US pediatrician indicted for raping 103 children
DOVER, DELAWARE, Feb 23: A Delaware grand jury returned a sweeping indictment Monday against a pediatrician accused of serial molestation in what could be one of the worst child sex abuse cases in US history. The 160-page indictment returned by a grand jury charges Dr. Earl Bradley of Lewes with 471 counts of sexual crimes against 103 children.
Attorney General Beau Biden said all of the alleged victims, including one boy, were caught on more than 13 hours of video recordings, some dating to 1998, that were seized from Bradley's office and home.
``The charges in this indictment are unique in the history of the state of Delaware, as far as I can tell,'' he said.
``These were crimes committed against the most vulnerable among us -- those without voices,'' Biden added as tears welled in his eyes and he paused to collect himself.
Biden said that while there have been other cases around the country involving multiple victims, ``I know of no other that has this many victims.''
The charges against Bradley include rape, sexual exploitation of a child, unlawful sexual contact, continuous sexual abuse of a child, assault and reckless endangering.
Bradley, who was arrested in December and initially charged with 29 felony counts for allegedly abusing nine children, is being held with bail set at $2.9 million. His medical license was permanently revoked by the state Board of Medical Practice last week.
Bradley's attorney, Eugene Maurer, said he had not read the indictment but was not surprised by the allegations.
``I'm sure they have their reasons for including all these different victims in this indictment,'' said Maurer, noting that under state law, a single conviction of rape would be enough to put Bradley behind bars for life.
Maurer added that the ``real battleground'' in the case will be Bradley's mental state, not what is seen on the videotapes or alleged in the indictment.
The indictment alleges Bradley was videotaping his sexual exploitation of patients as far back as December 1998. Many victims were assaulted repeatedly, some on consecutive days, according to the indictment, which alleges that one girl was raped more than a dozen times over a period that lasted more than a year.
Authorities would not say whether they think Bradley had videotaped all of his alleged assaults or whether there may be more victims.
``I expect that we will add to this indictment with new charges over the coming months,'' Biden said. He encouraged parents and victims of Bradley, ``regardless of age or gender,'' to contact prosecutors, who have sent out about 3,100 letters to Bradley's patients and set up an office in Lewes to handle complaints and direct potential victims and their families to counseling and other services.
``I know that today's indictment will reopen painful wounds,'' he said.
Prosecutor Paula Ryan declined to say how many alleged victims seen on videotape have been identified by name, or to provide an age range. The indictment refers to each alleged victim only as ``Jane Doe'' or ``John Doe.''
After years of suspicions among parents and questions about his strange behavior from colleagues, Bradley was arrested after a 2-year-old girl told her mother that the doctor hurt her in December when he took her to a basement room of his office after an exam.
The case has shocked the close-knit coastal community of Lewes and the central Delaware town of Milford, where Bradley closed an office in 2005 after police investigated him.
While prosecutors allege regular and repeated abuse by Bradley, the indictment contains a gap of more than a year, from October 2004 to June 2006, in which no alleged crimes are listed.
Biden and Gov. Jack Markell have ordered reviews to determine whether doctors, hospitals, state agencies or law enforcement authorities failed to comply with a state law that requires all such entities to report to the medical licensing board in writing within 30 days if they believe a doctor is or ``may be'' guilty of unprofessional conduct.
Biden said Monday that those investigations are aimed at determining ``how this physician could lurk in our midst for as long as he did.''
Women need more sleep than men: Study
 LONDON, Jan 28: Women need more sleep than men — around 20 minutes of more sleep on an average — owing to their busy and multi-tasking brain, according to a new research by a British sleep expert.
“Women need 20 minutes more shut-eye than the average man. This is because women’s brains are wired differently from men’s and are more complex, so their sleep need is slightly greater,” said Professor Jim Horne, director of the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University in UK.
Pointing out that one of the major functions of sleep is to allow the brain to recover and repair itself, Horne said, “During deep sleep, the cortex — part of the brain responsible for thought memory, language and so on — disengages from the senses and goes into recovery mode. The more a person uses his brain during the day, the more sleep he needs at night to recover, Horne said adding, “Women tend to multi-task — they do lots at once and are flexible — and so they use more of their actual brain than men do. Because of that, their sleep need is greater.”
“A man who has a complex job that involves a lot of decision-making and lateral thinking may also need more sleep than the average male — though probably still not as much as a woman,” he told the Daily Mail.
Tomatoes 'stop you getting fat'
 LONDON, Nov 4: Nutritionists have long recognised that vegetarians and others who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables are much more likely to be slim than those drawn to a standard modern diet of highly processed foods.
But now it seems it is not just down to the fact that fruit and vegetables contain fewer calories.
Tomatoes are rich in the compound lycopene, which scientists believe may help to make people feel more full by lowering appetite hormones.
Researchers from the University of Reading made their discovery by testing the effects of bread enriched with vegetables on a ground of 17 normal weight women aged 18 to 35.
The volunteers were given sandwiches either filled with cream cheese or made with bread enriched with carrot or tomato and asked to record how full they were.
The researchers had expected the additional fibre in the carrot bread to promote the most feelings of satiety or fullness, but instead they found the tomato bread was actually the most filling.
"It was a small study, and we can't yet say what the crucial tomato ingredient is, but the results were statistically significant," Dr Julie Lovegrove, a specialist in nutritional metabolism who is leading the project, said.
The lycopene found in tomatoes makes them red and is a key component of the Mediterranean diet which is credited with lowering rates of heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and some forms of cancer.
Dr Lovegrove believes it may too be the reason why the volunteers felt more full.
Doctors to get extra money to work in rural areas: Azad
 NEW DELHI, Sept 17: Doctors who opt to work in rural areas will be duly compensated with extra money and weightage points that will help them while going for higher studies, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced on Thursday.
"The only way to attract the attention of doctors to work in difficult, most difficult and inaccessible areas is through incentives. We have requested the states to give us the list under the above categories. We can provide extra money as extra incentive," Azad told reporters.
"Assam has already done it. To encourage rural postings, additional weightage will be given in the post graduate examination at the rate of 10 percent for each year of rural service. It will be subject to a maximum of 30 percent extra weightage for three years of rural service," he said while giving details of his ministry's achievements in the last 100 days.
Azad said this service will have to be rendered after the internship period only. This service will not only help the National Rural Health Mission, but also help the MBBS doctors in accumulating extra weightage points for further studies," he added.
The Assam government had Wednesday appointed nearly 800 doctors in a recruitment drive that is expected to revolutionise the region's rural healthcare sector.
The recruitment campaign has a catch though, as the appointments were made for a one-year period as part of the government legislation that makes it mandatory for all MBBS graduates to serve for a minimum of one year in rural health centres.
"Assam has become the first state in the country to have carried out such a historic recruitment drive by appointing 768 doctors for rural postings in one single day," state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after handing over appointment letters to the doctors in Guwahati.
The young doctors would be getting a monthly fixed salary of Rs.25,000, besides free accommodation in their area of posting.
Yoga: New 'Om' of good sex life!
NEW DELHI: In yoga studios of suburban Delhi, there's a new asana for sexuality, which is bringing a revolution in the lives of men and women. Delhi-based yoga expert Mini Shastri advises Surya Namaskar every morning for a sacred sexual connection.
" Surya Namaskar is a combination of 12 different poses, back bends, forward bends. While doing the namaskar you contract and expand your nerves to the pelvic girdle, which is your sexual core. This stimulates your sexual hormones and helps you achieve a new sexual equilibrium. While kundalini yoga is also beneficial for a better sex life. For instance, vrkasana or the scorpio pose helps your reproductive organs.''
AWAKE YOUR SENSUAL BEING
Ellen Barrett's book Sexy Yoga, is designed to open up seven chakras (energy centers) that involve sexuality: root, sacral and heart. "Yoga means union or yoke in Sanskrit, and it focuses on bringing the body into harmony with the mind and spirit. The awareness of sexuality through yoga is deeper and more intimate. Yoga is about discovering the joys of elegant sexuality,'' says Barrett.
Why are more people rediscovering the yogic position on sexuality?
"Yoga helps you in creating a balance. Kundalini yoga helps you create bio-energy, It activates your sex hormones. There's a spiritual connection between yoga, sex and celibacy on the other. Yoga helps you achieve your needs, you can be celibate or satisfied sexually through yoga, it helps you supress or express sexual desire. Kundalini yoga is a bio-science of sexuality and psychology. It can rejuvenate through breathing exercises, which enhance consciousness, with bio-magnetic awareness, you can use your charms sexually. We have higher forms of prayananam ,'' says Kundalini yoga expert, Meena Nanda, who teaches dynamic life management for well-being.
DO WE REALLY NEED NUDE YOGA?
Perhaps, some people are taking yoga for sensuality a bit too far. Like New York-based ashtanga yoga teacher Aaron Star is the founder of Hot Nude Yoga, which combines ashtanga and vinyasa yoga session.
"The students discover breathing techniques that will help you to relax and bliss out. The practice involves the classic stretching postures and breathing exercises, coordinated with chanting and meditation to stimulate the release of so-called kundalini energy. It uses the energy of sex to raise the kundalini energy to the higher chakras. It is a good idea to be a regular practitioner of ordinary yoga before you embark on yoga for sex,'' says Star.
MUDRAS FOR SEXUAL HEALING
Sexologist Dr Prakash Kothari believes, yoga is the perfect for emotional, sexual and spiritual well-being.
"There are certain asanas that enhance physical intimacy -- bhramari prayanam , chanting of Om with eyes and ears closed reduces anxiety, helps in contracting and expanding sexual nerves. While vajrasana helps in erectile dysfunctions, vajroli and ashwini mudra can help pregnant women pursue a healthy sex life after delivery. These mudras help the pelvic muscles. I also advise surya namaskar to those who have endrocrine imbalance. If you follow these excercises, yoga can really improve your sex life.''
One more swine flu death in Mumbai, toll 29
PUNE/MUMBAI, Aug 17: Even as two more woman died of swine flu in Pune and Mumbai, raising the nationwide toll to 29 with Pune being worst hit with 13 fatalities, the district authorities in Pune announced on Monday that the closure of educational institutions and cinema halls would be extended to August 23.
Of the three suspected deaths of the flu in Mumbai, one pregnant woman died of swine flu on Monday. So far, three persons have fallen victim to H1N1 virus in the financial capital of the country. In Pune, Bina Gonsalves (36), who was admitted to Sassoon hospital on August 15 in a critical state, collapsed late on Sunday night. She was a confirmed case of swine flu.
Pune district collector Chandrakant Dalvi said though the number of deaths in the city had come down over the last three days and the number of people visiting screening centres had also fallen, the number of suspected patients was still high.
"Guardian minister Ajit Pawar and divisional commissioner Dilip Band took the decision to keep schools, colleges, tuition classes, theatres and multiplexes closed till August 23. Earlier, schools and colleges were to stay shut till August 19," Dalvi said.
To check the spread of the H1N1 virus, the district administration has decided to rope in army medical establishments to upgrade screening and treatment facilities, besides making more beds available.
"The defence establishments have extended full co-operation," Dalvi said. The army medical establishments in the city include the Military Hospital, Khadki; Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC); Military Hospital (cardio-thoracic centre) and the Cantonment General Hospital. AFMC and Command Hospital spokesperson Lt Col Abhijit Rudra said: "The proposal to extend medical amenities to civilians has been discussed and we are looking at extending help".
Dalvi said the current bed capacity for the swine flu patients in various state government and municipal corporation hospitals is 466. "Our aim is to increase it to 1,000 beds in the next few days," he said.
The collector said 8,155 patients were screened on Monday, far less than the figures for Saturday (27,288) and Sunday (13,442). Also, there were only 687 suspected cases reported on Monday as against 1,374 cases on Saturday and 1,094 on Sunday. Twenty-four fresh positive cases were reported on Monday, bringing the total number of such cases to 598.
‘‘As of today, there are 243 patients admitted in different hospitals in the city,’’ Dalvi said. ‘‘Of these, 54 are H1N1 positive and 189 are suspected cases. Eight patients are on the ventilator — two at Sassoon hospital and six at Sahyadri hospital,’’ he said.
Two die of swine flu in Pune, India toll rises to 20
NEW DELHI, Aug 13: An eleven-month-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died in severely hit virus city Pune, taking toll to 12 and another person died in Kerala on Thursday. With this the total number of deaths from swine flue have touched 20 across India.
The boy, Rutwik Kamle was admitted first to a private hospital and then shifted to government-run Sassoon Hospital on Wednesday evening in a serious condition, official sources said. He died early Thursday morning.
Bharti Goyal, who was suffering from the viral infection, died in KEM Hospital here, they said.
Besides the Pune deaths, one person each has succumbed to the virus in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Nashik, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram and two in Mumbai.
Ten people on Wednesday night tested positive for swine flu in Gujarat, taking the total number of those afflicted by the disease countrywide to 1,203.
While Pune remained the worst-hit area by the disease with 61 new cases being reported from the city, Gujarat's 10 new cases took the number of those infected to 27 in the State.
"All test results that were pending have come and according to them, 10 more people, including three women, have tested positive for swine flu," according to Gujarat Principal Secretary Health Ravi Saxena.
The figures include five from Ahmedabad, four from Surat and one from Navsari, Saxena said. In Navsari, a 14-year-old boy has been infected by the virus. According to the available data, a total of 125 fresh cases have been reported, taking the total number of those afflicted to 1,203.
Besides the western region, flu cases were reported from Mumbai (24), Kolkata (3), Bangalore (10), Shillong (1), Goa (1), Delhi (8) and Hyderabad (3).
In Shillong, the 17-year-old male patient had travelled to the U.K.
In Bangalore, all of the 10 cases had contracted the virus in the country and had no foreign travel history. Goa also reported one indigenous case. All the eight patients in Delhi and three in Hyderabad had acquired the infection in India.
No swine flu death in India yet: Azad
NEW DELHI, July 3: Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday clarified in Parliament that not a single swine flu death had been reported in India till date. He said media reports suggesting that swine flue was behind the death of a person in Kerala on July 1 were wrong as samples from the person have tested negative for H1N1.
As both Houses of Parliament discussed the pandemic on Friday, with members seeking effective intervention by the Health Ministry, Azad expressed hope that a vaccine to counter swine flu would be developed soon. The minister was intervening in a short discussion started by Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit in the Lok Sabha.
Replying to a calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha, Azad said the number of testing laboratories has been increased from two to 18 to intensify the monitoring of the disease. He also played down the incidences of swine flu in the country saying the disease was practically “non-existent” here as compared to other countries.
“There have been 109 cases so far of which 70 have already gone back (from the hospital). Fortunately, no deaths have taken place in India,” Azad said in the Upper House, adding that 100 of the 109 cases had come to India from abroad with the US alone accounting for 70 per cent of the cases. The minister informed the House that the country was screening about 45,000 people at its international airports everyday.
Maintaining that many of the incoming cases could have been averted had the governments of affected countries followed exit screening at their airports, Azad said he had held discussions with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna to issue necessary instructions to the heads of Indian missions abroad.
Members of both Houses asked the government to take steps to control the rising incidences of swine flu in the country. While BJP MP Maneka Gandhi criticised the over-reaction about the swine flu disease, urging the government to control “scare-mongering” over the disease, her Rajya Sabha colleague CP Thakur asked the government to depute more doctors at airport for screening.
Rural stint to fetch doctors double pay
 NEW DELHI, July 2: Doctors willing to work in India's most far flung and inaccessible areas may soon earn double of what their urban counterparts do in a decision borne out of the recognition that cash to the far flung areas.
In order to provide quality healthcare to people in isolated regions under the National Rural Health Mission, the health ministry has decided to identify "difficult, most difficult and inaccessible areas, particularly in hilly states, northeastern states and tribal areas" where primary health centres (PHCs) would be set up.
The ministry, through NRHM, will then make funds available for contractual appointments of doctors and paramedical staff and "provide significantly higher monetary incentives based on location of posting".
Even though PHCs are the first port of call for the sick in rural areas, the majority of them have no trained medical personnel.
Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "There has been a significant increase in attendance of out-patients and in-patient cases in PHCs and community health centres (CHCs) under the NRHM. But more needs to be done for remote parts of the country."
He added, "Because of lack of incentives from state governments, no doctor wants to work in the country's most backward areas. We will therefore identify the most isolated areas, pinpoint where the state can set up a PHC and then give them funds to hire doctors on contract."
On the ministry's earlier proposal about making a one-year stint in villages compulsory for all MBBS students, Azad said this could form part of a long-term solution plan being devised by the ministry.
According to an NRHM report earlier, nearly 8% PHCs don't have a doctor while nearly 39% were running without a lab technician and about 17.7% without a pharmacist. To compound the problem, PHCs in some states don't have adequate labour rooms and operation theatres.
The condition of CHCs, supposed to provide specialised medical care, is equally appalling. Out of the sanctioned posts, about 59.4% of surgeons, 45% of obstetricians and gynaecologists, 61.1% of physicians and 53.8% of paediatricians were found to be vacant. Moreover, there was a shortfall of 70.2% specialists at the CHCs.
Azad also promised setting up of a National Council for Human Resources in Health -- an overarching regulatory body that will look to enhance skilled medical personnel.
India is short of 6 lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons because of which it has a dismal patient-doctor ratio. For every 10,000 Indians, there is one doctor.
"One of the major bottlenecks in our efforts to improve the public healthcare system is the overwhelming shortage of specialist doctors and paramedical personnel. We are therefore formulating a scheme for strengthening and upgradation of state government medical colleges to increase post-graduate medical seats in departments where there is critical shortage like gynaecology, anaesthesia and paediatrics," Azad said, while announcing his 100-day agenda for the health sector.
Azad clears 150 medical, dental colleges
NEW DELHI, June 18: Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday gave his nod to no less than 150 educational institutions including medical, dental,ayurveda and unani colleges.
Officials justified the huge numbers by saying that these permissions had been pending for several years with the ministry and has come in the wake of numerous public complaints of undue delay in processing cases.
While this may appear to be a reflection on the performance of his immediate predecessor, the move is sure to raise eyebrows in certain quarters. Coming at a time when there is growing concern that education regulators are turning a blind eye to quality in their haste to recognise private professional institutions, it is sure to raise eyebrows in certain quarters.
Every institute offering medical education has to get annual clearance from the health ministry which is based on the recommendations of the Medical Council of India or Dental Council, depending on the courses offered.
The minister has on his part claimed that all cases from now on will be taken up without delay. In a clear reference to middle-men, Azad said if any medical institute was found greasing palms of the ministry officials for clearing files, sanctions for colleges, or for increasing seats, strict action will be taken against the erring official and the institute concerned as well.
In his stern message to officials, Azad has made it clear that neither middlemen nor any agents would be tolerated in the ministry for clearing any file of medical institutes.
He said any institute found hiring services of such individuals would be severely punished and could also result in cancellation of existing permissions to run the colleges.
Officials said that in his drive against agents, Azad has asked for complaint boxes to be placed at his office and residence to receive complaints against any middlemen or official seeking illegal gratification either in medical councils or in the ministry.
The health minister has also directed the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India to take up pending recommendations of colleges before June 15 so that semesters could begin by August 1 every year.
WHO: Influenza A H1N1 pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years
 GENEVA, June 11: The World Health Organization told its member nations it was declaring aInfluenza A H1N1 pandemic on Thursday -- the first global flu epidemic in 41 years -- as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.
In a statement sent to member countries, WHO said it decided to raise the pandemic warning level from phase 5 to 6 -- its highest alert -- after holding an emergency meeting onInfluenza A H1N1 with its experts.
The long-awaited pandemic decision is scientific confirmation that a new flu virus has emerged and is quickly circling the globe. It will trigger drugmakers to speed up production of aInfluenza A H1N1 vaccine and prompt governments to devote more money toward efforts to contain the virus.
``At this early stage, the pandemic can be characterized globally as being moderate in severity,'' WHO said in the statement, urging nations not to close borders or restrict travel and trade. ``(We) remain in close dialogue with influenza vaccine manufacturers.''
On Wednesday, WHO said 74 countries had reported nearly 27,737 cases ofInfluenza A H1N1, including 141 deaths.
The agency has stressed that most cases are mild and require no treatment, but the fear is that a rash of new infections could overwhelm hospitals and health authorities -- especially in poorer countries.
Still, about half of the people who have died from Influenza A H1N1 were previously young and healthy -- people who are not usually susceptible to flu.
Swine flu is also continuing to spread during the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. Normally, flu viruses disappear with warm weather, but Influenza A H1N1 is proving to be resilient.
The last pandemic -- the Hong Kong flu of 1968 -- killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year.
Many health experts say WHO's pandemic declaration could have come weeks earlier but the agency became bogged down by politics. In May, several countries urged WHO not to declare a pandemic, fearing it would cause social and economic turmoil.
``This is WHO finally catching up with the facts,'' said Michael Osterholm, a flu expert at the University of Minnesota who has advised the U.S. government on pandemic preparations.
Despite WHO's hopes, raising the epidemic alert to the highest level will almost certainly spark some panic about spread of swine flu.
Fear has already gripped Argentina, where thousands of people worried about Influenza A H1N1 flooded into hospitals this week, bringing emergency health services in the capital of Buenos Aires to the brink of collapse. Last month, a bus arriving in Argentina from Chile was stoned by people who thought a passenger on it had swine flu. Chile has the most Influenza A H1N1 cases in South America.
In Hong Kong on Thursday, the government ordered all kindergartens and primary schools closed for two weeks after a dozen students tested positive forInfluenza A H1N1 -- a move that some flu experts would consider an overreaction.
In the United States, where there have been more than 13,000 cases and at least 27 deaths fromInfluenza A H1N1, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the move would not change how the U.S. tackledInfluenza A H1N1.
``Our actions in the past month have been as if there was a pandemic in this country,'' Glen Nowak, a CDC spokesman, said Thursday.
The U.S. government has already taken steps like increasing availability of flu-fighting medicines and authorizing $1 billion for the development of a new vaccine against the novel virus. In addition, new cases seem to be declining in many parts of the country, U.S. health officials say, as North America moves out of its traditional winter flu season.
Still, Osterholm said the declaration was a wake-up call for the world.
``I think a lot of people think we're done withInfluenza A H1N1, but you can't fall asleep at the wheel,'' he said. ``We don't know what's going to happen in the next 6 to 12 months.''
Number of Influenza A H1N1 cases in India climbs to 15
NEW DELHI, June 11: Three more persons tested positive for Influenza A H1N1 on Thursday, taking the total number of such cases in the country to 15.
In the capital, a 41-year-old woman, who travelled from Haiti, was the latest case of Influenza A H1N1 and has been admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.
A 25-year old woman, travelling from New York to Delhi, who reported fever and cough on June 9, 2008, has also tested positive.
The father of the 17-year old student from Boston, who had also shown symptoms of the disease on Wednesday, has tested negative for the virus, a senior health ministry official said.
The other positive case was a male passenger who had come from London via Germany in Goa. He has been quarantined at PHC Chicalim, a few kilometres away from the Goa airport.
Two suspected cases of Influenza A H1N1 were also reported from Punjab and Chandigarh, state Government officials said.
One of them is Manjinder Singh Kang, an MLA from Beas in Punjab, who recently returned from UK with fever and has been advised to stay indoors.
Of the total number of Influenza A H1N1 cases, five are from Delhi, seven from Hyderabad, two from Coimbatore and one from Goa.
Meanwhile, the health screening of passengers at 21 international airports across the country continued.
Flu epidemic fear grips world, Mexico cowers
MEXICO CITY, April 27: The threat of a flu pandemic gripped the world on Monday, as a virus that has killed 103 people in Mexico and shut down chunks of the capital spread to the United States and as far as New Zealand.
The dollar weakened along with Mexico's peso as Asian markets were rattled by an outbreak that ballooned over the weekend, prompting the World Health Organisation to activate its 24-hour 'war room' command center.
No deaths have occurred outside Mexico from the new strain of swine flu but 20 cases have been identified in the United States and six in Canada. Possible cases are being checked as far afield as Europe, Israel and New Zealand.
Mexico, a major exporter of oil, coffee and factory goods, faced a week unlike any before as schools were closed in several states in order to slow the spread of the virus and the densely populated capital ground to a halt. Mexico City's bars, museums and stadiums shut and many office workers were set to work from home as a precaution.
Many in the capital spent the weekend hunkered at home or wore blue surgical face masks handed out by truckloads of soldiers to venture out onto strangely hushed streets. The city government mulled halting public transport.
"The idea of spending 10 days in the house with two small children, with no cafes, no museums, is totally unappealing so I'm going to San Diego," said an American expatriate, CR Hibbs, who was headed out of the city with her kids.
Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said late on Sunday that the flu had killed 103 people in Mexico and about 400 people were hospitalized.
A glimmer of hope was that most patients had recovered.
The new flu strain, a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, poses the biggest risk of a large-scale pandemic since avian flu surfaced in 1997, killing several hundred people. A 1968 Hong Kong flu pandemic killed about 1 million people globally.
The United States declared a public health emergency on Sunday. Although most cases outside Mexico were relatively mild, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said she feared there might be U.S. fatalities.
Bullfights, masses
Mexico, whose government already is grappling with a murderous drug cartel war and a slumping economy, faced a dent to its economy with shoppers and diners expected to stay home this week.
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebard said closures in the capital could last 10 days. Far away in the Pacific party-town of Acapulco, hundreds of nightclubs were shuttered.
Now, an anti-impotency drug that can be rubbed into skin
LONDON, April 27: Popping the common erectile dysfunction pill before sex could soon be a passé. Scientists have come up with what they claim is a new generation of more effective anti-impotency drugs which can be rubbed into skin.
An international team has successfully tested the new technique -which involves tiny objects called nanoparticles - on laboratory rodents and believe it could also be used to help humans, The Daily Telegraph reported.
According to the scientists, under the new therapy, nanoparticles that release the anti-erectile chemical nitric oxide are rubbed on the problem area, and absorbed directly into the skin.
In fact, of the seven rats treated by the team, led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, five showed signs of arousal, the findings of which are presented at the American Urological Association.
"This is a very interesting concept which has potential to impact treatment of many conditions including erectile dysfunction if it can be translated from the animal lab to clinical practice," said Ira D Sharlip of the AUA.
However, according to the scientists, the new treatment would likely have fewer side effects than the common pill, which is taken orally and been shown to cause headaches and facial flushing.
Now, grow bigger breasts naturally!
 LONDON, March 30: Artificial breast implants will soon be a passé. You would soon be able to enlarge your breasts 'naturally', thanks to scientists who have developed a new stem cell therapy which can boost a woman's cup while reducing her stomach fat.
A team at Princess Grace Hospital in Britain has come up with the treatment that involves extracting stem cells from the spare fat on belly or thighs and growing them in a woman's breasts, The Sunday Times reported.
In fact, during the process, cells are isolated from the excess fat on stomach or thighs and then the concentrated stem cells are mixed with another batch of fat before finally being injected into the breast. However, it could take several months for the breast to achieve the desired size and shape.
According to the scientists, an increase of one cup size is likely with the potential for larger gains as the technique actually improves.
Professor Kefah Mokbel, who is leading the team, said: "Implants are a foreign body. They are associated with long- term complications and require replacement. They can also leak and cause scarring.
"This (new technique) is a very exciting advance in breast surgery. They (breasts treated with stem cells) feel more natural because this tissue has the same softness as the rest of the breast."
A trial, involving ten breast cancer patients who had their assets removed, has already started in Britain. Another project is underway to check the technique on healthy women seeking breast enlargement.
According to the scientists, the stem cell treatment may be suitable only for modest increases in breast size, but will conduct research to find out whether larger augmentations can be achieved.
"We are optimistic we can easily achieve an increase of one cup size. We can't say yet if we can achieve more. That may depend on the stem cells we can harvest," Mokbel said.
An artificial heart for Rs 1 lakh, courtesy IIT Karagpur
KOLKATA, March 19: It'll be to coronary care what Nano is to cars, say scientists at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, who have devised an artificialheart that could save lives for just Rs 1 lakh.
The research team says trials of the prototype lab—constructed heart have been successful on small animals and the gadget is being perfected on goats. The institute has applied for permission to conduct human trials.
The Total Artificial Heart (TAH) — said to be the first such in the country — has been developed by a team of scientists at IIT-Kgp's school of medical science and technology.
After four years of painstaking research, the scientists say their creation is better and far more affordable than the first artificial heart developed in the US, which showed a ``high rate failure'' and at Rs 30 lakh, beyond the reach of the common man.
The inventors hope to fit the heart into an ailing patient within a few months, once permissions from the Indian Council of Medical Research come through. The unique 13—chamber heart is working fine in small animals, said a member of the team. Human tests are to be conducted at Medical College and Hospital (MCH), Kolkata.
Senior cardiac surgeons — Madhusudan Pal, Bhaskar Ukil, Tarun Saha and Kalishankar Das from MCH and Rajiv Narang of AIIMS, Delhi — will conduct the human trials.
``We are also in touch with P Venugopal, former AIIMS director and one of the leading cardiac surgeons of the country. We expect him to be part of the team as well,'' said Sujoy Guha, IIT-Kgp faculty member and bio-medical engineering expert, who is leading the artificial-heart team.
``The TAH will be of great help to patients whose heart muscles have become so weak that they need immediate transplantation. Angioplasty, stents and even bypass surgery are of no use for such patients because they cannot strengthen muscles. It is difficult to find donor organs and even if transplantation is done, the body develops auto rejection and severe medication is required to suppress immune reactions," said Guha.
``TAH will be a life-saver, for the price of a Tata Nano,'' said one of the scientists. ``Bengal may have lost the Nano, but the world cannot miss this Rs 1-lakh invention.''
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