Healthcare news and research

In Keralam, ‘affordable’ private health care is easier said than done

Keralam government’s efforts to draft a new Bill in this regard brings the Kerala Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulations) Act 2018, back into focus;…

Kerala CM’s statement on angioplasty becomes a talking point among doctors

In a recent function, V.D. Satheesan had mentioned about avoiding unnecessary angioplasty. While many doctors object to the 'generalised statement,' a few agree with…

The Nobel-winning science of optogenetics: Explained

Optogenetics has fundamentally changed human perception of the incredible human brain and its functions

Health groups seek regulation of private hospital charges, medicine margins

JSA, Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatment call for ceilings on hospital charges and trade margins; they say absence of a uniform…

Major study opens window to the brain when an emotion first appears

Despite being so fundamental to our survival as a species, scientists are still piecing together how emotions arise in our brains. In a study…

2026 Nobel medicine prize: Trio wins for optogenetics work

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel allowed neuroscience to move beyond observing correlations and testing how particular neurons and neural circuits are related…

Explained | What is relative humidity and why does it matter on a hot day?

The higher the relative humidity of air, the less you can cool yourself by sweating.

Rabies and the missing deaths: Why do India’s official numbers differ so sharply from estimates? | Explained

The ICMR-led study found important gaps after animal bites; about one in five dog-bite victims had not received anti-rabies vaccine, while only 66.2% had…

Russia reports worker at Siberian plague institute got pneumonia from an unknown cause and died

Pneumonic plague is highly infectious and can be fatal if not treated early

What is ‘ferritin face’ and why is this health scare trending on social media?

Ferritin is a protein that stores iron and its level is used to assess the body’s iron stores. Low ferritin can occur before iron-deficiency…

Fresh meniscus transplantation programme launched

Mismatch in data on rabies deaths poses major challenge

Health Ministry’s surveillance programme reported 50 deaths in 2023, while Registrar-General recorded 271 fatalities the same year; however, ICMR study says 5,726 people die…