#25: City Living and Your Mind- Can Traffic and Step Counts Shape Your Brain Health?

This week in healthcare: Hair loss isn’t final, brain fog isn’t fate, and cancer cells hate Vitamin D (when you tweak the right gene). This week’s health breakthroughs are walking, breathing and growing new roots; think transplant-free hair regrowth, dementia-fighting daily steps and precision gene hacks targeting cancer without harming healthy cells.

• 🧬 Liver cancer relapse? This AI sees it coming. Built in Singapore, it predicts relapses with 82% accuracy, decoding immune signals and gene patterns before symptoms strike. (ABPLive)

• 🧑🏻‍💻 Latent Labs just made protein design, key to developing new drugs and vaccines, as easy as opening a browser tab, using AI. No code, no lab, just smarter drug and vaccine building at your fingertips. (TechCrunch)

• 🦀 Researchers have identified a gene that regulates how the body processes Vitamin D. Disabling it reduces cancer cell survival by 53% without harming healthy cells, paving the way for more precise treatments for cancer and immune conditions. (BS)

• 🧑🏻‍🦱 Turns out your hair’s not ghosting you, it’s just on mute! Hair follicles don’t die, they go silent. Researchers have identified ways that regulate this inactive state. By restoring proper signalling, follicles may be reactivated, offering a transplant-free path to hair regrowth. (FE)

• 🚶🏻 7,000 steps a day keeps the brain fog away! New research says that’s all it takes to cut dementia risk by 38%. No gym, no fuss, just walk your way to sharper health. (ETHealth) 

• 🧠 Smog on the Brain? A new study links long-term exposure to car fumes with up to a 10% higher dementia risk, proof that traffic isn’t just messing with your day, but maybe your brain too. (CAM)

• 🎯 India’s Biocon Biologics teams up with Australia’s Generic Health to launch its latest biosimilar, targeting arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, in Australia. A strong move in the Indian biotech giant’s global playbook. (ET)

• 💊 Ozempic and its weight-loss troop are under scrutiny in the UK following reports of serious side effects, including pancreatitis, unexpected pregnancies and even deaths. As these drugs enter the Indian market, will the ripple effects follow? (TheIndependent)

• 📉 Oops, Zydus derailed! The Indian pharma tried to shake up cancer care with a biosimilar to Bristol Myers Squibb’s blockbuster, advance-stage, anti-cancer drug for skin, lungs and kidneys. But a courtroom clash over patents has put everything on hold. Patients wait, and so does the market. (ET)

🇮🇳 India

• 🐶 Rabies bites back! India reports over 37 lakh dog bites and 54 human deaths in 2024 alone. With vaccines lagging and street dogs on the rise, the 2030 rabies-free dream is still chasing its own tail. (ETHealth)

• 🏥 Delhi’s government hospitals are getting smarter! A newly introduced digital health system lets patients book OPD slots online and get e-slips, all while cutting queues. (ETHealth)

• 🤱🏻 Egg freezing in India is up 20-25% over the past year! Women are hitting pause on biology and playing on their own timelines. With shifting priorities, late marriages, big goals and smart planning, fertility is finally on her terms. (BS)

🌏️ Global

• 🦟 Chikungunya is surging again, warns WHO. With China facing its worst outbreak in decades, the virus is spreading fast, bringing high fever and aching joints. India is still waiting on a vaccine, but hang tight as our homegrown shot is already in trials. (FE)

• 🤖 FDA’s AI tool, ELSA, was built to fast-track drug approvals, but it’s now spitting out fake studies. What was meant to revolutionise safety is now just “hallucinating” and raising questions. (CNN)

🇮🇳 India

• 🚨 India’s cardiac drug market just got a jolt, with sales soaring over 50% to ₹2,645 Cr in five years. The drivers? Rising stress, early diagnosis of cardiac conditions and stricter blood pressure cut-offs. (ETHealth)

• 📈 India’s Natco Pharma is making a $226M move, snapping up a major stake in South Africa’s pharma firm, Adcock Ingram. The deal gives Natco a solid launchpad into the African market and a boost in its global generics play. (VCCircle)

🌏️ Global

• 💰 Sanofi seals a $1.15B deal to acquire UK-based biotech firm Vicebio, to expand its pipeline with a next-gen respiratory vaccines portfolio. (PharmaLive)