Health
WHO investigating links between cough syrup deaths
The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating whether there is any connection between manufacturers whose contaminated cough syrups it has linked to the deaths of more than 300 children in three countries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Citing “unacceptable levels” of toxins in the products, the WHO… Read
Hitachi High-Tech Solutions, Keio University begin research to discover drugs using 'Chemicals Informatics'
Hitachi High-Tech Solutions Corporation, in collaboration with Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is commencing joint research that uses Materials Informatics (MI) to improve the efficiency of the development of small molecule drugs (1). Hitachi High-Tech Solutions will be using the "Chemicals Informatics (CI)" MI tool not… Read
Climate change leads to more malaria, tuberculosis up in a recession
Climate change is increasing malaria infections, the executive director of the world's biggest health fund said in Davos. Huge surges in malaria infections followed recent floods in Pakistan and cyclones in Mozambique in 2021, said Peter Sands, the executive director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.… Read
Coffee stand hopes to promote understanding of mental illness in Japan
The Yoyogi neighborhood in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, is home to a unique new coffee stand called Hideaway. Hideaway serves excellent coffees and teas, a variety of other drinks like matcha lattes, and a selection of food such as croissants, baked goods, soups like clam chowder, and a variety of tasty… Read
Tokyo hospitals and clinics welcoming birth partners
When my partner and I first considered getting pregnant again in Japan, I knew that finding a clinic that would meet my requirements would be tricky. After a challenging experience in Canada, I really wanted to create a peaceful environment for my second experience of giving birth. One of my… Read
Pandoravirus: The melting Arctic is releasing ancient germs – how worried should we be?
Scientists have recently revived several large viruses that had been buried in the frozen Siberian ground (permafrost) for tens of thousands of years. The youngest virus to be revived was a sprightly 27,000 years old. And the oldest – a Pandoravirus – was around 48,500 years old. This is the oldest virus ever to… Read
Hypertension, diabetes, stroke kill more people than infectious diseases and should get a Global Fund
Noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions account for 41 million deaths each year. That’s more than 70% of all deaths globally. Most of these deaths (77%) are in low-income and middle-income countries – including those in Africa. These conditions are currently more prevalent than infectious diseases. Sixty-seven percent occur before the… Read
Survey says kids struggle with Japanese toilets, contributing to constipation
Japan’s feature-rich toilets, with such luxurious comforts as heated seats and gentle sprays of butt-washing water, are a source of technological prestige for the nation. However, the Japanese phrase washiki toire, which translates to “Japanese-style toilet,” doesn’t describe those high-tech marvels, but rather a much simpler fixture that’s basically just a trough that… Read
Don’t uninstall that COVID-tracking app yet, warns Japanese government
Back in June of 2020 the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare released the COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application or COCOA for short. It was quickly discovered that an actual cup of cocoa would be more effective at curbing the disease than this app, with only 0.03 percent of infections having been confirmed on it… Read
Video game to detect early stages of glaucoma developed by Tohoku University
Many of us as children have probably been scolded for playing too many video games with threats that it will “wreck your eyesight.” There’s still some debate over how true or untrue that is, but a new game has been developed that may definitely save people’s eyesight. Meteor Blaster is a a simple smartphone… Read
