New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Financial inclusion remains a key priority of the government, with flagship insurance and health protection schemes being expanded to cover all sections of society, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backwards Classes (OBCs), the Parliament was informed on Monday.As part of the push, the Financial Inclusion Saturation Campaign has already reached 2.7 lakh gram panchayats and urban local bodies (ULBs) to boost enrollment under low-cost insura…

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The wisdom provided by Ayurveda — the ancient system of medicine — can offer new dimensions to paediatric healthcare, said Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush on Monday.The Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth (RAV), an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Ayush, organised the 30th national seminar under the theme “Management of Illness and Wellness in Paediatrics through Ayurveda”.It aims to advance holistic paediatric healthc…

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) US researchers are building a non-invasive system using ultrasound to deliver drugs anywhere in the body with precision, as well as with reduced side effects.The new system, being developed by a team of Stanford University researchers, uses nanoparticles to encapsulate drugs along with ultrasound to unleash the drugs at their intended destinations.In a study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the team showed in rats that their system can deliver ketamine to …

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) The Technology Development Board (TDB), under the Department of Science and Technology, granted its support to an indigenously developed AI-powered blood testing device for primary healthcare, the Ministry of Science and Technology said on Monday.The TDB signed an agreement with New Delhi-based Primary Healthtech for the project titled “IoT-enabled point-of-care blood testing device for affordable and accessible healthcare powered by AI/ML algorithms.”“The project …

Islamabad, Aug 18 (IANS) Two new cases of polio have been detected in Pakistan, according to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH). One polio case has been reported in Lower Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while another one has been detected in Sindh’s Badin district, local media reported on Monday. The new cases include a six-year-old girl from Lower Kohistan’s Union Council Pattan and a 21-month-old girl from Union Council Mat…

Srinagar, Aug 18 (IANS) A Bollywood film unit shooting in Ladakh was hit by food poisoning, and over 100 members of the unit were admitted to a hospital in Leh, officials said on Monday.”Over 100 workers of a Bollywood film crew were hospitalised in Leh after a suspected case of food poisoning late Sunday evening,” officials confirmed on Monday.The workers of the film unit were engaged in the shooting of an upcoming film when several of them suddenly developed severe abdominal pain, vomiting, an…

Bengaluru, Aug 18 (IANS) Karnataka Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Sharanaprakash R. Patil has appealed to the people of the state not to panic unnecessarily about the reports of rising heart attack cases. He emphasised that lifestyle changes – such as regular exercise, pranayama, healthy diet, timely sleep and stress management – can prevent such health issues.Responding to a question from Congress member Dinesh Gooligowda in the legislative council, Patil said that although co…

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) A team of scientists from Japan has identified hidden immune ‘hubs’ that drive joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that affects millions worldwide and can have a devastating impact on patients’ lives. Yet, about one in three patients responds poorly to existing treatments.The team from Kyoto University discovered that peripheral helper T cells (Tph cells) — a key type of immune cell involved in RA — exis…

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) A Covid-19 infection can accelerate ageing in blood vessels around five years, particularly in women, according to research.As blood vessels ages, it can make arteries stiffer — raising the risk of cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attack, explained the researchers.”We know that Covid can directly affect blood vessels. We believe that this may result in what we call early vascular ageing, meaning that your blood vessels are older than your chronological…

Dhaka, Aug 17 (IANS) One person has died due to dengue in Bangladesh in 24 hours till Sunday morning, bringing the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease this year to 105. During the period, 466 more patients were admitted to the hospital with the viral fever, increasing the number of confirmed cases to 26,378 in 2025, United News of Bangladesh reported, citing the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). According to DGHS, the person died due to dengue in the Dhaka South City Corporat…