-EPW   The Anna Hazare group’s foray into electoral politics exposes its shaky foundations. The script of this drama was already written. A single issue campaign, focused narrowly on corruption in public life without a wider world view on the root causes of corruption or on the myriad other problems afflicting Indian society, had to come apart at the seams at some point. That moment arrived when “Team Anna”, as the people behind...

-PTI   The largest study to investigate the causes of common cancers in India has started through a collaboration between the University of Oxford and 12 leading Indian cancer centres. The study will investigate whether certain factors common in Indian lifestyle, such as a life-long vegetarian diet, are important in influencing the risk of cancer, the university said today. Cancer incidence in India is expected to increase by over two-thirds in the next two...

The verdict on yoga guru Baba Ramdev's weight loss drink, lauki juice, is out. First, slice a piece from lauki (bottle gourd), taste if it's better. If it's bitter, discard it immediately, says an expert panel commissioned by the Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR). The panel - headed by professor S K Sharma, who is the head of department of medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences -...

From all accounts, Team Anna is going through a bad time. Kiran Bedi is struggling to explain her allegedly less-than-honest actions in presenting inflated travel bills, Arvind Kejriwal has been accused of financial impropriety and high-handedness by erstwhile members of the team, Prashant Bhushan is under fire for his comments on Kashmir and Santosh Hegde seems to perpetually have half a foot outside the team door. The decision to campaign...

Imagine there was one changeable factor that affected virtually every measure of a country's health— including life expectancy, crime rates, addiction, obesity, infant mortality, stroke, academic achievement, happiness and even overall prosperity. Indeed, this factor actually exists. It's called economic inequality. A growing body of research suggests that such inequality — more so than income or absolute wealth alone — has a profound influence on a population's health, in every socioeconomic...