Did cataclysmic events happen over the week in healthcare - developments that made us sit up and take note, fume a little, wonder much and record everything? Bringing to you, five major themes that caught our attention this past week, and then, some more.

AI technology is forever invading our columns here, opening up the possibilities of what can happen in the future, and indeed, bringing the future to our door steps today. The last week, there was news about researchers using AI to design, hold your breath - viruses. A particular type of virus actually - a bacteriophage. Infectious Diseases specialist Dr. Abdul Ghafur explains what happens when AI begins to design pathogens. Referring to the Stanford experiment that produced the bacteriophages (bacteria- eating viruses), he explains: “It does not show that AI can casually manufacture dangerous human viruses; it shows that computers are beginning to move from analysing biological information towards proposing biological designs that scientists can physically build. This requires appropriate governance and safeguards.”

“The computer did not create a virus. It did not touch a test tube or handle a living cell. What it did may ultimately be more consequential: it helped decide what the virus’s genome should be,” he writes. Of the 285 AI-generated designs physically synthesised and tested in the laboratory, 16 produced functioning phages. Some were able to overcome bacterial resistance that defeated the original virus. What is new, is not the physical manufacture of a virus. AI has entered the design stage of biology. For medicine, that creates remarkable opportunities. For biosecurity, it raises equally important questions, he says.

Further, in the cardiac diseases sector, AI heart disease prediction tools show promise but are not ready for clinical use, Afshan Yasmeen writes, quoting a review. Published in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, an open-access journal. The review assessed 30 studies published since 2017 on AI-based models developed to predict future cardiovascular disease among adults without established heart disease. Researchers say “Many models demonstrate good discrimination, but very few studies examine whether the predicted risks correspond to what actually happens in different populations.” For more on this, hit the link above. 

From AI, to another cutting edge research segment - genetics. Dr. C. Aravinda and Dr. Veera Rajagopal step into that highly niche area and highly technical area: turning off genes. What we can learn from nature switching off human genes, they ask, based on a study from Pakistan. 

Imagine the human genome as an enormous instruction book, they describe, containing the information needed to build, run and maintain the body. Its 23 pairs of chromosomes are like chapters, and the text is written in DNA, using an alphabet of just four chemical letters - A, T, G and C. Within this text, genes are individual instructions or recipes, each made from a particular sequence of these DNA letters. Proteins digest food, transport substances, build tissues, transmit signals and act as the antibodies that defend us against infection. Genetics studies how these instructions are inherited, altered and sometimes naturally switched off.

This is something you might want to read too, if genetics is what floats your boat. D.P. Kasbekar here, writes on how a Hyderabad scientist found out: Scientists find why a debilitating genetic disorder - FRDA - affects only Eurasians.

While at it, do check out this really interesting piece on What can genetics usefully do in your consultation room today? by Dr. Alok Kulkarni. “It can reduce blame. A mother did not cause schizophrenia by being ‘too strict’. A father did not ‘transmit’ bipolar disorder through a moral failing. Biology matters and families often find that acknowledgement to be a relief,” he writes.

Moving on to cancer, we had a comprehensive article on why vital chemotherapy drugs are in short supply in India, with inputs from all the bureaus across the country. India is facing a critical nationwide shortage of two key chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin, driven primarily by the soaring global platinum raw material costs, West Asia shipping route disruptions, and domestic price caps. While government hospitals in several States have managed to stabilise supplies, private hospitals in many parts are still facing a crunch. For patients, this has meant interruptions or delays in life-saving treatment. In response, the government last month raised temporarily ceiling rates for the two drugs by 50%, to help restart halted domestic manufacturing lines. Do read more at the link.

In significant news in the sector, the Supreme Court asks 19 States and UTs to declare cancer as a ‘notifiable disease’ for early detection. This was after it was informed that only 17 of the 36 States and UTs have so far notified cancer as a notifiable disease in light of the recommendations made in a parliamentary standing committee report.

In this podcast, Zubeda Hamid discusses with Dr. Rajeev Jeyadevan about the consequences after Three common medicines were declared carcinogenic. What does this actually mean for patients? The International Agency for Research on Cancer earlier said that three commonly prescribed medicines, hydrochlorothiazide, used to treat high blood pressure, voriconazole, an antifungal medicine and tacrolimus, an immunosuppressant were classified as carcinogenic, or cancer causing, to humans. For the details, click on the link. 

This past week, we also featured a number of stories focusing on the gendered aspect of health care. Women with endometriosis are at a 46% higher risk of developing diabetes, a study suggests. Endometriosis causes severe pelvic pain, painful periods and fertility challenges. Researchers, led by those at the George Mason University in the US, followed nearly three million women in the Utah Population Database between 1996 and 2021, including nearly 100,000 diagnosed with endometriosis.

Staying on the subject, Can weather affect your periods? And when should you seek medical help? Athira Elssa Johnson explains that extreme heat, humidity, cold weather and changes in routine can make periods harder to manage. However, persistent changes in cycle length, bleeding or pain should not simply be blamed on the weather; it is important to seek medical attention then. 

Continuing our neglected women in science series, I write on Jean Purdy: an unrecognised contributor in IVF, and whose work was critical in the birth of the first test tube baby Louise Joy Brown.

Bindu Shajan Perappadan quotes experts who advise that identifying and addressing health risks in both prospective parents could improve reproductive and pregnancy outcomes, in the article Rising obesity among Indian women underscores need for preconception interventions.

Switching gears to nutrition, recording other top news, Supreme Court slams FSSAI for not introducing front-of-pack warning labels on packaged food products. The Bench went as far as to ask the country’s food regulator whether it does not want children to grow up healthy. “You should be concerned about the health of young children. They are addicted,” Justice Pardiwala added.

Also read this article A timely reset for the Food Security Act, by Dr. V. Mohan, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, and Dr. Ninja M. Nazar. They write on the significance of the draft National Food Security (Amendment) Bill, 2026 that links Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) entitlements to household size. The policy challenge is to correct inequity without reducing existing foodgrain access, while creating a pathway towards nutrition security, the authors say.

**And then, some more: **

Recording a New trend of injecting banned peptides to ‘optimise’ the body

Messy make-up: cosmetics addiction takes the sheen out of childhood, Navamy Sudhish writes.

Could your leg pain be sciatica? Here’s how to tell the difference according to Dr.Kalidutta Das

Anirban Mukhopadhyay explains new research on how TB vaccine offers clue to retrain immune system against Alzheimer’s

Do remember to watch the 46th episode of the Health Wrap, where we discuss vaccine policies, TB and cancer care, besides what runs longevity in a blue zone.

Published - August 18, 2026 04:38 pm IST