Moon dust less harmful to human lungs than city pollution
Researchers have made a stunning new analysis of lunar dust as countries across the world prepare to send humans to live and work on the Moon.Team at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) has found that lunar dust is less harmful to human lung cells than previously feared. They added that it is significantly less toxic than common Earth-based air pollution.advertisementThe latest research comes as the US, China, and Russia prepare to mount major manned missions to the Moon in a bid to colonise Earth's lone natural satellite. The latest study provides reassuring data for the upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon.
The study, published in Life Sciences in Space Research, investigated the impact of the most accurate, new-generation lunar dust simulants on human lung cells in the lab. 'Our findings suggest that while lunar dust may cause some immediate irritation to the airways, it does not appear to pose a risk for chronic, long-term diseases like silicosis, which is caused by materials like silica dust,' lead researcher and UTS PhD candidate Michaela B. Smith said.The study found that while the sharp, abrasive lunar dust can act as a physical irritant, it did not cause the severe cellular damage or inflammation seen from the urban Earth dust. 'It's important to distinguish between a physical irritant and a highly toxic substance,' Smith added.advertisementIt is worth mentioning that during the Apollo lunar missions, when astronauts landed on the Moon, lunar dust was a big health concern.During the Apollo missions, the primary route of exposure occurred after extravehicular activity. 'When astronauts re-entered their landing module, fine dust that had clung to their spacesuits became airborne in the confined cabin and was subsequently inhaled, leading to respiratory issues, sneezing, and eye irritation,' said Smith.The research focused on fine dust particles (2.5 micrometres), which are small enough to bypass the body's natural defences and penetrate deep into the lower airways of the lungs.The analysis revealed that dust found on Earth had a greater inflammatory response and was more toxic to the cells than the lunar dust simulants.Crucially, the lunar simulants did not trigger significant oxidative stress, a key chemical damage pathway often associated with fine particle toxicity.While the findings reduce a critical risk factor, Nasa is still taking the threat of dust exposure seriously. Must Watch
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Wegovy vs Mounjaro: Eli Lilly to launch full-dose pen device in India as obesity drug race heats up
Just months after introducing its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India, US-based Eli Lilly is set to roll out a more convenient, pen-filled version—escalating its rivalry with Novo Nordisk in the country's nascent but high-potential obesity drug market. The US-based drugmaker announced on Thursday that it has received market authorization from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to launch the Mounjaro KwikPen, a multi-dose, single-patient-use prefilled pen designed for once-weekly administration. Until now, the drug was only available in injectable vials, in two dosage strengths. The full dosage range will soon be available in India, the company said. 'With this approval, all six dosage options for Mounjaro (tirzepatide) will soon be available in India, supporting a more personalized approach to treatment and allowing healthcare professionals to tailor care based on individual patient needs and clinical goals,' Winselow Tucker, president and general manager, Lilly India, said in the release. A pen-device is much easier for self-administration and preferred by patients over vials, according healthcare providers. While Eli Lilly gained an early mover advantage with Mounjaro's March 2025 launch, Novo Nordisk is counting on its pen-device format and insulin market leadership to help it close the gap, its India head Vikrant Shrotriya told Mint earlier this week. Eli Lilly's Mounjaro has sold over 81,570 units in India, with cumulative sales of ₹ 23.94 crore by May 2025, according to pharma intelligence platform Pharmarack. Novo Nordisk, which launched its rival drug Wegovy in India this week, has been losing global market share to Lilly in the anti-obesity space and entered the Indian market later. Both drugmakers face a narrow window to tap into India's largely unmet demand for chronic weight-loss medication—before generics arrive. Novo Nordisk is expected to lose patent protection on semaglutide, the active compound in Wegovy, by March 2026. Leading Indian pharmaceutical companies including Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Zydus Lifesciences, and Cipla are reportedly preparing to launch lower-cost versions. Mounjaro is currently priced at ₹ 14,000 monthly for a 2.5 mg vial and ₹ 17,500 monthly for the 5 mg version. The company has not yet disclosed pricing for the remaining dosage options. Wegovy, also a once-weekly injectable, is being introduced in five dose levels: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, and a maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. The first three are priced at ₹ 4,336 per dose or ₹ 17,345 monthly, while the 1.7 mg dose is priced at ₹ 24,280 and the 2.4 mg at ₹ 26,015 per month. The growing competition between Lilly and Novo underscores the scale of the opportunity: India is home to more than 254 million people living with obesity and over 100 million adults with diabetes. The Indian weight loss market was estimated to be $25 billion in 2024, and could double in size by 2033, according to Nuvama research. With lifestyle-related illnesses rising and awareness around medical weight management slowly increasing, both companies are racing to establish a strong foothold before prices crash and the market fragments.
Mint
4 hours ago
- Mint
Should you buy OPD insurance? Get the complete lowdown to help you decide.
Imagine this: you have some health issues and visit a doctor. She prescribes you medicines and a couple of diagnostic tests. You pay a good amount of money for the doctor's consultation, medicines and tests, and wonder whether your health insurance policy will cover it. Well, here's the bad news: most health insurance policies do not cover outpatient department (OPD) expenses. According to a report by India Insurtech Association, India's OPD spending amounted to a massive $37.7 billion in FY24, of which retail OPD insurance accounted for less than 0.1%. Noting this gap, insurers have of late started to offer OPD coverage and healthcare startups have also entered the space, providing OPD subscription plans directly to customers or via employers. Here's a lowdown of what all is available. OPD plans from insurers India's OPD market is highly fragmented, so providing coverage is difficult. The high chances of billing fraud can't be ignored, so insurers prefer to offer OPD coverage on a cashless basis, allowing you to only visit their network partners for doctor consultations and diagnostics. Some insurers may agree to reimburse the cost incurred at non-network facilities as well. Among popular plans, as shared by ICICI Lombard's Elevate comes with an OPD+ rider. The premium varies by age. A 35-year-old male must pay ₹4,980 annually for ₹10,000 OPD coverage in a year. The plan only works on a cashless model and has no sub-limits on procedures such as dental and vision. Bajaj Allianz's Health Prime and Niva Bupa's Acute-Best Care offer both cashless facilities and reimbursements. The former has a premium of 2,062 for ₹15,000 coverage while latter costs ₹4,801 for ₹10,000 coverage for a 35-year old individual. Niva Bupa's Well Consult-OPD puts a co-payment of 20% if a policyholder files for reimbursement. Star Health Insurance has a standalone OPD insurance policy that allows cashless and reimbursement only for accident-related emergencies. A 35-year old individual will pay ₹4,802 for ₹25,000 coverage. This plan has a waiting period of 1-3 years for OPD expenses of pre-existing diseases. "Traditionally the OPD plans had sub-limits on doctor consultation, diagnostic tests or pharmacy bills. For example, the OPD sum insured could very well be ₹20,000 but pharmacy bills having a sub-limit of ₹5,000. But insurers are increasingly launching plans with no sub-limits for customers to utilise the OPD benefit in the way they want," said Siddharth Singhal, business head - health insurance, Direct-to-consumer plans Lucknow-based Geeta Srivastava (66) heard about healthcare startup LivLong's OPD plan Eldercare. "The plan costs me ₹12,000 a year. OPD benefits such as medicines and lab tests are restricted to ₹3,000 a year, but there are other useful benefits such as full-body check-up (83 parameters), unlimited consultation with doctors and nutritionists, six consultations a year with specialists and two free ambulance services. Another benefit is having a healthcare manager at my disposal who checks up on me every now and then and helps me with what I require," Srivastava said. Data from LivLong showed they have three plans, priced at ₹5500, ₹6,000 and ₹11,599. "These plans have a perceived value of ₹15,000, ₹16,000 and ₹28,800, respectively," said Gaurav Dubey, founder & CEO, LivLong 365. To be sure, there is no underlying sum insured in LivLong OPD plans. They offer up to 50% discounts on OPD benefits such as consultations, lab tests, diagnostics and medicines, which translate into perceived savings. Healthcare provider Even Health offers OPD insurance in partnership with Magma General Insurance. However, you can't buy standalone OPD cover from them. You need to buy IPD cover (sum insured ranges from ₹3 lakh to ₹1 crore) in which OPD cover of ₹10 lakh will be inlcuded if you pay extra over the premium. People aged 0-35 years can buy it for around 4,500 a year, 36-49 years for ₹10,000 a year, and over 50 for ₹19,000 a year, excluding the premium for IPD coverage. "Our OPD plan works everywhere in the country on a cashless basis. We have partners in every pin code from Lakshadweep to Leh. We not only cover doctor's consultations but also diagnostic (radiology, pathology) and medicines. We offer reimbursement, too, but with 50% co-pay," said Mayank Banerjee, Co founder, Coverage from your employer Companies such as Onsurity and Plum, or for that matter even Even Health and LivLong, curate OPD coverage in partnership with employers to offer it to employees. Noida-based Anmol Bhushan (28) works with a financial services firm as an actuarial consultant. His employer offers OPD benefits as part of its wellness services. He pays ₹11,000 per year to insure himself and his parents for a maximum benefit of ₹21,000. "The plan has a co-payment of 10% for me and 20% for my parents. Each year I manage to avail of at least ₹18,000 benefit," said Bhushan. Data from Onsurity shows their wellness OPD plans cost a minimum of ₹145 more per member per month and can go up to ₹4,500 or more based on the features. "Pricing retail OPD plans at a low cost is difficult because the utilisation will be high in those plans. We offer it to them via employers so that the utilisation is comparatively lower and we can keep the pricing viable," said Suman Pal, chief claims officer at Onsurity. Can't argue with free Some employers offer the benefit to employees for free. Mumbai-based Dipen Chheda (50) for example, used it while he was working with his previous employer. "The challenge in that plan was the limited number of associated partners. If I have to take doctor consultation and no network doctor is available nearby, it does not make sense for me to go far. Similarly, nearby chemists also offer discounts on medicines. Sometimes those are better than what OPD cover offers," he said. For Bengaluru-based Shobhit Katikia (27), the experience has been great. "We get a flat coverage of ₹20,000 per year from our employer. I don't have to pay for it. It covers me and my parents. I availed the claim twice in the past two years – for dental treatment that included the procedure and medicines in the first year, and for new glasses in the second year. The cost of the eye check-up, frame and lens was all covered," he said. In his case, he could choose any doctor or pharmacy and file for reimbursement. "The claims were approved in 24 hours," he said. Should you buy an OPD plan? Well, it depends on the cashless network the platform provides, and the sub-limits. "We have noticed that doctors empaneled with different such platforms may just have an MBBS degree and not really be specialists. The way the OPD market works is people may want to visit specialists and diagnostic centres of their choice. We are in the process of launching retail OPD cover, which will address these issues," said Saurabh Vijayvergia. founder & CEO, CoverSure. Mint's take India's OPD insurance market is at a nascent stage. While employer-linked OPD cover offers decent benefits, there are very few direct-to-customer options from healthcare startups. There is greater variety in policies offered by insurers. Whichever option you choose, sub-limits on various benefits make such plans restrictive. You could considering buying it to giving it a try if you can afford it.
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Six million donkeys slaughtered for Chinese medicine: Charity
Almost six million donkeys are slaughtered annually for Chinese medicine, with severe knock-on effects for African villagers who rely on the animals, a UK-based charity said on Thursday. It is driven by an increase in China's production of ejiao -- a product marketed as a health supplement that uses collagen from donkey skins -- which is a $6.8-billion industry, according to China-based research firm Qianzhan. China, whose donkey population has plummeted from 11 million in 1992 to 1.5 million in 2023, has turned to Africa to meet its demand. With donkey populations falling, the African Union issued a 15-year moratorium on donkey slaughter last year. UK-based charity The Donkey Sanctuary said "the ejiao industry drives a massive global trade in donkey skins, much of it illegal". It said around 5.9 million donkeys were killed worldwide last year. The ejiao trade is expected to require at least 6.8 million donkey skins by 2027. The rising value of donkeys means they have increasingly become targets for criminals. "Traders exploit vulnerable people using large and sophisticated networks of agents to pressure donkey owners into selling their animals," the charity said. "Illegal networks operate across the continent, often without consequence, stealing and slaughtering donkeys in the night," it added. "Donkeys die in often unregulated, inhumane, and unsanitary conditions, and large numbers perish on their way to slaughterhouses," it continued. The impact on humans is particularly felt by women and children, who rely on donkeys for farming activities such as ploughing and for carrying goods to market. The criminal operations also generated health risks, The Donkey Sanctuary said. "The transportation of untreated skins and improper disposal of donkey carcasses risk triggering the spread of infectious diseases and damaging local ecosystems."
