Health

It`s before sunrise on a Saturday and a small group has gathered at Socialite Bar in on the outskirts of Zimbabwe`s capital. Instead of nursing hangovers, they sit with eyes closed and bodies in meditative poses on the bare floor. It`s an unlikely setting for a yoga class. In Zimbabwe, the practice is rare and mostly found in the wealthy suburbs. Yet it is quietly taking root here in a beer tavern in Chitungwiza, a low-income town 30 km outside the capital, Harare. The initiative is led by Actions Winya, a yoga instructor who saw how economic hardship and social pressures were damaging the mental health of people in his hometown. `Yoga is expensive... but we also got humans in the ghetto. They need mental wellness,¿ said Winya, who usually teaches in affluent areas, charging between USD...

When Mumbai-based dance professional Shivani Gawde was going through a tough time in 2021, she found solace in music. “My dad was admitted in hospital and I had to fulfill many ‘adulting’ responsibilities. It was an overwhelming time,” she opens up about her experience. Sharing how music became her anchor back then, Gawde says, “My dad and I share a common love for ‘ghazals’. So, I would sit beside him in the hospital and play songs for him, and that’s how we got through the day. During that time, I was part of an online community where music artistes used to gather and just jam. They would also take requests. On one particularly overwhelming day, when my dad was asleep in the hospital, I put in a request for the song ‘Aaj Jaane Ki Zidd Na Karo’, which we both love. The artiste sang the s...

Given a surge in cancers such as prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular, experts urge men to take the symptoms seriously and undergo routine screening  There is an alarming rise in urological cancers among men in India, highlight experts. Urological cancers, including prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular cancers, are becoming increasingly common, and doctors stress that timely diagnosis and intervention are crucial for effective treatment and survival. Dr Pawan Rhangadale, urologist, Apollo Spectra in Pune, explains, "Urological cancers affect the organs that produce and pass urine, along with parts of the male reproductive system. “The most common types we see are prostate cancer, which affects men over 50, bladder cancer that may present with blood in the urine, kidney cancer t...

Cognitive aspects at age seven months -- such as being able to stay on task or if an infant prefers new toys -- could predict cognitive ability at age 30, a new study has found. General cognitive ability, known widely as `intelligence` or `IQ`, is a composite score that measures one`s capacity to learn, reason, understand and solve problems. IQ is considered to remain constant between ages 11 and 90. Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder in the US, however, said that little is known about the stability of intelligence under age three and how it is related to cognitive ability as an adult. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), looked at over 1,000 twins, measuring general cognitive ability at ages under two, three, seven, 16 an...

As India is gearing up to celebrate the 11th International Day of Yoga on June 21, the government is organising a multitude of events nationwide to mark the occasion with "Yoga for One Earth, One Health" as this year`s theme Yoga Sangam, the main event, will orchestrate a synchronised mass yoga demonstration based on the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) at over 1 lakh locations across India on June 21, 2025, from 6:30 AM to 7:45 AM. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the national event at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This collective celebration aims to reaffirm our shared commitment to the timeless practice of yoga and its enduring relevance in today`s world. An invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition, Yoga has emerged as one of the most trusted means to boost physical and mental wel...

An ultrasound of one`s thigh or shoulder muscle could help detect insulin resistance, a stage that often precedes prediabetes, a study suggests. Ultrasounds of muscles of 25 patients -- who were also checked for insulin resistance -- showed that their muscles appear "unusually bright", lead author Steven Soliman, director of musculoskeletal radiology fellowship at the University of Michigan, US, said. "We found it interesting that most of these patients (with bright ultrasound images) have type 2 diabetes. Seeing this pattern, we often thought, `This patient must have diabetes`," Soliman said. "More importantly, many were unaware of their condition until we verified with their electronic records and confirmed with their bloodwork that they indeed had type 2 diabetes or prediabetes," the...

While social isolation has long been known a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, a new study showed that being more sociable can be an early sign of the neurodegenerative disease. The study examined the social habits and genetic data of half a million British people whose average age was 56. Researchers from the University of California San Francisco and Boston University found that Alzheimer’s may make people more sociable rather than less -- at least in the early stages. The study shows that at its earliest stage Alzheimer’s doesn’t make people less socially engaged. “Their social lives may even expand,” said co-senior author Ashwin Kotwal, from USCF. “We don’t know for sure if they are engaging more with others, or if those around them are noticing subtle changes and giving them mo...

With the arrival of the monsoon season comes a respite from heat, but not without an increased risk of some infections. While a surge in vector-borne diseases like dengue, malaria and chikungunya is common during this time of the year, leptospirosis also poses health risks, especially during the rainy season, and shouldn’t be ignored, according to health experts. After Kerala, the monsoon also arrived in Maharashtra earlier than usual this year. According to an update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon is expected to cover most parts of northwest India, including Delhi, by June 25, well ahead of the usual dates. As monsoon showers continue, it is important to watch out for specific signs and symptoms of diseases like leptospirosis. Causes and symptoms D...

Drinking a cup or two of black coffee daily could lower risk of death by 14 per cent, but adding milk or sugar could diminish the benefits, according to a new study. The same link was not observed for coffee with high amounts of added sugar and saturated fat, researchers said. "The health benefits of coffee might be attributable to its bioactive compounds, but our results suggest that the addition of sugar and saturated fat may reduce the mortality benefits," Fang Fang Zhang, from Tufts University in the US, and senior author of the study published in The Journal of Nutrition, said. Data nine consecutive cycles of the US` National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2018, linked to national death data, was analysed. Responses of more than 46,000 adults aged 20 ...

The last few weeks have been quite disturbing for people as they witness tragic events around the country. It may be worse for those looking forward to some news that gives hope during this time.  While one is about a 60-something woman getting life-saving surgery, the other involves an older woman getting operated for a serious heart disease. Elderly woman gets new lease of life after falling from a horse during her Kedarnath pilgrimageA 62-year-old woman who went for pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Kedarnath met with an accident while on horseback to the temple. The woman fell down sustaining multiple traumatic injuries with T12 compression fracture to the spinal column, left sided multiple ribs, left scapula and hemothorax (chest cavity bleeding). Even though she experienced acute pa...