Scratching out cannabis

Municipal authorities in the Netherlands think citizens can help uncover illegal cannabis growers in Rotterdam and The Hague.

Boost to blood filters

CHRONIC diabetics are at a greater risk of kidney problems. As the kidneys overwork to filter high blood sugar, its filtering system gets damaged, eventually leaking blood proteins into urine. Poor filtration also pushes the blood pressure up. Doctors usually recommend ACE inhibitors, available under trade names of capton and accupril, to lower the protein loss through urine, while controlling the blood pressure.

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Health Now cholera rocks haiti

Cycle beats car

CYCLING is a good aerobic fitness exercise. But should one cycle on congested city roads? Yes, suggests a team of Dutch scientists. Even though there are risks of traffic accident and exposure to vehicle exhaust, health benefits of cycling are greater than the hazards associated with it, they say.

Something for GM rallyists

THE seed giant Monsanto has admitted pests have developed resistance to Bt crops introduced in India. A news story published in Science on March 20, wrote Monsanto “detected unusual survival” of pink bollworms that fed on Bt cotton. Pushpa M Bhargava stated “this should be an eye opener”.

Sterilized but infectious

From  boils to postsurgical wound infection, there is only one genus of bacteria that keeps itself busy. This microbe resides on the skin and nose of about one-third of the world’s healthy people. Simple boils can be treated without antibiotics but infections that lead to blood poisoning need attention. The catch here is that the drug-resistant types are spreading fast.

Microbes are always smarter

The  antibiotic industry boomed during the 1950s. The wonder drugs were fed to human beings and animals alike. They slowly permeated the environment—factory effluents seeped into groundwater; manure and sewage contaminated the soil. Microbes adapted to the changing environment by mutating, quickly. They entered the food chain and ended in humans, as usual, but without the fear of losing out to the immune system.

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biosafety Monsanto pulls GM corns

The way you swing

OUR nomadic ancestors had to quickly cover long distances while hunting. A prey that ran faster had to be outrun. While running after the animal they constantly moved their arms; it reduced the effort and counterbalanced the body weight. People now run after buses, sprinters run to win a medal. But the dynamics of running have not changed. What a team was interested in knowing was why humans swing their arms even while walking. The researchers from the University

Rock bottom

Museum>> Moon Rock Netherlands