Health

When business rules our kitchens

Once again there is a food safety scare. A deadly strain of E coli bacterium has hit Germany, where it has taken the lives of 25 people and affected another 2,300 till date. German food inspectors on the trail of the source of contamination ha­ve as yet made two errors—blaming Spanish cucumbers and then organic bean sprouts—but no breakthrough.

What’s in your Honey?

Ayurveda prescribes it for a range of ailments. People eat it for rejuvenation and boosting immunity. An Indian homemaker’s kitchen shelf is incomplete without a jar of this amber liquid.

Briefs

Toxic neighbours
Happy that a petrol pump’s right next to your home? Here’s something to worry about. It has been found that if you live within a 100 metre radius of a petrol pump, you are vulnerable to cancer because of the high level of pollution. Airborne chemicals, coming mostly from unburned fuel evaporating during refilling of the stations’ storage tanks, during automobile refueling and from spillage, are to blame for this health hazard.

Data quantified

Osteoporosis connection

By Ipsita Sarkar

Think before you drink

By Savvy Soumya Misra

Studies confirm energy drinks like Red Bull can be unsafe. India yet to limit their caffeine content

Aspirin boosts accuracy

By: Smriti Sharma

Known to hamper diagnosis, it helps detect colon cancer

Warning signal

By: Vibha Varshney

Telecom service providers’ study shows mobile phone towers are safe. But are they?

Nano-sensor

By: Shruti Chowdhari

New tool to detect viruses quickly at low cost

It takes over Rs 10,000 and over 24 hours to detect the presence of chikungunya, dengue or H1N1 virus in the body. US scientists have developed a biosensor that could detect viruses in 30 minutes and would cost about a dollar (Rs 45).

Don’t pee in pool

By:  Vibha Varshney

It reacts with disinfectants, can cause diseases including cancer

Do chemicals used to disinfect water harm our health? Evidence suggests drinking water purified with common disinfectants like chlorine and bromine causes urinary bladder cancer. But it was not clear whether the chemicals can affect health when used to keep swimming pools or bathing water clean, until now.

Go wild

By: Tiasa Adhya

Ashwagandha occupies a prominent position in traditional health systems like Ayurveda. In India the medicinal plant is cultivated on 4,000 hectares, mainly in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. But when it comes to being the most effective, a group of researchers claims, it is the wild variety.