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U.S closes its doors to Chinese dairy imports

Sat, 15/11/2008 - 16:01 by Pragati Khond

New York, November 15: Contaminated Chinese imports including melamine-laden milk has forced U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to crack down on dairy imports from the country in order to safeguard public health.

Dell Shelves Off MP3 player Program… Again

Wed, 12/11/2008 - 10:43 by Carolyn Joy L. ...

United States, November 12: It looks like no one is going to find Dell music players under the tree this Christmas.

Fatality rate for older drivers recedes following Florida's vision screening law

Tue, 11/11/2008 - 12:30 by Pragati Khond

Tobacco addiction compel adults to starve their children

Wed, 05/11/2008 - 13:12 by Pragati Khond

New York, November5: Its astonishing to learn that people are actually starving their brood by smoking butts. A recent study shows that children are malnourished and starved if there are adult smokers at home.

Dr. Michael Weitzman, study author, said that adults are also equally affected in such households but children bear most of the brunt. Dr. Weitzman is the chairman of pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine.

"We know that there are long-term consequences of food insecurity for children. They are more likely to do poorly in school, to have iron deficiency and anemia, and to have behavioral and social problems," he said. "It is a standardized scale measuring how many times a household cannot give children the food they want, how many meals they skip, how often they go to bed hungry."

Study finds precipitation statistics associated with autism

Tue, 04/11/2008 - 20:37 by Pragati Khond

New York, November 4: Rainfall could well be the the possible cause of autism. Strange enough but a new study associated autism with rainfall.

Researchers pointed out that factors associated with precipitation may have a link to autism such as confinement to indoors for long time. They, however, commented that the results are just preliminary.

The research is published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine's November issue.

Michael Waldman, PhD, lead author of the study said: "Our results suggest there is an environmental trigger associated with precipitation." He is the director of the Institute for the Advancement of Economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

"I strongly believe it's not the precipitation itself. My sense is, if truly there is an environmental trigger, my guess is it is one of the factors related to indoor activity," he added.

Microsoft raises alarm against Malware attacks

Tue, 04/11/2008 - 12:37 by Pragati Khond

United States, November 4: Microsoft alerted that malicious software attack on computers has seen a sharp rise recently and these actions can expose computers to hackers.

Microsoft released the data in its Security Intelligence Report stating that malware attacks have risen to 43 percent in the first half of this year, where 90 percent of them are affecting applications and 10 percent attack operating systems. The data report can be downloaded from the website.

These malicious software, often called malware, enter the computer systems and reside in it to steal identities, important data and abuses it through the internet.

Vinny Gulloto, GM, Microsoft's Malware Protection Center, said: "The report gives us a chance to share our extensive analysis of the threat landscape and related guidance with our customers, partners, and the broader industry."

Hetch Hetchy upgrade approved by S.F. board

Mon, 03/11/2008 - 15:46 by Pragati Khond

San Francisco, November3: In a quest to protect the largest drinking water system of Bay Area from calamities like drought or earthquake, an upgrade program was approved by San Francisco's planning and public utilities commissions.

Though, the $4.4 billion upgrade program was facing resentment from some environmental groups, it is considered a welcoming move to preserve the system. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission officials commented that it is important to maintain the system functions after a major disaster.

A tunnel measuring 5 miles will be constructed under the bay for maintaining water supply. The upgrade program will also incorporate replacing a dam deemed seismically unsafe at the Calaveras Reservoir.

The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park is the chief water source. About 2.5 million customers of the city Public Utilities Commission in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties will be benefited from this program which includes laying sections of redundant pipeline to maintain water supplies under its 85 individual projects.

Recall announced for 100,000 Sony batteries

Sat, 01/11/2008 - 10:38 by Pragati Khond

Seattle, United States, November 1: Sony batteries which power numerous notebooks is facing another major recall after 2006.

Leading notebook manufacturers Dell, Toshiba and Hewlett-Packard have recalled Sony notebook batteries, after reports came in with people suffering minor burns due to overheating. These batteries were found to be sold during the 2006 recall.

The recall announcement came on Thursday by The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) along with the notebook manufacturers, namely Dell, Toshiba and HP.

About 100,000 batteries, of which 35,000 were sold in United States and rest 65,000 were sold outside are facing recall. Earlier, this lot of batteries was recalled by Apple, Lenovo, Dell, HP, Toshiba and Sony after injuries were reported.

Avandia awaits ban from FDA soon

Fri, 31/10/2008 - 13:24 by Pragati Khond

United States, October 31 : Avandia has recently come under safety scanner, as it may result in death due to liver failure and other health risks.

Public Citizen's Health Research Group has raised concerns over the safety quotient of this drug that is also said to cause life threatening diseases in addition to liver failure, demanding immediate ban by FDA on Avandia.

Around 12 deaths have been reported, amongst total 14 cases of liver failure due to Avandia through U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Adverse Event Reporting System. A working group from American Diabetes Association & European Association for the Study of Diabetes have demanded ban on the drug and their statement is published in the recent issue of Diabetes Care.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, said, "The scientific evidence against Avandia is overwhelming. The timing of these findings should give the FDA the momentum it needs to act swiftly to prevent further needless deaths and health damage by banning this drug."

Panel recommends FDA to reassess BPA risk

Wed, 29/10/2008 - 13:15 by Pragati Khond

United States, October 29: Bisphenol A (BPA), an element used in making beverage cans and baby bottles was declared harmless by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), annoying government scientists' panel that indicates FDA used faulty methods and ignored the scientific evidences to reach this conclusion.

The panel of scientists indicated that numerous studies conducted on animals over a course of time link BPA to diabetes, prostate cancer and many such health problems. A vital report released by the panel today mentions that FDA did not comply with those findings while inking down its report last month. The panel of scientists accused FDA of not studying sufficient infant samples and the variations in them.

The panel which is part of the Science Board directed FDA to evaluate the BPA risk again, stating its margin of safety as "inadequate". The Science Board comprises of a committee of advisers to the FDA commissioner that was formed to review the FDA's risk assessment of BPA.

Discussions on as Boeing Co. strike continues

Mon, 27/10/2008 - 16:28 by Pragati Khond

Seattle, October 27: The 51-day strike against the Boeing Co. still continues with discussions on to end the agitation, while no reports have come in regarding the verbal advancements on the issue.

The machinists' union and Boeing Co. negotiators were called by the federal mediators in Washington to discuss their concerns. Both the parties are not disclosing any developments in this regard, but maintain that on-going talks are a good sign towards resolving the issue.

After turning down Boeing's contract offer, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers went on strike starting September 6. Though efforts were made through talks to avoid the strike, they proved unsuccessful. Discussions went on this month too, but failed to end the agitation. As many as 25,000 workers from Seattle, 1,500 from Gresham, Ore., and 750 from Wichita, Kan. form the union.

Gardasil confirms to safety standards: Report

Sat, 25/10/2008 - 18:55 by Pragati Khond

United States, October 25: The well known HPV vaccine Gardasil, which was put under safety scanner two years ago, has showed no safety problems in the said period, says the report.

Two years after Gardasil's approval, safety monitors detect no major safety problems with the HPV vaccine.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer and genital warts. The vaccine is said to protect against infections contracted from dangerous strains of this virus. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation says that girls aged 11 or 12 years should get the vaccine, much before they become sexually active.

Concerns on the side effects of the vaccine, which may be rare, such as allergic shock and damage to the nervous system were reported in cases from Australia recently.