Hypertension or high blood pressure can have a significant impact on kidney function, much before clinical symptoms begin to appear, according to a study that stressed the importance of early detection.

The research, led by a team from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, found that high blood pressure can lead to abnormalities in the podocytes -- specialised cells in the renal filter -- even without other pre-existing conditions such as diabetes.

"Early detection and treatment could help to slow the progression of kidney disease and prevent long-term damage," said the researchers Rainer Oberbauer and Heinz Regele from the varsity.

Indian pharma companies may stand to gain market share due to the potential impact of US tariffs, according to a JPMorgan report.

Essentially, Indian pharmaceutical companies have the potential to gain market share at the expense of their global competitors due to their superior cost competitiveness, JPMorgan said.

In an expert call, the brokerage also pointed out that the possibility of manufacturing relocation by pharmaceutical companies to the US is unlikely due to higher tariffs.

Tariffs of 25 per cent or higher on pharmaceuticals are improbable due to the significant increase in cost for consumers and the limited availability of alternative suppliers, JPMorgan said.

An international research group has developed a new method to help the immune system recognise and attack cancer cells by leading them to expose themselves.

Researchers led by Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said cancer cells typically evade detection by displaying very few suspicious proteins that the immune system can identify and target, news agency reported.

In the study published in the journal Cancer Cell, the team, including from the US and Germany, disrupted protein production in cancer cells, forcing them to produce abnormal, recognisable proteins, which could trigger a strong immune response capable of destroying cancer cells.

While sugary foods and beverages are more blamed for the global rise in obesity rates, a new study suggests that sodium -- found in chips, processed meat products, bread, and dairy products, especially cheese -- may also be a significant risk factor.

The research presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025) highlighted an alarming correlation between sodium intake and obesity, both in terms of overall body fat and abdominal fat.

The study, led by researchers from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland analysed data from over 5,000 men and women aged 18 and older, examining their sodium intake as well as urine sodium concentration about their obesity status.

Surveillance and vigilance are necessary to ensure South-East Asia region remains polio-free, said the World Health Organization on the 11th anniversary of being certified polio-free on Thursday.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The highly transmissible virus invades the nervous system to cause paralysis.

In a historic milestone, 11 years ago on March 27, 2014, the WHO South-East Asia Region was certified as free of all types of wild polioviruses.

Saima Wazed, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia stated that eradication of polio in the SE Asia region was a “daunting and uphill task” and “required relentless effort and innovative strategies”.

Ten drug addicts have tested positive for HIV at Walancherry in Kerala's Malappuram during the health screening among the high-risk category of people.

The Kerala State AIDS Control Society conducted the screening among high-risk category people, which included sex workers and drug users.

Malappuram district District Medical Officer said 10 people, all of whom are drug users, were found HIV positive.

"This screening was done in January at Walancherry, and one of them tested positive for HIV. Soon, a detailed study was conducted among his close contacts, after which nine others were found to be HIV positive," said the DMO.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that in 2025 a whopping 3.5 million children in Afghanistan are at risk of malnutrition. The agency expressed concern over the huge number of children expected to be affected. Additionally, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are suffering from malnutrition and urgently need treatment and nutrition support.

“Once a child or a woman becomes malnourished, we have to help them, or they risk worsening to severe malnutrition, which is a life-threatening situation. The mortality risk is very high for moderately malnourished children – three times higher than for children who are not malnourished,” says Mona Shaikh, Head of Nutrition for the WFP in Afghanistan.

The UN agency in its report said that nearly one-third of Afghanistan’s population – up to 15 million people – need emergency food assistance to survive. Eight out of ten families cannot afford a minimally nutritious diet, and three out of four families have to borrow money to buy basic groceries.

The significant reductions in international funding for HIV prevention and treatment programmes may result in more than 10 million infections, and about 3 million deaths by 2030, according to a study published in The Lancet HIV journal on Thursday.

The study, conducted by a team at the Burnet Institute in Australia’s Melbourne models the impact of a projected 24 per cent reduction in global HIV funding by 2026. This follows announced aid cuts of 8 per cent to 70 per cent by key donors, including the US, Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. These five countries collectively fund over 90 per cent of global HIV assistance.

This could lead to an estimated “4.4 to 10.8 million additional new HIV infections and 770,000 to 2.9 million HIV-related deaths in children and adults between 2025 and 2030 if funding cuts proposed by the top five donor countries, including the US and the UK, are not mitigated,” said the researchers.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi is expected to run human trials on India's first indigenously developed MRI machine system in October.

The indigenous 1.5 Tesla MRI system for medical imaging will be built at the Indigenous Magnetic Resonance Imaging (IMRI) -- a national mission, sponsored by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) and being implemented at the Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER), an autonomous government institution under Meity.

C-DAC (Trivandrum), C-DAC (Kolkata), IUAC (New Delhi), and DSI-MIRC (Bangalore) will work as collaborating agencies to design and develop the MRI system.

Meity informed that "animal trials have been concluded".

In addition, “the subsystems development and testing of RF Power Amplifier, High power T/R switch, RF spectrometer, RF Coils, Rx. Front ends, control unit, couch, and IMRI software have been completed and integrated with the procured magnet, gradient coil, and gradient amplifier," it added.

A recent internal survey by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), on Tuesday, found that nearly 44 per cent of the total number of wards in areas under the corporation's jurisdiction, which included Kolkata and added areas, are dengue-prone, officials said.

The total number of the wards under KMC stands at 144.

As per the internal survey, 68 wards of them are dengue-prone, an insider from the corporation claimed.

"The corporation mapped all the 144 wards under its jurisdiction to identify the dengue-prone pockets based on past figures on this count. The benchmark in the matter is that if 10 or more persons in a particular ward have been tested positive for dengue last year, that particular ward is identified as the hotspot," a KMC official said.

As per records, the number of people tested positive for dengue in the KMC area witnessed an impressive decline in 2024 to just 1,316 from the figure of 13,926 in 2023.