Food and nutrition, food safety, disease prevention and the links between farming and health, in news and practical advice.
HealthUnder the Omnibus X package, residues of pesticides banned in the EU on health or environmental grounds would be cut to the limit of quantification on imports, a tighter margin for exporters worldwide.
HealthComparing nearly 27,000 pet dogs, 59 hunting dogs and more than 260 wild canids, Penn State researchers found wildlife carried more parasites and detected a tapeworm that can infect people, using a DNA-based test.
EnvironmentBangladesh produces about 3,000 tonnes of plastic waste a day, much of it ending up in rivers; microplastics have been found in Buriganga fish and crabs, while the polythene ban and court orders go unenforced.
HealthEast Bardhaman drug control officials raided pharmacies in Bardhaman town over complaints that buyers were forced to buy whole strips beyond their prescription, warning that licences could be cancelled.
HealthHarvard-trained dermatologist Neera Nathan says that after losing nearly half her hair she relied on scalp care, minoxidil, light therapy and correcting nutrient deficiencies, while urging people not to start treatment without a doctor.
HealthSharmin Akter, an associate professor of plastic surgery at NITOR, writes that she left her own lump after a reassuring FNAC; cancer-free after seven months of treatment, she now insists on core biopsy and a tumour board.
West Bengal's State Blood Transfusion Council has told private hospitals to collect and keep enough blood in their own banks instead of sending relatives elsewhere; blood donation activists fear higher costs for families.
HealthAn investigation found Dhaka biryani sellers using Tk 300-350 textile dye instead of food colouring and salt reused from tanneries, while kewra water declared unfit by the consumer directorate is sold openly.
HealthAgriculture officials carried out 69,662 inspections at border control posts, rejecting 230 consignments in all, including 44 plant products over pesticide residues.
In research presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology congress, 42.6 per cent of countries reported climate-related changes in skin disease, with heat rash rising most.
HealthSandor's 10-year PPP contract with the health directorate, which provides cheap dialysis on 59 machines at the national kidney institute and 31 at Chattogram Medical College Hospital, ends on 29 November with no decision yet on renewal or an alternative.
HealthPhysical medicine specialist Sakib Al Nahiyan explains how a medically supervised cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programme breaks the cycle of fear and weakness after a heart attack, a stent or bypass surgery.
OpinionWriting in Kolkata's Sangbad Pratidin, essayist Aditya Ghosh says about 444 million people in India were exposed to others' tobacco smoke in 2023, and smoking in public places can no longer be shrugged off as a petty offence.
