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This Baby Was Born With Hair Covering Over Half His Body Doctors in India were surprised to see a baby boy born with thick dark hair that covered more than half of his body. Doctors from the CHC Bawan in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, were initially stumped when the child’s mother gave birth to the infant.The baby had dark locks that blanketed over 60% of his body. The doctors decided to transfer the care of the newborn to a specialist, Dr. Ikram Hussain. He diagnosed the child with giant congenital melanocytic nevus, a condition in which patients will grow an abnormally dark, noncancerous skin patch. The patch will eventually grow to at least 40 centimeters (15.75 inches) across, and excessive hair growth can occur. Additionally, this can occur in one out of 20,000 infants worldwide.While the ailment seems cosmetic at first glance, the child has a high chance of complications. Giant congenital melanocytic nevus can cause skin-producing cells to form in the brain and spinal tissue, which can lead to seizures and even worse, brain tumors. Image credit: Jam Press Vid/Rare Shot News via The New York Post #ailments #skincondition #India #baby #infant #hair

The Murder Weapon is a CobraSuraj Kumar, an Indian man, was convicted and given a life sentence for murdering his wife with a deadly cobra. Kumar spent 7,000 rupees ($92; £67) to buy a spectacled cobra, one of the world's most venomous snakes, even though snake trade is outlawed in India.Suraj was betrothed to Uthra, who came from a wealthy family. Suraj accepted a dowry of 768 grams of gold (worth about $32,000 today), a Suzuki automobile, and 400,000 rupees in cash from Uthra's parents after the pair married. Investigators stated he also received 8,000 rupees every month from her parents "to watch after their daughter."When Uthra was bitten by a highly venomous snake the first time, she spent 52 days at her parents' house recovering from the bite and three excruciating procedures to treat her afflicted leg. The second attempted murder occurred when she took a glass of sedative-laced fruit juice from Suraj. Suraj brought out the container with the cobra, overturned it, and dumped the five-foot-long snake on his sleeping wife after the mixture had put her to sleep. It didn't assault her that time, so Suraj attempted to murder his wife for the third time by provoking the snake. As a result, the angry cobra bit her twice. Then it slithered over to a room shelf, where it sat all night. Uthra was discovered dead, with two pairs of puncture wounds on her left forearm that were less than an inch apart, according to the autopsy report. Cobra venom and sedative medications were found in blood and viscera samples. By paralyzing respiratory muscles, cobra poison can kill in hours.Suraj was arrested on May 24th, and the trial began following a 78-day inquiry and charges totaling over 1,000 pages. More than 90 witnesses testified, including herpetologists and medics, and evidence was presented that proved Suraj's involvement. Suresh, the snake catcher, turned on Suraj and admitted to supplying him both snakes used in his wife's murder.Images by:Sreedhar Lal#Cobra #Murder #India #Deadly

Inspired by McDonald's Efficient Fast Food Operation, This Indian Hospital's Cataract "McSurgery" Restored Eyesight to Millions of PeopleA network of hospitals of the Aravind Eye Care System carries out around 500,000 surgeries a year while providing free services to those in need. The efficient network of Aravind got its inspiration from the highly effective assembly line model of McDonald’s.Govindappa Venkataswamy, the doctor who set up Aravind, said after learning the economies of scale of fast-food chains, “If McDonald's can do it for hamburgers, why can't we do it for eye care?"More than a quarter of the world’s population suffers from vision impairment, and about a half of it is preventable but untreated according to the World Health Organization. In India, around 10 million people are blind and about 50 million are suffering from visual impairments, with cataracts being the predominant cause.The model used by Aravind proved to be a success with its wide reach in India. An example of a recipient of the hospital’s free services is Venkatachalam Rajangam. "I thought the operation would be for an hour but within 15 minutes everything was over. But it didn't feel rushed. The procedure was done properly," he said after the “Mcsurgery”.Images: Arun Sankar/AFP#eyes #surgery #McSurgery #India #cataract #McDonalds

‘Mermaid’ Plant Species Discovered in IndiaBiologists have discovered a new plant species in Andamans, India.Initially found in 2019, it took Indian scientists almost two years to confirm that their discovery was novel. To be exact, experts spent 18 months comparing the new plant’s DNA with existing flora.Scientists from the Central University of Punjab named the new species Acetabularia jalakanyakae. The plant has caps with intricate designs, and according to Dr Felix Bast, it was “as if it were umbrellas of a mermaid." This particular feature led the scientists to name the plant after mermaids, with Jalakanyaka in Sanskrit translating to ‘mermaid’ and ‘a goddess of oceans’.Image credit: Felix Blast #NewDiscoveries #Plants #India #Science #AcetabulariaJalanyakae #MermaidPlant #NewSpecies #mermaid

Can You Find the Hidden Snow Leopard in the Photo?Wildlife photographer Inger Vandyke took this photo during her mountain expedition in Ladakh, India, a few years ago. In the photo, she spotted a snow leopard stalking a group of bharal or blue sheep.See if you can spot the snow leopard in the photo above.You'd be forgiven if you can't find it right away - snow leopard's fur coloration blends very well with the background in its natural habitat. The animal is practically a master of camouflage!Image: Inger Vandyke via The Telegraph and Gizmodo#snowleopard #bluesheep #bharal #hiddenanimal #wildlifephotography #India #LadakhGive up? Here's the snow leopard: