Govt Appeals For Calm

The Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu, has appealed for calm over reports of a mysterious disease in the state. The commissioner, who denied that 62 people had died from the disease, told newsmen in Lokoja that those so far diagnosed were found to be suffering from gastroenteritis and Malaria.

Sleepless Children Have Higher Risk Of Diabetes

A UK study has revealed that children who don’t get enough sleep may be more likely to develop diabetes than kids who typically get enough. The study suggests that each additional hour of sleep children get at night is associated with a lower body weight, more lean muscle mass and less accumulation of sugars in the blood, researchers report in Pediatrics.

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has said that the government was determined to stop the sale of drugs in open markets in the country at the end of 2018, News Agency of Nigeria reports. Mr. Adewole made this known when he visited the site for the construction of a Pharmaceutical Coordinated Wholesale Centre at Oba, near Onitsha in Anambra.

An Immunologist and Head of Chemical Pathology at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Ganiyu Arinola has called on the Federal Government to ban the importation of bleaching creams in the interest of the health of the people. Prof. Arinola who made the call in an interview with NAN in Ibadan said the move is necessary following the health challenges most Nigerians are facing due to the use of the bleaching cream. He explained that the cream causes loss of pigment and weaken the immunity of the skin.

Scientists Make Polio Vaccine From Plant

Scientists have "hijacked" Plants to make polio vaccine in a breakthrough which has the potential to transform vaccine manufacture. The team at the John Innes Centre, in Norfolk, says the process is cheap, easy and quick. The scientists believe that their approach aside from helping to eliminate polio, could help the world react better to unexpected threats such as Zika virus or Ebola.

Yoga

Yoga has been shown to lessen the symptoms of depression, psychologists meeting in the US have been told. A series of studies focusing on the antidepressant effects of yoga was presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.