Health

The term “asthma” is derived from the Greek word ‘aazein’, which means “to exhale with an open mouth; to gasp.” This condition is the most common cause of school absenteeism, accounting for an estimated 14 million missed school days. Bronchial asthma tends to have developed steadily since the 1970s, and it now affects an estimated 4 to 7 per cent ...

US-based biotech giant Moderna on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding towards producing mRNA medicine in China for the domestic market, the company said, an investment reportedly worth $1 billion. The announcement is among the latest signs China is open for foreign business after years of pandemic-induced isolation, although memories of Beijing’s disruptive zero-Covid measures and its increasing prioritisation of ...

In a first, a drug discovered and designed using artificial intelligence (AI) for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs, has entered human clinical trials. Hong Kong-based biotechnology company Insilico Medicine, in a statement, announced that the Phase II trial on oral dosage of INS018_055 is currently being conducted for over ...

A seven-day campaign for the third and fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccination began in the country on Wednesday (July 5). The campaign will end on July 11. People aged 18 years or above 18 will be vaccinated uner this campaign to prevent COVID-19 infection. Those who have received the second or third dose at least four months ago, will be ...

Aedes larvae has been found in 43.53 per cent high-rise buildings in the capital, posing serious health risk to all the Dhaka city dwellers, according to a survey conducted by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The survey also identified that as many as 55 wards under the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) ...

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has launched a three-day ‘combing operation’ at 25 wards to destroy Aedes mosquitoes and its breeding grounds. The city corporation’s chief executive officer Md MIzanur Rahman inaugurated the campaign at 10am on Tuesday at ward no 41. On the first day of the campaign, Aedes mosquito larvae were found inside and around the boundary of ...

Earlier this year, researchers raised eyebrows when Australia’s traditionally conservative medicines regulator approved the use of psychedelics to assist therapy sessions, reports BBC. The decision will see psilocybin, found in magic mushrooms, used for treatment-resistant depression. It will also allow MDMA, known as ecstasy in tablet form, for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The changes come into effect on Saturday, making ...

Patients continue to lose their lives due to ‘wrong treatment’ across the country, shattering people’s confidence in physicians. Families of the victims are running after the authorities concerned in many cases seeking punishment for the accused. But the physicians are hardly getting punished in the absence of a specific strong law. A large number of patients died due to alleged ...

One of the world’s most common artificial sweeteners is set to be declared a possible carcinogen next month by a leading global health body, according to two sources with knowledge of the process, pitting it against the food industry and regulators. Aspartame, used in products from Coca-Cola diet soda to Mars’ Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks, will be ...

Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific– two of the global leading producers and suppliers of cardiac stents, have agreed to reduce the base prices of several cardiac stents effective from September 1. Officials of the two companies agreed to the price reduction in a meeting at the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) in the capital this noon.