Research News

India and China suffer over USD 1.89 trillion annually in terms of the value of lives lost and ill health caused from air pollution, according to a report. Quoting OECD estimates, a new study published in The Lancet says, "The cost of ambient air pollution in terms of the value of lives lost and ill health in OECD countries, plus India and China, to be more than USD 3·5 trillion annually (about 5 per cent gross world product [GWP]), with India and China combined accounting for 54 per cent of this total."

Prior knowledge impacts how the brain processes what we see, says a new study. From the smell of flowers to the taste of wine, our perception is strongly influenced by prior knowledge and expectations, a cognitive process known as 'top-down control'.  The study appears online in Nature Neuroscience.

Childhood stress may have a greater influence on weight gain by women than stress during adulthood. The study that appeared online in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

The Indian government has decided to strengthen its regulatory mechanism to prevent the sale of fake medicines in the country. The health ministry will soon introduce mobile drug testing laboratories for surprise checks of medicines available in the market.

The researchers from University of Colorado found that brain structures involved in reward, learning and executive control showed vast changes in women even after a prolonged period of abstinence from drug use. These brain areas are important for decision making, emotion, reward processing and habit formation. The paper published in the journal Radiology.

A significant ozone build up has been witnessed this summer in several areas of the national capital, including the one where Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resides, increasing the public health risk, a green body warned today. A latest analysis done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on the eve of World Environment Day on June 5 found that the area where Kejriwal resides was "highly vulnerable" to deadly ozone pollution, also "unacceptable" pollution levels were found in Lutyen's Delhi and around hospitals.

A method has been found by researchers to separate the medical benefits of cannabis from its unwanted side effects. A study published in the journal PLOS Biology focused on the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, known as Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).