National Center for Biological Sciences and the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Bengaluru. Chattarji’s team found that changes occurred in the amygdala (small node located in the […]
Premature kidney failure increases in the last decade
More Indians now die of kidney failure than of HIV/AIDS, reports The Hindu’s science correspondent, R.Prasad. This marks a huge shift in the numbers of fatalities over the past decade from infectious disease to non-transmittable chronic disease. In 2015 for example, the deaths associated with AIDS related conditions was 67,600, compared to 136,000 related to […]
Cobra venom utilised to spot cancerous tumours
A new Indo-Russian project could help surgeons to be much more sure that they have cut out all of a cancerous tumour. The potentially life-saving discovery relies on a substances that kills thousands of Indians every year. Cobra venom is currently the centre of a study to illustrate the margins of cancerous cells in tumour […]
Mosquito borne illness, more than just the Zika virus
For the last year, global attention has been fixated on the mosquito-borne Zika virus. India has had a degree of panic regarding the disease, justifiably so as the strain of mosquito responsible for spreading the virus thrives in the geographical conditions present in India. Despite this the Zika virus has not yet proven to be […]
“ReAnima” blocked by medical research council
A controversial investigation on “raising the dead” was proposed earlier this year . The concept behind “ReAnima” was to advance current knowledge about the damage and functional loss following brain death. This knowledge could then be applied to conditions such as coma, minimally conscious states and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, the study […]
India breaking into the market for stent development
India may be considered the pharmacy of the world in terms of drug production, but it imports nearly 80% of its medical devices. Barriers to entry being typically lower than other countries and this makes India a huge market for foreign product sales. Now, there are calls for India to begin creating home grown products. […]
Telemedicine – a lifeline for rural India?
Health Issues India has written at length about the many inadequacies of India’s healthcare system. They are perhaps most aptly summarised by Forbes, writing “In India, public health care is free, yet years of under-investment in public health means that facilities are also grossly understaffed and under-equipped. The country also has a massive resource gap […]
Bill Gates looks to work with India on e-health
Bill Gates, American computing colossus and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has announced his intention to work with the Indian government on social projects driven by information technology (IT) and e-health is one of them. Calling government spending on health in India “very inadequate”, the multi-billionaire extolled the virtues of e-health, saying […]
Leprosy vaccine unveiled in India
In recent months, researchers in India have made strides towards developing mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP) – the world’s first leprosy vaccine. The vaccine was developed by founder-director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII) Professor Gursaran Prasad Talwar and has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). It has been suggested that […]