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Barkha Mathur leads health coverage for the Business Standard website. She reports on the intersection of medicine, policy, and health science, with a focus on stories that impact readers’ physical and mental well-being. When not tracking the latest developments in health, she’s often reading medical research or listening to hip-hop.
Barkha Mathur leads health coverage for the Business Standard website. She reports on the intersection of medicine, policy, and health science, with a focus on stories that impact readers’ physical and mental well-being. When not tracking the latest developments in health, she’s often reading medical research or listening to hip-hop.
By declaring human rabies a notifiable disease, Delhi aims to tighten surveillance, ensure early treatment and move closer to its goal of zero human deaths from rabies
Widely used diabetes and acidity medicines may reduce vitamin B12 levels, raising the risk of nerve damage if deficiency goes undetected, doctors caution
Doctors explain how brain development, hormones and the body clock affect how much sleep is healthy at every stage of life
A large US study tracking sleep and longevity across counties finds that insufficient sleep may shorten life expectancy more than poor diet or lack of exercise, second only to smoking
Doctors are urging professionals to stop glorifying overwork and use all their office leave in 2026 to protect mental health, prevent burnout and sustain long-term productivity
Researchers have identified a previously unknown genetic form of neonatal diabetes that begins within weeks of birth and also disrupts brain development, leading to microcephaly and epileptic seizures
A common oral bacterium may move from the mouth to the gut and release toxins that enter the brain, damaging dopamine-producing cells linked to Parkinson's disease
Most New Year resolutions fail not because of weak willpower, but because they ignore how the brain builds habits. Mental health experts explain what actually works
From food packaging to drinking water, microplastics are almost impossible to avoid. A new study suggests these particles can lodge in blood vessels and accelerate artery damage linked to heart diseas
A suspected rabies case in a buffalo sent panic through a UP village, with hundreds rushing for vaccines after learning funeral raita was made from its milk. But was the fear justified?
A new Andhra policy allowing PG Ayurvedic doctors to perform select surgeries has drawn sharp criticism from the IMA, which says surgery requires training standards followed only in modern medicine
Sometimes, people with terminal illness suddenly become more alert, aware and communicative shortly before death. Neurologists explain what is known about this phenomenon, called terminal lucidity
From unsafe medicines and rare infections to heatwaves and failing antibiotics, 2025 exposed why preparedness can no longer wait
Air fryers promise healthier cooking, but a Mumbai-based surgeon says they can undermine health goals if they create a false 'health halo' around junk food instead of balanced meals
Australia's immunisation advisory group says counterfeit batches of rabies vaccine Abhayrab have circulated in India since November 2023, potentially leaving bite victims unprotected
From hot flashes and brain fog to HRT fears, sex life, weight gain and mood changes, a senior gynaecologist explains what menopause really looks like, and what science actually says
Many adults dismiss jaw pain, swelling or breathlessness as lifestyle issues. A cardiologist explains why these seemingly
A large Indian study finds no safe level of alcohol for mouth cancer risk, especially when combined with smokeless tobacco, with locally brewed drinks posing the highest danger
What if a single vaccine platform could train the immune system to prevent multiple cancers? A new nanoparti
As temperatures soared and weather turned erratic, India saw longer dengue seasons, heat emergencies and rising mental stress