NIH begins clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19

NIH begins clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has started working on a clinical trial to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Phase 2b trial will enroll approximately […]

Treatment with interferon speeds up recovery of COVID-19 patients

Treatment with interferon speeds up recovery of COVID-19 patients

Treatment with antivirals such as interferons may significantly clear virus and reduce levels of inflammatory proteins in COVID-19 patients, said a new study conducted by researchers in Toronto. Researchers conducting an exploratory study on some confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wuhan found that treatment with interferon (IFN)-α2b significantly reduced the duration of detectable virus in the […]

Fossilized footprint study reveals Division of Labor existed 11,700 years ago

Fossilized footprint study reveals Division of Labor existed 11,700 years ago

The largest collection of footprints from the human fossil record in Africa belonging to human life during the Late Pleistocene period (126,000 to 11,700 years ago), suggests a division of labour in ancient human communities. Arcaeologists Kevin Hatala and his team from the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington […]

SARS-CoV-2: New coronavirus but there’s a cure in old bottle

SARS-CoV-2: New coronavirus but there’s a cure in old bottle

Important lessons learned from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002-2003 could inform and guide vaccine design for COVID-19 according to University of Melbourne Professor Kanta Subbarao, Director of the WHO Centre for Reference. In an article published Thursday in Cell Host and Microbe, Prof. Kanta Subbarao stressed the importance of detecting a […]

Jaishankar praises Rs.20 lakh crore stimulus plan, prepares for next

Jaishankar praises Rs.20 lakh crore stimulus plan, prepares for next

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has described Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement under government’s Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package under Atma Nirbhar Bharat as “bold initiatives” and noted that freign policy begins at home, hinting at changes soon to foreign policy too. “Foreign Policy begins at home. A strong economy allows our voice to […]

Texas Indian American Engineer faces charges over $10 million fraud PPP loan

Texas Indian American Engineer faces charges over $10 million fraud PPP loan

An Indian-origin engineer by name Shashank Rai has been charged by Texas prosecutors for fraudulent applications for $10 million loans under the COVID-19 relief program claiming to be for his firm employees. The charges include bank fraud and making false statements to a federal agency. Paycheque Protection Programme (PPP) is an initiative of the federal […]

Reddit study finds peak of public interest in COVID-19 topics in March itself, so is Twitter

Reddit study finds peak of public interest in COVID-19 topics in March itself, so is Twitter

Using machine learning to track surges in interest in health topics on popular online comment boards, especially Reddit, a new study conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Medicine) fund peaks of interest among the public. Such insight could help public health officials […]

Climate change familiar to these Chinese 1 million years ago

Climate change familiar to these Chinese 1 million years ago

One million years old early stone tool used by hominins (early humans) has been unearthed by archaeologists in the Nihewan Basin, China which has thrown light on how the early civilizations were able to adapt to climate change and lead a sustainable living. These stone tools show the skills of ancient humans who modified their […]

Trailer of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Paatal Lok’ sizzles many

Trailer of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Paatal Lok’ sizzles many

After building a high buzz around the story line and characters in their their upcoming series, the makers of Amazon Prime’s Paatal Lok recently released the trailer bringing the intensity to the series. From the looks, the series had created a buzz with the social media raving about the characters, actors, story line and the […]

What’s Mars made of ? Japanese study throws light and opens up new study

What’s Mars made of ? Japanese study throws light and opens up new study

Since going to Mars, one of our closest terrestrial neighbors, is still very far away, Japanese scientists have tried something on our own planet with simulations and found that the iron-sulfur alloys thought to comprise the core of Mars to reveal details about the planet’s seismic properties for the first time. This information will be compared […]

Move over plain helium, Pionic helium is here

Move over plain helium, Pionic helium is here

A helium atom in which one of the two electrons has been replaced by a negative pion gives out a composite particle made of one quark and one antiquark. Exotic atoms can help physicists to make exquisitely precise measurements of the fundamental constants of nature, such as the size of the proton. Pionic helium is […]

Arogya Setu app team refutes ethical hacker’s claim on ‘security issue’

Arogya Setu app team refutes ethical hacker’s claim on ‘security issue’

Following a tweet by ethical hacker and French cybersecurity expert under the alias “Elliot Alderson” claiming that there is a “security issue” within the Aarogya Setu app developed by the National Informatics Centre, a part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the developers refuted the allegations over security or privacy concerns of 9 […]

India to undertake biggest evacuation of citizens stranded abroad amid coronavirus pandemic

India to undertake biggest evacuation of citizens stranded abroad amid coronavirus pandemic

India is preparing the ground for what is billed as the biggest evacuation of its citizens, millions of them, stranded in several countries abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic beginning with the registration forms being opened online onTuesday, May 5, on their respective Indian embassy website. Once the information is collected, India’s flag carrier Air […]

India coronavirus cases reach 42,533 as of Sunday, May 3

India coronavirus cases reach 42,533 as of Sunday, May 3

So far, a total of  42,533 confirmed coronavirus cases have been reported in India, an increase of 2,553 has been noted in the last 24 hours, while the number of recovery stood at 11,706. The current rate of recovery rate is 27.52%, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union […]

DRDO develops UV Disinfection Tower to ward off coronavirus aerosols

DRDO develops UV Disinfection Tower to ward off coronavirus aerosols

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Ultra Violet (UV) Disinfection Tower for rapid and chemical free disinfection of high infection prone areas as coronavirus is continuing its spread in the country with more than 42,000 affected already. The equipment named UV blaster is a UV based area sanitiser designed and developed […]