A S Kashyap A hormone seen as a popular target to develop weight-loss drugs works by directly targeting the brain and triggering previously unknown activity in the nervous system, researchers have found.
The fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) hormone has been a key target for developing weight-loss drugs because the protein increases energy expenditure, causing the body to burn calories.
But how the hormone worked was not known until now.
In a path-breaking research, a team of Swedish researchers has successfully grown brand new blood vessels with just two tablespoons of blood in a flat seven days.
Just three years ago, a patient at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, University of Gothenburg, received a blood vessel transplant grown from her own stem cells.
In the new procedure, the blood vessel transplant was carried out in two young children who did not have the vein that goes from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver.
Hollywood-based Indian actress Freida Pinto-starrer “Trishna” will release in India Jan 26, 2015.
Based on Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ and also starring Riz Ahmad , ‘Trishna’ tells the story of a woman whose life is torn between love and circumstances.
The story revolves around Trishna (Freida) meeting a wealthy young British businessman Jay Singh (Riz) who has come to India to work in his father’s hotel business. After an accident destroys her father’s jeep, Trishna goes to work for Jay, and they fall in love.
Pakistan Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan has said the country would continue to trade with India despite border tensions.
The minister said Friday that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government is committed to increasing regional trade as part of promoting peace without compromising on national sovereignty, Dawn online reported.
“The vision of our government is that we must trade with our neighbours,” he added.
Two men were arrested here Saturday for allegedly raping a woman in a hospital, police said.
The two were arrested in Patna following a complaint lodged by the victim, said Senior Superintendent of Police Jitendra Rana.
The incident took place in Kankarbagh area here, he said.
“The medical examination of the victim has confirmed it (rape),” he said.
IANS
Recent inroads by militants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Yazidi territory in Iraq have led 2,500 people to seek refuge on Mount Sinjar, which has become a safe haven for the minority Kurdish sect for the second time this year.
The Yazidis are in hiding in caves or small huts abandoned by shepherds in the rugged area in northern Iraq, to avoid being captured by the IS, which regards them and other religious minorities as infidels.
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha’s website has been hacked by unknown people, the police said Saturday.
According to a complaint registered by Shilpa Shinde, secretary to the governor, some hackers gained control of the website and deleted photographs posted on it.
According to police, a First Information Report has been registered under Section 66 of the Information Technology and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police, however, have not been able to track the identity of the hackers yet.
Singapore businessman Peter Lim has completed the purchase of Spanish BBVA Primera Liga football club Valencia.
The deal was signed late Friday night to end a torturous 10 months of negotiations, which finished with Lim purchasing 70 percent of the club’s shares for a price reported to be 94 million euros. reports Xinhua.
The complex deal sees Spanish bank, Bankia agree to re-finance the club’s outstanding debt, which is 230 million euros, while the Fundacion VFC, Valencia’s majority shareholder, agreed the sale.
James Harden scored 25 points to lead the Houston Rockets past the San Antonio Spurs 96-87 in their last pre-season game at the Toyota Center here.
The Rockets Friday night played without centre Dwight Howard, who suffered a laceration in his right forearm that required stitches, reports Xinhua.
The host team, nonetheless, played great defence and enjoyed a big lead throughout the game.
Harden scored 20 points in the third quarter alone, despite a lax performance in the first half in which he only managed five. He rested during the final period.
Borna Coric stunned Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal to reach the Swiss Indoors semifinals.
The 17-year-old Croatian showed superb form by beating the second seed 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the quarters Friday night, reports Xinhua.
Coric will face David Goffin after the Belgian beat fourth-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.
IANS
The Indian challenge came to an end at the $275,000 French Open Super Series when the country’s top shuttler Saina Nehwal lost her women’s singles quarterfinal to Shixian Wang of China here.
The Olympic bronze medallist fought well in the marathon match which lasted an hour and 10 minutes but eventually went down 19-21, 21-19, 15-21 to the second seeded Chinese at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin late Friday. With the win, Shixian levelled her career record to 5-all against Saina, reports Xinhua.
Sham Lal Sharma, senior Congress leader and Jammu and Kashmir minister for public health engineering, irrigation and flood control, has quit.
“I called on the state president of my party Saif-ud-Din Soz yesterday (Friday) evening and handed over my resignation. I have asked him to submit my resignation to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,” Sharma told IANS Saturday.
The Congress MLA from the Akhnoor assembly constituency said he had resigned against the manner in which the regularisation of thousands of casual workers engaged by the government since 1994 was being handled.
Actress Lindsay Lohan has been left “upset and uncomfortable” after appearing on “The Jonathan Ross Show” and being asked about the time in jail.
The actress’ team has now asked ITV (Independent Television) to remove sections of the interview from the show where Ross asks Lohan how long she’s been in prison.
Friends of Lohan claim that she felt “upset and uncomfortable” after being quizzed on her time in prison, reports mirror.co.uk.
Pakistan Army again resorted to unprovoked overnight firing at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region using mortars and automatic weapons, an official said Saturday.
“Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire at Balakote in Poonch district during the night,” defence spokesman Colonel Manish Mehta told IANS here.
“Pakistan started unprovoked firing at 8.30 p.m. using small arms, mortars and automatics,” he said.
The Indian side retaliated appropriately and no casualty has been reported on our side so far.
The Kenyan government Friday said it will remove all ghost workers from its payroll in November.
Ministry of Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Ann Waiguru told a media briefing in Nairobi that the ongoing biometric registration exercise has so far captured 90 percent of all public servants, Xinhua reported.
“We have clearly indicated that those employees who fail to present themselves for the exercise without justifiable cause will be deemed as ghost workers and subsequently will be removed from the payroll,” Waiguru said.
Nationalist Congress party (NCP) today praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for celebrating Diwali with the flood-hit people of Jammu and Kashmir. The party also appreciated the move of the Prime Minister of celebrating the festival with the soldiers guarding the frontier at the Siachen glacier.
Miffed over Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto‘s continuous bombast about wresting Kashmir from India, a Congress politician from Goa Friday sent him a “barking dog” as a gift. Congress organising secretary Durgadas Kamat claimed the barking dog was a perfect gift for Bhutto because he was continuously barking up the wrong tree as far as Kashmir is concerned.
The Indian camp had some consolation as Saketh Myneni, who lost his singles semi-final match, paired up with Sanam Singh to bag the men’s doubles title, defeating top seeded Thai twins of Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana 6-3, 6-2 in the $50,000 KPIT-MSLTA ATP Challenger tennis tournament here Friday.
Myneni and Sanam received cash prize of $3,100 and 90 tour points while the Thai tandem was richer by $1,800 and 55 points.
Sports lawyer Rahul Mehra on Friday alleged that pugilist Sarita Devi received no help and guidance from the Indian officials during the recent Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, which led to her protest and subsequent suspension by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
“Nobody stood by Sarita Devi except her husband. If there was support from the officials there, she would not have been forced to protest in such a manner. We should not blame her; rather we should blame the officials who are disconnected from the sports,” Mehra told ANI.
President Barack Obama has nominated Indian-American investment banker and philanthropist Azita Raji to the coveted diplomatic post of US ambassador to Sweden.
Raji, a top bundler for Obama who raised more than $3 million for his 2012 re-election campaign, was earlier appointed to the president’s Commission on White House Fellowship last year.
She previously worked as a vice president of JPMorgan, where she focused on fixed-income investments.
Unfazed by China’s objections to development of border areas, Government today announced setting up of 54 new border outposts and a Rs 175 crore package for beefing up the infrastructure along the border in Arunachal Pradesh.
The announcement was made by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh even as he made it clear that India wanted to solve the border dispute with China through dialogue, asserting “peace with honour” was most important requirement for building good friendly relations with that country and other neighbours.
World No.3 Spaniard Rafael Nadal Friday withdrew from the ATP Paris Masters, slated for next week, for personal reasons, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced.
The 28-year-old joined US Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia and World No.13 Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, both of whom pulled out of the tournament due to injuries, reports Xinhua.
French Open champion Nadal has already booked a place in the season-ending World Tour Finals in London next month.
IANS
The Patna Metro rail will be developed on the public-private partnership (PPP) model, Urban Development Minister Samrat Choudhary said Friday.
“In view of high cost, we have decided to opt for PPP model to implement the Patna Metro project,” Choudhary said.
According to officials, the project cost has been reduced to Rs.15,000 crore from Rs.17,000 crore estimated earlier.
The Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) is likely to submit a detailed project report (DPR) by Oct 31 to the state government.
Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova Friday condemned the murder of Paraguayan journalist Pablo Medina Velazquez and his assistant Antonia Maribel Almada Chamorro, who were shot dead Oct 16 near Curuguaty in southeastern Paraguay.
In a statement, Bokova called for the prosecution of those responsible for the murders, in order to prevent future acts of this kind, which cost the lives of journalists and violate the right to access information.
The highest altitude Ice Age human occupation anywhere in the world – nearly 4,500 metres above sea level (masl) – has now been documented in the Peruvian Andes.
Despite the cold temperature, high solar radiation and low oxygen conditions at the altitude, prehistoric people colonised the remote, treeless landscapes about 12,000 years ago during the terminal Pleistocene – within 2,000 years after humans arrived in South America.
The archaeologists led by University of Maine researchers discovered the settlement in a place called the Pucuncho Basin at an altitude of 4,355 metres.