Health needs political commitment

Scientists unlock enzyme that reorganises paternal genome during fertilisation

Enzyme SPRK1 makes way for the first step — folding and packaging the sperm so that it fits in the egg

Married women in India have highest out-of-pocket expenditure for non-communicable diseases

Married women in both rural and urban India spend more on treating non-communicable diseases than other diseases, shows a study

Y files

Males will not become extinct

Fair play

New study could pave the way for novel contraceptive

Researchers found that in the absence of an enzyme critical for sperm formation in mouse, sperms failed to develop completely

Has the free market economy added to India’s increasing PCOD burden?

About 9.13% of menstruating women in south India and Maharashtra suffer from PCOS, while 22.5 per cent have PCOD, according to UNICEF

Female genital mutilation leads to over 40,000 excess deaths in Africa annually: Research

The practice still remains legal in five of the 28 countries where it is most practiced namely Mali, Malawi, Chad, Sierra Leone, and Liberia

Celibacy: its surprising evolutionary advantages – new research

Institutions can also be shaped by people’s reproductive and economic decisions, a study on celibacy in Gansu, China, shows

Troubled waters

Pollutants alter sexual characteristics of wild fish

Online

India improves maternal mortality ratio, but poorer states yet to make progress

This is a considerable improvement from the 130 deaths per lakh in 2014-2016

How India’s COVID lockdowns impacted menstrual health

Limited access to period products during India’s COVID lockdowns highlighted how far public health initiatives have to go when it comes to …

Traffic noise can distract female frogs, lead them to select wrong mates: Study

Humans altering soundscapes may spell disaster for frogs’ mating success and population survival, a new study has warned

Customary and religious laws are impeding progress towards women’s health in Nigeria

The country has the second-largest HIV epidemic in the world; its women make up more than half of people living with the disease  

Cost-a DBCP? Sterility, cancer

This mobile application saves expectant mothers in India

Designed by a Chennai-based gynaecologist, the technology gives medical details of pregnant women to doctors to enable timely treatment 

Inequalities in accessing sexual, reproductive healthcare persist: WHO study 

Rates of unintended pregnancies, abortions vary widely within the same region and geographies, it says

Inequalities still persist in reproductive and child health care, says study

Despite the progress that many countries have made over past few years, inequalities remain a concern

Fresh drive to close gaps on health issues facing women and girls

Local capacities critical to making a difference must be strengthened

Malefactor

Agrochemicals affect sperms

Living on the edge

Local pollution linked to birth defects

What does NFHS-5 tell us about unmet needs in contraception, family planning

Unmet needs of family planning declined in most states and Union territories except Meghalaya

COVID-19: How rise in child marriages impacts economy

The risks associated with child marriage do not end with girls married before 18: It leads to an intergenerational cycle of poverty …

Africa fighting maternal, neonatal mortality with community-level interventions, technology

Sub-Saharan Africa is leveraging emerging technologies to improve access to basic provisions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality