[ 7 Sep, 2006 1352hrs IST REUTERS ]
NORWICH: Many people have experienced the phenomenon of receiving a telephone call from someone shortly after thinking about them -- now a scientist says he has proof of what he calls telephone telepathy.
Rupert Sheldrake, whose research is funded by the respected Trinity College, Cambridge, said Tuesday he had conducted experiments that proved that such precognition existed for telephone calls and even e-mails.
Each person in the trials was asked to give researchers names and phone numbers of four relatives or friends. These were then called at random and told to ring the subject who had to identify the caller before answering the phone.
"The hit rate was 45 per cent, well above the 25 per cent you would have expected," he told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. "The odds against this being a chance effect are 1,000 billion to one."
He said he found the same result with people being asked to name one of four people sending them an e-mail before it had landed.
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
New Delhi: Rape; Docs discuss grey areas
[ 7 Sep, 2006 0002hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: Is an underage girl, who has had consensual sex but is now under parental pressure because of the act, a victim of rape?
What is the role of a doctor when he/she discovers in course of routine physical examination of a patient that there has been sexual assault though the family is not willing to press charges?
These were some of the questions raised by doctors attending a workshop on "Role of Medicos in Handling Cases of Rape", organised by the NGO Pratidhi on Wednesday.
While the workshop aimed at equipping gynaecologists and general duty medical officers with counselling skills necessary as they are the first step of organised help for a victim, the legal and social grey areas came up time and again during the discussions.
According to Raaj Mangal Prasad, vice-president (programme), Pratidhi, however, lack of sensitivity, rather than legal loopholes is the core problem in handling rape victims.
"Our survey done in 2003 revealed that the average waiting period in a government hospital for a rape victim is one and half hours. There have been cases when the ward boy has been asked to help the doctor examine the patient," Prasad said.
Dr Kishore Rajurkar, gynaecologist with Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, said, "Rape statistics furnished by Delhi Police are extremely misleading because bulk of the cases they bring for examination are cases where an underage girl had eloped, had consensual sex and then parents lodged a complaint.
Legally, it is rape but the counselling protocol does not quite apply here the way it happens in sexual assault. The cases that leave us groping for ways to handle are when routine investigations reveal sexual assault but the family is unwilling to press charges."
Agreed many others like Dr Seema Prakash of Geeta Colony Hospital.
"Some 15% pregnancies are in underage girls, we have had sterilisation requests from 19 and 20-year-olds and there is no protocol to handle the problem. There is a lack of legal and social clarity."
Dr Kavita Arora, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Sparsh, stressed on the need for an area in the casualty of every hospital for victims' examination.
NEW DELHI: Is an underage girl, who has had consensual sex but is now under parental pressure because of the act, a victim of rape?
What is the role of a doctor when he/she discovers in course of routine physical examination of a patient that there has been sexual assault though the family is not willing to press charges?
These were some of the questions raised by doctors attending a workshop on "Role of Medicos in Handling Cases of Rape", organised by the NGO Pratidhi on Wednesday.
While the workshop aimed at equipping gynaecologists and general duty medical officers with counselling skills necessary as they are the first step of organised help for a victim, the legal and social grey areas came up time and again during the discussions.
According to Raaj Mangal Prasad, vice-president (programme), Pratidhi, however, lack of sensitivity, rather than legal loopholes is the core problem in handling rape victims.
"Our survey done in 2003 revealed that the average waiting period in a government hospital for a rape victim is one and half hours. There have been cases when the ward boy has been asked to help the doctor examine the patient," Prasad said.
Dr Kishore Rajurkar, gynaecologist with Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, said, "Rape statistics furnished by Delhi Police are extremely misleading because bulk of the cases they bring for examination are cases where an underage girl had eloped, had consensual sex and then parents lodged a complaint.
Legally, it is rape but the counselling protocol does not quite apply here the way it happens in sexual assault. The cases that leave us groping for ways to handle are when routine investigations reveal sexual assault but the family is unwilling to press charges."
Agreed many others like Dr Seema Prakash of Geeta Colony Hospital.
"Some 15% pregnancies are in underage girls, we have had sterilisation requests from 19 and 20-year-olds and there is no protocol to handle the problem. There is a lack of legal and social clarity."
Dr Kavita Arora, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Sparsh, stressed on the need for an area in the casualty of every hospital for victims' examination.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Kolkata: Girls in cities reach puberty earlier
Prithvijit Mitra
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0258hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Girl, you'll be a woman soon, sang Neil Diamond. In India, the 'soon' has just got 'sooner'. Across cities and towns, girls are reaching puberty faster than before.
The age of attaining sexual maturity among girls in urban India has dropped to 11 from 13. The reverse is true in rural India, where girls are reaching puberty even later than 13.
These are the results of a first-of-its-kind survey being conducted by the Federation of Obstetrics' and Gynaecologists' Society of India (FOGSI).
"So far we had accepted the global average (around 13 years). But we always felt the age could be different in India and that it has dropped, especially in cities.
So, this survey is an important one, for it also reveals that girls are becoming sexually active earlier than before," said Dr Duru Shah, all-India president of FOGSI.
More than 80% of the girls in cities are reaching puberty around age 11, indicates the survey that is being carried out in 100 centres — both urban and rural — across four regions.
The procedure involves distributing questionnaires among college students in cities and young girls in rural areas. The federation is yet to analyse the feedback, which is still coming in. But the initial reports have already set them thinking.
"We are yet to collate and study the responses, but the information collected so far is quite enlightening. It seems the average age of puberty in cities has come down to 11. This could be one of the reasons why girls are now becoming sexually active earlier than before," explained Dr Shah.
According to the experts, there could be several reasons behind this drop: better nutrition, changing hormonal patterns, new food habits, genetic factors, environmental changes and upbringing.
"This is a sign of prosperity, though there are other factors as well. In rural areas, the age has gone up marginally, which indicates that health has deteriorated. But we will have a better idea when the survey is complete, hopefully by year-end," said Ashis Mukhopadhyay, state vice-president of FOGSI.
The federation, though, is more worried about the fallout of this change. It believes more young girls are now exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.
It has, therefore, stepped up its awareness campaign on women's sexual health and extended it to schools.
"This is a race against time. Our aim is to reach out to as many youngsters as possible. That is why we are trying to build a network of school teachers who will play a key role in the campaign," said Mukhopadhyay.
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0258hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
KOLKATA: Girl, you'll be a woman soon, sang Neil Diamond. In India, the 'soon' has just got 'sooner'. Across cities and towns, girls are reaching puberty faster than before.
The age of attaining sexual maturity among girls in urban India has dropped to 11 from 13. The reverse is true in rural India, where girls are reaching puberty even later than 13.
These are the results of a first-of-its-kind survey being conducted by the Federation of Obstetrics' and Gynaecologists' Society of India (FOGSI).
"So far we had accepted the global average (around 13 years). But we always felt the age could be different in India and that it has dropped, especially in cities.
So, this survey is an important one, for it also reveals that girls are becoming sexually active earlier than before," said Dr Duru Shah, all-India president of FOGSI.
More than 80% of the girls in cities are reaching puberty around age 11, indicates the survey that is being carried out in 100 centres — both urban and rural — across four regions.
The procedure involves distributing questionnaires among college students in cities and young girls in rural areas. The federation is yet to analyse the feedback, which is still coming in. But the initial reports have already set them thinking.
"We are yet to collate and study the responses, but the information collected so far is quite enlightening. It seems the average age of puberty in cities has come down to 11. This could be one of the reasons why girls are now becoming sexually active earlier than before," explained Dr Shah.
According to the experts, there could be several reasons behind this drop: better nutrition, changing hormonal patterns, new food habits, genetic factors, environmental changes and upbringing.
"This is a sign of prosperity, though there are other factors as well. In rural areas, the age has gone up marginally, which indicates that health has deteriorated. But we will have a better idea when the survey is complete, hopefully by year-end," said Ashis Mukhopadhyay, state vice-president of FOGSI.
The federation, though, is more worried about the fallout of this change. It believes more young girls are now exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS.
It has, therefore, stepped up its awareness campaign on women's sexual health and extended it to schools.
"This is a race against time. Our aim is to reach out to as many youngsters as possible. That is why we are trying to build a network of school teachers who will play a key role in the campaign," said Mukhopadhyay.
Rajkot: Two more die after blood transfusion, toll 5
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0311hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RAJKOT: The toll in the case involving deaths allegedly after blood transfusion in the city reached five, with two more deaths reported in the last two days.
The mysterious deaths have finally woken up the state government, which has sent a team, headed by state drug controller Ramakrishna Reddy, to the city to investigate the matter.
Three mysterious deaths were reported last Friday and Saturday, besides about six patients left critical after receiving blood. The source of blood in all cases was the same blood bank.
The five victims are Samajuben Sojitra, Puja Gorasia, Dayaben Bagtharia, Anal Rajani and Kantaben Shigala.
The fourth victim, Rajani, 27, a resident of Jagannath plot area, was admitted to Dr Rajesh Gorasia's hospital for operation and prior to that blood collected from Young Star blood bank was given to her.
But after the transfusion, her health deteriorated and she was shifted to Dhakan Hospital where she was kept on ventilator.
Talking to TOI, critical care physician of the hospital, Dr Sankalp Vanzara, said that it was difficult to say anything conclusively, but one reason of death might be the blood transfusion.
In the case of Kantaben Shingala, she had a tumour in her stomach and was to be operated at Dr Yogesh Maheta's hospital where doctors advised blood transfusion.
Again, after the transfusion, her condition deteriorated, which was confirmed by Dr Maheta. Unlike other victims' relatives, Kantaben's relatives agreed on a post-mortem. Police and food and drug authorities are waiting for the forensic report.
Meanwhile, a circular has been issued by Rajkot Civil Hospital medical superintendent VA Chaya asking doctors at government hospitals not to transfuse blood to any patient collected from the private blood bank.
Police commissioner K Nityanadam said that there has been no complaint either from relatives of the victims or the food and drug department.
Sources said that from August 28 to September 2, in all 539 patients were given blood from the local blood bank. The state team had a meeting with district collector Pradeep Sharma.
The team has taken statements of the blood bank's technicians, doctors of the hospitals where patients died, relatives of the victims and trustees of the blood bank.
The team also gathered history of patients, who died after blood transfusion.
RAJKOT: The toll in the case involving deaths allegedly after blood transfusion in the city reached five, with two more deaths reported in the last two days.
The mysterious deaths have finally woken up the state government, which has sent a team, headed by state drug controller Ramakrishna Reddy, to the city to investigate the matter.
Three mysterious deaths were reported last Friday and Saturday, besides about six patients left critical after receiving blood. The source of blood in all cases was the same blood bank.
The five victims are Samajuben Sojitra, Puja Gorasia, Dayaben Bagtharia, Anal Rajani and Kantaben Shigala.
The fourth victim, Rajani, 27, a resident of Jagannath plot area, was admitted to Dr Rajesh Gorasia's hospital for operation and prior to that blood collected from Young Star blood bank was given to her.
But after the transfusion, her health deteriorated and she was shifted to Dhakan Hospital where she was kept on ventilator.
Talking to TOI, critical care physician of the hospital, Dr Sankalp Vanzara, said that it was difficult to say anything conclusively, but one reason of death might be the blood transfusion.
In the case of Kantaben Shingala, she had a tumour in her stomach and was to be operated at Dr Yogesh Maheta's hospital where doctors advised blood transfusion.
Again, after the transfusion, her condition deteriorated, which was confirmed by Dr Maheta. Unlike other victims' relatives, Kantaben's relatives agreed on a post-mortem. Police and food and drug authorities are waiting for the forensic report.
Meanwhile, a circular has been issued by Rajkot Civil Hospital medical superintendent VA Chaya asking doctors at government hospitals not to transfuse blood to any patient collected from the private blood bank.
Police commissioner K Nityanadam said that there has been no complaint either from relatives of the victims or the food and drug department.
Sources said that from August 28 to September 2, in all 539 patients were given blood from the local blood bank. The state team had a meeting with district collector Pradeep Sharma.
The team has taken statements of the blood bank's technicians, doctors of the hospitals where patients died, relatives of the victims and trustees of the blood bank.
The team also gathered history of patients, who died after blood transfusion.
New Delhi: Chikungunya in city
Kounteya Sinha
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0124hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: Chikungunya, a viral disease with no known treatment, has come to the Capital. Three of the six blood samples collected by National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) have tested positive for the deadly disease.
NICD officials said all three patients, in the age group of 27 to 30 years, had visited Andhra Pradesh, one of the states hit hard by Chikungunya, in the past month.
Characterised by high fever lasting between seven and 10 days, painful joints, headache, vomiting, fatigue and nausea, the disease has not been seen in Delhi before.
Spread by Aedes aegypti mosquito, the disease, which is generally not fatal, has affected 11 lakh people across India with states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh being badly hit.
NICD is presently testing 30 blood samples of patients who have shown symptoms of the disease. Experts fear the virus could be in the incubation period in the Capital, with many more cases springing up in the next few weeks.
A senior NICD official said, "We had received blood samples of six patients from three city hospitals, of which three have tested positive.
Their clinical picture, along with antibody titre count of above 160 confirmed our worst suspicions." According to health minister A Ramadoss, prevention against the disease is its only cure.
Speaking to TOI, he said the ministry has sent guidelines to various states on how to control an outbreak. This debilitating illness has been affecting people for the past six months.
There are no vaccines and it has to be tackled with paracetamol and fluids. As it is caused by a day-biting mosquito, mosquito nets are also no precaution.
People therefore have to be more alert. They should not let water accumulate in their flower pots, coolers or AC chambers, which are ideal breeding grounds for the dangerous mosquitoes.
[ 6 Sep, 2006 0124hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: Chikungunya, a viral disease with no known treatment, has come to the Capital. Three of the six blood samples collected by National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) have tested positive for the deadly disease.
NICD officials said all three patients, in the age group of 27 to 30 years, had visited Andhra Pradesh, one of the states hit hard by Chikungunya, in the past month.
Characterised by high fever lasting between seven and 10 days, painful joints, headache, vomiting, fatigue and nausea, the disease has not been seen in Delhi before.
Spread by Aedes aegypti mosquito, the disease, which is generally not fatal, has affected 11 lakh people across India with states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh being badly hit.
NICD is presently testing 30 blood samples of patients who have shown symptoms of the disease. Experts fear the virus could be in the incubation period in the Capital, with many more cases springing up in the next few weeks.
A senior NICD official said, "We had received blood samples of six patients from three city hospitals, of which three have tested positive.
Their clinical picture, along with antibody titre count of above 160 confirmed our worst suspicions." According to health minister A Ramadoss, prevention against the disease is its only cure.
Speaking to TOI, he said the ministry has sent guidelines to various states on how to control an outbreak. This debilitating illness has been affecting people for the past six months.
There are no vaccines and it has to be tackled with paracetamol and fluids. As it is caused by a day-biting mosquito, mosquito nets are also no precaution.
People therefore have to be more alert. They should not let water accumulate in their flower pots, coolers or AC chambers, which are ideal breeding grounds for the dangerous mosquitoes.
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