The human body has a mechanism to maintain a certain balanced pH (potential of Hydrogen), or the degree of acidity or alkalinity in the body. Generally, this is found to be around 7.35 (on a scale of 0-14), and it varies throughout the day, depending on one’s diet and activities. The pH levels in tissues are far more sensitive.

Human beings, in their brief history, started off as hunter–gatherers hunting animals and birds, or collecting fruits and nuts to eat. They then invented agriculture, a revolutionary transformation from ‘collecting’ food to ‘growing’ it. Suddenly, acquiring food, which was one of the most important task of the early man, became a breeze. Today, in the era of technology, food production has reached new levels and so have our ways of handling the produce.

Approximately 75% of the emerging infectious diseases and 60% of all human diseases are zoonotic in nature, i.e. they are are caused due to the spread of infection between animals and humans. Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease is a bacterial infection caused by the pathogen spirochetes and reports an estimated 1.03 million cases and 58,900 deaths each year. Leptospira contains 250 antigenically diverse species and due to these distinct variations in the bacteria --called serovars, creating a cross-protective vaccine against the disease is challenging.

Welding is a process that has been used to sculpt metal from the renaissance periods. Over the ages, it has become one of the key processes in making several consumable and artistic materials.  Though there is mechanization in most industries, this field still has over 5 million people working in it. The massive industry, comes with its own set occupational hazards. Welding releases a cocktail of toxic gases, heavy metals and nanoparticles. Even upon exercising great care and protection, these substances can still be inhaled by the workers.

Research at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram indicates that black carbon (BC) aerosol emissions from aircrafts could be impacting the stratospheric ozone layer. Aerosols are minute particles suspended in the atmosphere that interact with incoming and terrestrial radiation affecting the earth’s climate. Some aerosols, such as sulphates and,  nitrates cool the atmosphere. BC, on the other hand, is a positive climate forcing agent, absorbing radiation across a wide range of wavelengths.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) affects 6-11 million people in India. Chronic HCV infection is the leading cause for liver-related deaths worldwide. In India, HCV infection was estimated to be responsible for 59,000 deaths in the year 2015. Moreover, untreated HCV infection could also lead to substantial economic burden. However, the advent of directly acting antivirals (DAAs), is proving to be a game changer in HCV treatment. Directly acting antivirals target specific enzymes and the genetic material in HCV, hence stopping the spread of the infection.

Rabies is a fatal disease associated with dogs. However, it could well be spread by many animals -- both wild and pets. Today, on World Rabies Day, here is all you want to know about the disease and ways to prevent them. But if you thought it was a challenge, find out the truth about this and help make the world free of this deadly disease

Cancer, as a disease, is a puzzle on its own and scientists across the world are looking for hints from all sides to crack it. Now, what if previous research on cancer itself acts as a hint and guides new developments? That is exactly what scientists have done using bioinformatics. By scouting previous research on circulating tumour cells, scientists have identified the molecules responsible for metastasis in cancer. This discovery, they believe, can help not only in understanding the spread of cancer, but also in identifying new drug targets against the killer disease.

Do you wish sometimes that you didn’t understand the consequences of cancer? The disease continues to terrorize mankind, mentally and economically. In order to develop therapy, you need suitable drug targets. Step in, non-B structures. These are simply, irregular DNA structures. A few examples of these structures are G-quadruplex or GQ, which is rich in guanine and intercalated motif or i-motif which is a guanine-rich and cytosine-rich DNA quadruplex. Several reports summarize that these structures could be related to genetic instability.

India as a nation is no stranger to the epidemic of diabetes. Most of us would know of someone in our extended group of family and friends, who is suffering from this ‘silent killer’ disease.