In bad taste

McDonald’s has come under fire for a recent ad campaign which speaks about its Big Mac burger in the same breath as mental illness. The ad, which appeared on the Boston transport system in early April, showed a woman covering her face with her hand next to the slogan: “You’re Not Alone”.

Read blues away

People in England with mild to moderate mental health concerns, including panic attacks, anxiety and depression, are to be prescribed self-help books which they can borrow from their local library.

Science and Technology - Briefs

GEOLOGY Fault finding “Stable” zones of the earth’s crust might not be so stable. These zones are more likely to cause massive earthquakes. It was thought that “stable” zones, where fault segments of the crust slip slowly, act as barriers to earthquakes and fast-slipping faults trigger them.

Treadmill can’t beat blues

CONTRARY to popular belief, a study shows that exercise does little to pacify depression. The findings contrast with current clinical guidance which recommend exercise to help those suffering from the mental illness. The study published in the British Medical Journal on June 6 found that physical activity combined with usual treatment did not reduce symptoms of depression any more than the treatment alone.

Dr nature on call

Scientists working to develop new ayurvedic drugs are concentrating on the treatment of memory disorders. Says Sukh Dev, professor of chemistry at IIT-Delhi, “Ayurveda prescribes several remedies for improving memory and intelligence. Our experiments are validating many of these claims.”

Shudder islands

Who are you?

Microorganisms explain more about us and our world than we ever imagined. sumana narayanan courses through rodent brain, feline gut, and the human stomach This is not something you are likely to see in a Tom and Jerry animation. Imagine a cat readying itself to pounce on a mouse. The mouse notes the feline but does not budge. It grooms itself and looks away. Soon, it is cat food.

Bridging the gap

A matter of the mind

CAN the mind repair and revive a body in the terminal stages of entropy, flying in the face of just about every medical precedent? Peter Hettel was dying irrevocably of cancer of the sinus. He chose to take the road, so far, least taken: he chose to follow the almost uncharted pathways of the mind over the medical simplicities of invasive surgery or radiation therapy.

Science and Technology - Briefs

BIOLOGY Strength in numbers