Could forest loss have triggered the COVID-19 pandemic?

Scientific evidence shows that the felling of tropical forests creates ideal conditions for the spread of diseases

Reverse land use change to prevent zoonoses like COVID-19: UNCCD

Land use degradation creates ground for zoonotic disease like COVID-19 as the interaction and physical distance between animals and humans …

COVID-19: Sharp dip in TB cases during lockdown, timely diagnosis major worry

A 25% reduction in TB detection due to the COVID-19 pandemic in three months could lead to a 13% increase in TB deaths, according to WHO

Organic livestock farming: A revolution in the making

Ensuring a profound balance in the functionalities between the organic suppliers and the global market might just turn out to be most influential …

Environment ministry issues advisory to import live exotic animals 

Document fails to address issues such as invasive species and zoonotic disease, experts say

‘COVID-19 could have started 3-4 months before December in China’

Down To Earth speaks to Maureen Miller, infectious disease epidemiologist and medical anthropologist about the possible origins of the novel …

COVID-19 mortality spikes in states with high burden of chronic diseases

There is incontrovertible evidence that underlying conditions deter the capacity to combat the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Understanding zoonotic diseases: How viruses break the nature-human divide

Their novel nature and unpredictability make diseases that jump from animals to humans extremely dangerous

Understanding zoonotic diseases: ‘How we interact with environment drives spillovers’

The scope and scale of deforestation and opening of new interfaces with forests and wildlife increases the chances of spillovers, says …

Understanding zoonotic diseases: Here’s a video primer

While the origins of COVID-19 are still unknown, epidemics like SARS and MERS happened after transfer of pathogens from animals to …

COVID-19: Shut pet markets, animal protection organisation urges PM

The animal rights organisation said that both SARS and COVID-19 were caused by viruses linked to wildlife markets in China  

Here come the gene hackers

Interventions to make heritable changes to the human genome are fraught with uncertainties. There are legitimate concerns about using a still …

Changing animal behaviour in different terrain can impact spread of diseases: Study

Pathogens like novel tuberculosis could exploit forms of communication among banded mongooses to spread

Researchers identify possible cause of deaths from sudden cardiac arrests

Researchers found a reduction in levels of protein integrin β1D led to abnormal heart rhythms

Rare Disease Day: 475 million across the world affected by rare diseases, says study

Rare Disease Day is observed on February 29

Canadian scientists develop new antibiotic that prevents cell division

Older antibiotics like penicillin kill bacteria by preventing their cell wall from being built in the first place

Re-creating live-animal markets in the lab lets researchers see how pathogens like coronavirus jump species

Within markets like the one in Wuhan, there are abundant opportunities for the type of interactions that promote pathogen transmission among species

Coronavirus continues its march across Asia and the world

New cases reported in Singapore and Hong Kong; suspected cases in Scotland; three Chinese cities shut to prevent infection 

Are you in danger of catching the coronavirus? 5 questions answered

What you should know about the novel Coronavirus

Show your account books, Delhi HC asks Centre on rare disease 'burden'

Statement after Centre said assigning funds more than Rs 15 lakh as financial assistance for rare diseases’ patients would be a big …

New estimates show 14.8 million children globally are HIV-exposed but uninfected

While many children who are HIV-exposed and also HIV-uninfected are growing and developing well, some face greater risks

What the toxic air did to Delhites

Down To Earth talks to doctors to get a sense of the ailments that residents of NCR are exposed to

Diseases linked to a degraded environment continue to ravage India

Despite the increasing burden respiratory infections and water borne disease, the budgetary allowance for health has steadily dipped in the last …

JNU to establish new centre for research in natural products

The main objective of the centre is to screen natural products to identify potential candidates for further optimisation and preclinical and …

US doctors customise drug to treat girl with rare genetic disease

The drug Milasen was designed to treat only Mila Makovec suffering from a form of Batten disease — a rare, fatal and inherited disorder …