Common antibiotics can damage the liver

A new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay and Sunway University (Malaysia), led by Prof. Ashutosh Kumar Jha and Prof. Vetriselvan Subramaniyan respectively, has discovered that some common antibiotics trigger liver damage, offering a potential breakthrough in drug safety screening.

The study found that liver toxicity does not depend only on the drug’s potency but on how strongly an antibiotic interacts with liver cell membranes at a molecular level. While comparing two antibiotics — Oritavancin and Teicoplanin — striking differences were observed. Oritavancin caused membrane disruption by clumping and fusing membranes. Teicoplanin, appeared less disruptive but lingered on the membrane surface for longer periods — a persistence that proved more harmful.

“By applying this membrane-focused approach, we may uncover why some treatments cause unexpected side effects and use that knowledge to design gentler compounds that are less toxic to healthy cells. Because these tests are relatively fast and scalable, they could be added to standard safety checks during drug development,” says the study’s first author Ashutosh Jha.

Living at high altitudes lowers diabetes risk 

For several years, scientists have observed that people living in high-altitude areas with low oxygen levels are at lower risk of developing diabetes than those residing at sea level. However, the biological reason remained unclear. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco (USA) have now identified the reason.

Their study on mice, published in Cell Metabolism (March), reveals that red blood cells alter metabolism when oxygen levels drop, enabling them to absorb large amounts of glucose from the bloodstream, effectively acting like ‘sugar sponges’, lowering blood sugar levels, and simultaneously providing for a more efficient oxygen delivery mechanism. This dual effect may explain reduced diabetes risk observed in high-altitude regions.

“Red blood cells represent a hidden compartment of glucose metabolism that has not been recognised until now. This discovery could open up entirely new ways to think about controlling blood sugar,” says Isha Jain, a Gladstone Investigator and professor of biochemistry at UC San Francisco.

India hosts second-highest number of overweight children

India hosts the second-highest number of obese children in the world, after China, says the World Obesity Atlas 2026 report released by the London-based World Obesity Federation on World Obesity Day (March 4). The report warns that without urgent interventions such as sugar taxes and stricter regulations on junk food marketing, India could face a major public health emergency in the coming years.

India has traditionally focused on combating undernutrition. Now it faces a complicated overlap where undernutrition and overnutrition co-exist. The Atlas 2026 report estimates that 41 million children in the 5-19 age group in India are overweight or obese. What worries researchers even more is the speed at which the number is climbing: 5 percent every year, perhaps the fastest growth rate recorded worldwide.

Globally, several governments had set targets to halt the rise in childhood obesity by 2025. That target has already been missed. The next milestone has been set at 2030. However experts say progress will require far stronger policy action.

India facing ‘silent sleep epidemic’

An online Local Circles Survey poll released on World Sleep Day (March 13) warns that India is facing a ‘silent sleep epidemic’ with 46 percent of adults chronically sleep deprived and millions of urban professionals averaging barely six hours per night.

Based on responses from 89,000 individuals in 393 districts countrywide, the survey found that adolescents and young adults are most affected, mainly due to excessive digital screen viewing, irregular routines, and stress. Common sleep disruptions include waking up to use the washroom (72 percent), noise, mosquitoes, and inconsistent schedules.

The report links poor sleep to serious health problems such as anxiety, depression, hypertension, heart disease, and reduced learning outcomes. However, it also notes that simple healthy living habits such as light dinners, regular exercise, and a positive home environment can improve sleep quality.