The differences in a child’s response to visual changes could point beyond how the brain functions, how it remembers its surroundings and detects changes. It could also indicate the parents education level and their economic status, says a new study. The study, published in the journal Developmental Science, looks into how children from disadvantaged backgrounds perceive visual changes.

In a press announcement released yesterday, India has now joined 16 other countries as a Member of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) Hub. For a country that ranks the highest in antibacterial resistance, this move expands global partnership opportunities to address challenges and improve collaboration in addressing the growing epidemic of antimicrobial resistance.

The Indian krait is undoubtedly the deadliest of all venomous snakes in the country, and possesses the most lethal concoction of poisons. In a study, a multi-institute research team, led by the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, have designed a synthetic antivenom with a nucleic acid aptamer which can diagnose Indian krait bites accurately and effectively.

India, the world’s capital of diabetes, has an escalating diabetes epidemic. Diabetes, a non-communicable disease, affects about 8.7% Indians today, and this number is predicted to hit 70 million by 2025 and 80 million by 2030. Although the exact reasons for this rapid rise in diabetes in the country are not yet clear, experts blame it on multiple factors. In a recent study, researchers from the USA, Germany and India have investigated the status of diabetic care among Indian adults. The findings, published in the journal BMC Medicine, present a grim picture of diabetes management in different states and socio-demographic groups in India.

Visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, is an insidious disease that affects thousands of people every year. This illness can be fatal, if not diagnosed and treated on time. However, despite best efforts, India still lags behind in eliminating this disease completely. A recent study published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases has investigated the factors that lead to the delayed diagnosis and treatment of kala-azar.

Researchers from Savitribai Phule Pune University have identified two strains of fungi, Aspergillus terreus and Aspergillus sydowii, which can degrade polythene under laboratory conditions.

Researchers from Singapore, Thailand and the USA, have created an antidiabetic medicine using extracts from Withania coagulans, commonly known as the Indian Rennet or paneer dodi.

Researchers from Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, SASTRA University, Thanjavur and Elite School of Optometry, Chennai have studied how the environmental factors of a classroom affect a student’s clarity of vision.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Delhi, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi and the SMiLE Incubator, Sweden have found alarming cases of drug-resistant bacteria in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). 

India is facing a severe crisis in the availability of skilled healthcare professionals, finds a study by the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH).