Dr M Khalid's global village blog

  It’s a system so porous that as many as one in three medicines sold on Drug Lane could be counterfeit, a ccording to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with about 1 percent in the U.S. and Europe. The fake drugs often have no active ingredient at all, or just enough to pass quality-control tests, and visually they can be indistinguishable from the real thing. One study, published by the  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , found that in just one year, fake and poorly made malaria drugs contributed to the deaths of more than 100,000 children across Africa. Nongovernmental organizations, international agencies, and other groups have tried to address the problem. A Ghanaian entrepreneur thinks he has an answer. Bright Simons announced the creation of his company, MPedigree Network, at a news conference on Drug Lane in 2007. MPedigree sells software that manufacturers use to label individual packs of medication with a random 12...

by G Madhavan Nair, ex senior scientist, ISRO. My association with A.P.J. Abdul Kalam began in 1967 when I joined the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station, Thiruvananthapuram. Through the years, he had been my guide and mentor. I learned about the technology behind rockets and project management from him. We worked together for nearly 20 years — first at Thumba and later on the satellite launch vehicle (SLV-3) project. I owe all my achievements to this great personality. Kalam was a real taskmaster and used to set impossible targets. At the same time, he used to be our motivator and facilitator. He used to check that we were on the right track and if any mistakes occurred, he would help us analyse and resolve the issues. He saw to it that we achieved success in the shortest possible time. Kalam never blamed anyone for a mistake or failure. He used to encourage people to put in their best. One of his biggest contributions was seeing through the successful progress of the SLV 3 pro...

Analysts surveyed by the central bank forecast that Latin America's largest economy will shrink by 1.7 percent this year, the worst recession in 25 years, as unemployment and family indebtedness rise. When Brazil revises its 2015 budget estimates Wednesday afternoon, the question investors will be asking is how much more spending can be cut without deepening an economic recession. Tax revenue has dropped below government estimates this year as the economy slows amid austerity measures designed to mend the worst budget deficit on record, and rate increases intended to curb above-target inflation. With Finance Minister Joaquim Levy's budget target looking increasingly unattainable, speculation has grown that the government will lower the goal. "Everyone knows the budget situation is bad, so we need a more realistic, transparent target," said Luciano Rostagno, chief economist at Mizuho Bank's Brazil subsidiary. "Cutting investments and raising taxes would be bad...

From the article 'These Superhumans Are Real and Their DNA Could Be Worth Billions' published on Bloomberg July 22, 2015 — 3:30 PM IST. Drug companies are exploiting rare mutations that make one person nearly immune to pain, another to broken bones. Steven Pete can put his hand on a hot stove or step on a piece of glass and not feel a thing, all because of a quirk in his genes. Only a few dozen people in the world share Pete's congenital insensitivity to pain. Drug companies see riches in his rare mutation.  Timothy Dreyer, 25, has bones so dense he could walk away from accidents that would leave others with broken limbs. About 100 people have sclerosteosis, Dreyer's condition. Pete's parents first realized something was wrong when, as a teething baby, their son almost chewed off his tongue. "That was a giant red flag," says Pete, now 34 and living in Kelso, Wash. It took doctors months to figure out he had congenital insensitivity to pain, caused by two d...

 The Day of `Eid Al-Fitr is a blessed day. Since Muslims have observed their duty toward Allah during their fast in Ramadan, this is a day for rewards and forgiveness by Allah. In the heavens, `Eid Al-Fitr is called the day of reward. Eid is a day of celebration for Muslims, a day of happiness.  On this day, Muslims perform two rakaats of prayer, meet one another, shake hands and embrace and give charity to the poor and needy. Islam teaches protecting the poor, helping the helpless, and easing the pain and sufferings of orphans and the meek at every turn, and they should not be forgotten, especially on the day of Eid. That is why Prophet Mohammad (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) ordered us to pay the Sadqa-e-Fitr money to the poor before performing the Eid Salaah so that Muslims remember the poor people on this occasion and include them in their happiness. It is reported in a Prophetic hadith that, on the day of `Eid Al-Fitr, the angels stand on both sides of the roads...

Before you buy an ornamental plant for home, check this list. The plant leaves may be eaten by children and can be poisonous/toxic to them. Toxic Ornamental and Garden Plants Common Name Scientific Name Toxic Parts System Affected Alpenrose Rhododendron Ferrugineum Flowers Leaves Gastroenteric American Mistletoe Phoradendrom Flavescens Berries Gastroenteric Azalea Azalea Spp., ALL PARTS Gastroenteric Black Locust Robinia Pseudoacacia Bark, Green Growth, Seeds, Proably, Thorns = Mechanical Hazard Gastroenteric, Cardiac, Neurologic Black Nightshade Solanum Nigrum ALL PARTS Gatroenteric Bluebonnets Lupinus Spp., Seeds Neurologic Bog Billberry Vaccinium Uliginosum Berries...