Fluctuating certified deaths vis-a-vis total deaths in India: A neglected reality

From 1992-2018, the percentage of medically certified deaths to total registered deaths fluctuated between 12 and 22%

Immortality is mathematically impossible, new research finds

A mathematical equation has proven that controlling one of the two major changes in a cell—decay or cancerous growth—enhances the …

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Languages are becoming extinct much faster than species. The digital divide can make it worse

Elephant electrocuted in Odisha: Third death in 34 days

As many as 732 elephants died between 2009 and 2019 in Odisha 

Scientists show how Vitamin D deficiency can cause heart failure

The new study has found that cardiac insulin leads to functional deterioration of heart in animals with low vitamin D levels

Ebola fear spreads to DRC’s neighbours as millions of displaced people migrate

Humanitarian crisis in DRC is forcing millions to flee to Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania

Resurrecting Babel

A member of a non-profit committed to documenting all of the world’s 7,000 languages, explains why her organisation is on such a mission

One-fifth of pregnant women at risk due to Group B Sterptococcus bacteria

The first comprehensive research on the bacteria estimates that out of 410,000 cases every year, there will be at least 147,000 stillbirths and …

Mutation in Ebola virus turned epidemic in West Africa deadlier, say studies

The virus was able to mutate and adapt to humans as it infected a huge number of people

Families of 120 of 121 doctors who died of COVID-19 in Bihar yet to get compensation

The delay in compensation have demoralised doctors who are living in fear after the recent spate of deaths in the state

Two cases of pneumonic plague reported in northern China

Chinese officials downplay, say both patients are being treated as rules mandate

Health is about public leadership: WHO chief

Tedros Ghebreyesus asked member countries to approve an ambitious Budget at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva

Measles outbreak kills nearly 700 children in 4 months in Zimbabwe

The number of deaths is four times that reported by the ministry two weeks ago (157 children)  

Seven decades after independence, many tribal languages in India face extinction threat

To lose these indigenous languages means losing huge human capital and rich cultural diversity 

World Biodiversity Day: Why language should not be forgotten

Languages are a treasure trove of knowledge about a region’s flora, fauna and medicinal plants, say experts

South Asia

Two forest officials suspended for deaths of elephants in train accident

Environmentalists have called out the forest department for only taking action against low-rank officials

Towards Wakanda — Chadwick Boseman’s passing and the power and limits of Afrofuturism

Black Panther draws on an artistic movement known as Afrofuturism, in which knowledge about past violence and injustice inform an imagined future …

World Malaria Day: ‘If we don’t become complacent, we can eliminate malaria like 1965’

PL Joshi, former head of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme talks to Down To Earth about how malaria vaccination, surveillance and …

Swine Flu deaths cross 1,000; will this year be a repeat of 2015?

More than 22,000 cases of swine flu have been reported in 2017, a bulk of them from Maharashtra and Gujarat

Radical ideas are needed to break the DRC’s Ebola outbreak. Here are some

The deaths in this outbreak are 10% of the total deaths recorded in West Africa in 2014, which took more than 11,000 lives

67 elephants died in Odisha in last nine months

Poaching, train accidents and electrocution killed more than half of these elephants, says Wildlife Society of Odisha

Poor air quality a major cause of premature deaths

A study conducted 11 north Indian cities says that annual premature mortality rate linked to air pollution ranges from 150-300 people per 1 lakh …

There’s a human hand in every tenth elephant death in Odisha

34 elephants were killed by poachers, 30 died after being hit by trains and six died in road accidents in the last 10 years

In most countries, excess deaths due to COVID-19 greater than leading causes of death: World Bank analyst

Pandemic hit countries even with a younger population where a milder impact was earlier assumed