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For patients and physicians, taking medications orally is often the most desirable way to administer drugs. Among other advantages , swallowing a pill is safer, more convenient and less invasive compared to injections or other ways to take a drug. advertisement But one of the challenges oral pills face is getting digested by the stomach before they can deliver their payloads and carry out their intended effects. Because drugs that are degraded in the stomach are less effective , many treatments are currently unable to be taken by mouth. As researchers in polymer science and bioengineering , we wanted to figure out a way to deliver drugs so that they could withstand stomach acid but still dissolve at the right place. In our recently published paper , we believe we have developed a new material that can help drugs do just that. Oral drug challenges Oral drugs are primarily absorbed in the small intestine , where they subsequently enter the bloodstream … [Read more...] about Two bioengineers explain how we could deliver drugs that better withstand stomach acid

BEIJING (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Beijing relaxed a major Covid-19 restriction on Monday (June 27) after two months, even as its party chief vowed to normalise the capital city's pandemic controls and stick to China's zero-Covid policy. Primary and secondary schools started allowing students back, as infections subsided in the capital. They had been attending classes online since May 1, when the city battled its worst outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. There were almost 100 cases daily at that time, as the authorities swiftly locked down communities or sent close contacts to centralised quarantine. Restaurants were also banned from offering dine-in service. By Sunday, Beijing reported just four cases. Parents told The Straits Times that they were relieved to have their children back in school. "I've been quite distracted at work because I take my daughter along to the office, and she constantly needs my attention," said human resource manager Duan … [Read more...] about Beijing allows primary and secondary schools to reopen after two months

COVID-19 cases are rising consistently across India, but Mumbai, often held up as the bellwether for assessing the state of the pandemic,  is offering a glimmer of hope. On Monday, June 20, India reported a total 12,781 COVID-19 cases; the number of active cases increased by 4,226 and reached 76, 700. Active cases are those that are yet to complete a 14 day-cycle and are currently in the "infectious” stage. Because a large number of people are also declared "recovered" from the disease daily, active cases are calculated by subtracting the number of recovered patients from the new ones. ​ Of the new cases, 4,004 were recorded in Maharashtra, followed by 3,376 in Kerala and 1,530 in Delhi. Mumbai, which was the first city to start reporting a rise in infections during the current surge, is showing a decline in the test positivity rate (TPR). Close COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works … [Read more...] about Active COVID-19 cases mount; Mumbai shows signs of flattening curve

Rohit Sharma India skipper Rohit Sharma has tested positive for COVID-19 in a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and placed in isolation ahead of 'fifth' Test against England, the BCCI said on Sunday. The Test match is scheduled to begin from July 1 in Birmingham and if Rohit remains in six-day isolation, either pacer Jasprit Bumrah or wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant could be asked to lead the team. "Team India captain Mr Rohit Sharma has tested positive for COVID-19 following a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) conducted on Saturday," BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a media release. "He is currently in isolation at the team hotel and is under the care of the BCCI Medical Team. An RT-PCR test will be conducted on Sunday to ascertain his CT value," the release added. Rohit had batted on first day of the ongoing warm-up game against Leicestershire but didn't take field on the second day. He did not bat in the second Indian innings. Close COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked … [Read more...] about Team captain Rohit Sharma tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of 5th test vs England

Urmila Asher gained popularity as the owner of 'Gujju Ben Na Nasta' (Image credit: gujjubennanasta/Instagram) Urmila Asher aka Gujju Ben’s story is a lesson in fortitude and resilience. Married at the age of 18 and a mother to three by the age of 23, this matriarch of a Mumbai-Gujarati household probably never imagined she would become a successful business owner and a TEDx speaker one day. Her extraordinary journey from tragedy to rebuilding her life was documented in a video by Humans of Bombay. Urmila Asher or 'Gujju Ben' is the powerhouse behind Gujju Ben Na Nasta, a business selling Gujarati snacks that she started at the age of 75 to support herself and her grandson. She had lost her three children by the age of 67, and her grandson Harsh remained her only family. Asher started cooking at home to support Harsh after he lost his business during the coronavirus pandemic . This loss of livelihood came close at the heels of another tragedy – in 2019, Harsh met with an … [Read more...] about The inspiring story of ‘Gujju Ben,’ who started a business at 75 to support her grandson

Hemant Kumar Bhadoriya (name changed) was travelling in a chauffeur-driven sports utility vehicle on a Saturday afternoon in Kota, seemingly headed to Jaipur, where people typically go on weekend getaways. Unlike the others, though, Bhadoriya was not out on a leisure drive. Neither was he actually going to Jaipur. He was, in fact, just sitting in the car and talking about money. Crores of rupees. Bhadoriya is not a lawyer or an investment banker. Neither does he deal in illegal activities. He is a maths teacher at Kota’s top coaching centre and was negotiating with a potential employer, one of the country’s biggest edtech companies. The edtech startup had offered him a 40 percent hike on his existing salary of Rs 1.65 crore. “At first, I was shocked and a bit sceptical when I heard about the offer as every day we have been reading about how hundreds of employees were getting laid off by startups,” said Bhadoriya, 46. “But then it was for their offline classes and I have been … [Read more...] about Poaching and coaching in Kota: Race for $500 million education hub heats up

(Image: Reuters) India’s tally of Covid infections rose by 15,940 in a day to reach 4,33,78,234 while the active caseload increased to 91,779, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday. The death toll climbed to 5,24,974 with 20 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. Active cases rose by 3,495 in a day and now comprise 0.21 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.58 per cent, the health ministry said. Active cases rose by 3,495 in a day and now comprise 0.21 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.58 per cent, the health ministry said. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.39 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 3.30 per cent, according to the health ministry. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,27,61,481, while the case fatality rate was 1.21 per cent. According to the ministry, … [Read more...] about Coronavirus Update | India reports 15,940 new COVID cases, 20 fatalities in last 24 hours

India has reported a significant spike in the COVID-19 cases as it reported 17,336 new cases of virus in the last 24 hours as compared to the 13,313 total cases recorded on June 23, the Union Health Ministry informed. (Image: AP) Mumbai on June 24 recorded 1,898 new coronavirus infections and two pandemic-related fatalities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a bulletin. The daily COVID-19 cases dipped by 581 compared to previous day's figure. The caseload in the city rose to 11,03,760, and the death toll reached 19,591. On June 23, the financial capital of the county had reported 2,479 cases and one fatality. Of 1,898 new COVID-19 patients, 1,802 were asymptomatic. Only 12 of the patients were put on oxygen support. A total of 77 patients are on oxygen support in city hospitals at present, as per the BMC bulletin. Only 12 of the patients were put on oxygen support. Mumbai has 13,257 active COVID-19 cases now. With 2,253 patients recovering during the … [Read more...] about Mumbai reports 1,898 COVID-19 cases, two deaths

Representative image. Just shy of a landmark 200 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, the shots administered in India against coronavirus are now about to surpass the total doses given in all of Europe and North America combined. According to Our World in Data, India has now administered 1.95 billion shots against COVID-19 while this number is 1.29 billion in the case of Europe, 592.27 million in the case of the United States and 85.91 million in case of Canada. This feat, interestingly, has been achieved despite the fact that the government’s push for booster doses for a large chunk of the population is yet to pick up the momentum. The CoWIN dashboard, maintained by the Union government shows that as on June 20, 5.30 pm 1,96,17,60,546 vaccine doses against COVID-19 have been administered in India. Of these, 1,57, 07, 56, 208 doses are that of Covishield, followed by 32, 85, 70, 413 doses of Covaxin. The rest of the doses are of other vaccines against coronavirus including … [Read more...] about COVID-19 shots administered in India about to overtake count in all of Europe, North America

Representational image (Source: Reuters) Researchers have developed a simple, glucose-meter test that can help people monitor their own antibody levels against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that causes COVID-19. The team from Johns Hopkins University in the US noted that over-the-counter COVID-19 tests can quickly show whether a person is infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, if a person has a positive result, there is no at-home test to assess how long they will remain protected against reinfection. In the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers described a simple, accurate glucose-meter-based test incorporating a novel fusion protein. They said that consumers could someday use this assay to monitor their own SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels. Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and infection with the virus itself can guard against future infections for a while, but it's unclear exactly how long that protection lasts, the researchers said. A good indication of immune protection is a … [Read more...] about Simple glucose-meter test can be used to monitor COVID-19 antibody levels