HIV has long been a dreaded infection that has plagued people all over the world. Until recently, the virus could only be put on hold with medication, but researchers have now found a way to keep a step ahead. Scientists have found 295 cellular proteins that help the HIV virus to establish the infection. Knowing this, they may now be able to develop a therapy to prevent the virus from infecting new cells, enabling patients to keep a step ahead of the dreaded virus. (more…)

The next time you need a tablet to relieve your hypertension problems, you may want to try out the new Ramipril tablets instead of the Altace tablets. Lupin limited, a well known pharmaceuticals based in Bombay has managed to get the final go ahead to introduce their version of the Altace tablets to the American markets. Lupin decided to come out with their own generic version of the age old Altace and in spite of legal hurdles initiated by King pharmaceuticals they have managed to prevail.

The new version of the Altace tablets offers the American consumers a much better alternative when it comes alleviating their hypertension problems. For one, it is alleged to be quicker than the old version and is priced competitively. The US Food and Drug administration has granted its approval of the Ramipril capsules in the 1.25 mg, 2.5mg, 5mg and the 10 mg varieties.

Lupin has become the very first company to successfully challenge the hold that Altace tablets have had on the American consumer market and win it. The new and the generic form of the old meds forbears interesting times ahead with more generic forms of old formulas due to hit the markets in the near future. The patients as well as the American markets are set to benefit as a result of new entrants like Ramipril on account of their effectiveness as well as the range of prices they offer. With effective medicine being made available, one can hope that the burden on the American healthcare would decrease with time.

Biotechnology is a foreign world to many, so much so that all that most of us can relate to this particular field is the range of controversies than the actual subject matter itself. Biotechnology seeks to harness modern technology in the quest of a ‘better life’ for all of us from the genome alteration to cloning.

It is no wonder that most of the religious institutions today are firmly set against this field in particular, because they see it as an example of man trying to build ‘Babel’ all over again. But to some, their fixed positions has more to do with the fact that religious institutions are fast losing their hold on mankind as a whole as technological advances are made in all the fields including that of Biotech.

One can say that Biotechnology got a new life with the creation of ‘Dolly’ the first cloned sheep. That particular experiment took place in Edinburgh, Scotland on the 22nd of February 1997. It was a total success and dolly lived on for about 6 years after that.

That experiment alone sent shock waves through all the religious institutions with each of them claiming that Man has crossed a boundary he was never meant to cross. But religious statements aside, that experiment in particular proved to the world the efficacy of Biotechnology and today it continues to play a very important role in all of our lives. From developing the latest strain of disease resistant rice to utilizing stem cells to further medical research, Biotechnology has come a long way, from the dark corridors and dingy rooms. It has evolved to become a very lucrative field for many a scientist and one that the rest of the world is counting on to come to its aid. The modern era has more to do with Biotechnology than it has to do with any other field of science, with the sole exception being that of information technology.