Autism is a developmental disorder which affects a person’s ability to socialize, communicate and behave. Traditionally, autism was thought to be a psychological or a behavioural disorder but today there is a lot of evidence validating it to be primarily a “neuro-biological” disorder”.
As per a guide created by the American Psychiatric Association, “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)”, people suffering from autism have the following main characteristics:
(more…)
Organ Donation is the practice of recovering healthy organs from either living or a deceased human being, referred to as a Donor, with the purpose of transplanting into a recipient. The process of recovering the organs from a donor is called retrieval.
(more…)
“Superbugs” refers to those strains of bacteria which have become resistant to most of the antibiotics, available at present. Merriam Webster dictionary defines a Superbug as “a pathogenic microorganism and especially a bacterium that has developed resistance to the medications normally used against it”.
The superbugs cause many dangerous infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis, urinary tract infections and skin infections to name a few. As per WHO, in 2016, nearly 5 lac people developed multi-drug resistant TB globally.
(more…)
HIV is a virus that causes damage to the immune system by destroying the white blood cells in the body. First identified in the year 1981, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) interferes with the body’s ability to fight against disease-causing microorganisms. It destroys CD4 cells (a type of T-helper cells that move around the body & detect anomalies & infections), makes copies of itself and weakens an individual’s immune system.
When CD4 counts drop below 200 it is an indication of serious immune damage and a person is diagnosed with AIDS. The normal range for CD4 cells is about 500-1500.
Importance of Breastfeeding for Infants
Breast milk is the natural first food for infants. It is protective and provides all the necessary nutrients and energy that infants need for the first months of life. Breastmilk serves the nutritional needs of a child until the second year of life.
(more…)
We may agree that we all need to drink an average of 8 glasses of water per day. But we all may not be aware that it depends upon various factors like our gender, age, activity levels, and external environment.
When we exercise, more water is excreted through perspiration. Hence, water requirement increases. On the other hand, requirement decreases as we age. Water is vital to the body’s normal functioning.
(more…)