The recent revelation by the Health Minister P K Sreemathy in the Kerala Assembly that there was no mechanism available now to monitor the quality of medicines, worth Rs 1,800 crore a year, being sold through 15,000 outlets in the State brought sorry condition of the medical services in the limelight.

Doctors believe that a booster vaccination for parents of new babies and other household members can help in protecting infants from whooping cough. Doctors added that the infants were too young to have been vaccinated themselves as the first dose is given at two months of age with repeat doses at three months, four months and four years.

Recently two young babies died due to whooping cough at Royal Hospital for Sick Children, in Edinburgh. The infants contracted this infection from their parents or older siblings.

Recent research revealed presence of a fatty substance, in the gut that signals the brain when it's time to stop eating. Research team led by Gerald Shulman of Yale University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute believe that this discovery can help in fighting obesity.

U. S. researchers found that a naturally occurring fat-derived chemical messenger called NAPE regulated the diet of animals. Researchers said that when the rodents were fed a fatty meal, their small intestine made a lot of NAPE and put it into the bloodstream. It then traveled to the brain and shut down hunger signals.

Recent research showed that many types of beverages have erosive effect on teeth. Some citric acids found in fruit drinks are more erosive than hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. These acids promote tooth erosion, which wears away the hard part of the teeth, or the enamel. Findings of the study revealed that a habit of drinking home brewed green tea can save teeth from erosion.

Studies have shown that excessive exposure to sun can increase the risk of some cancers. The recent research has shown that lack of sunshine can increase the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Researchers from Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University in Chicago reviewed a number of earlier studies that linked chronic vitamin D deficiency to heart disease.

A new study has suggested that Down's Syndome in a child might one day be treatable before the birth of the child, in the womb itself.

Researchers have based their claims on an experiment on mice. In the experiment they injected two key nerve-protecting chemicals into pregnant mice with Down's pups and found that the offspring turned out to be free of these problems.