10p diabetes drug could treat breast cancer patients

Scientists have developed a new test that identifies patients who could benefit from the cheap treatment. They found that the people whose cancer cells “fed” off high-energy compounds were more likely to see their tumours spread or to die. This meant they could be helped by being given the diabetes drug, metformin, which stops the “fuel supply” for aggressive cancer cells. Professor Michael Lisanti, from the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit at the University of Manchester, said: “We’ve shown that the saying, ‘you are what you eat’ holds true for cancer. The food cancer cells consume is crucial to how well a patient does and what...

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Vodka Redbull lead to more risky behaviour than just alcohol

Researchers found that while physical and mental impairment were no different with the combination, the feeling of intoxication was higher. This heady mix could lead to greater risk taking and more chance of causing injury or embarrassment. Professor Cecille Marczinski and her colleagues randomly assigned 56 college student participants between the ages of 21 and 33, to one of four groups. One received alcohol, the other energy drinks while a third group was given both together and a final group a non-stimulating soft Beveridge. "The findings from this study provide concrete laboratory evidence that the mixture of energy drinks with alcohol...

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Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on review

THE FIRST THING we noticed about Samsung's latest smartphone when we picked it up at The Gadget Show this week was its weight. It is comfortable to hold considering its large screen size but feels worryingly light, which gives the impression of poor quality. But this is easily forgotten and makes other phones seem bulky. The chassis of the phone is quite plasticky and seemed a bit fragile. We would expect more for our money in this case, with many competing phones coming with better build quality such as an aluminium uni-body. The Galaxy S II has a 1.2GHz processor that is more than capable of the tasks it has to carry out. We found that...

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Nokia's Pushmail Banned In India

The telecom department has been asked by the home ministry to bar mobile phone companies from launching Nokia's popular messaging service--pushmail/powermail--in India until it put in place a legal monitoring system. “In view of the Intelligence Bureau’s report, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is requested to advice the Telecom Service Providers not to launch Nokia’s proposed pushmail/powermail service without putting in place monitoring facilities to the satisfaction of the LEAs,” ministry of home affairs told the Department of Telecom. Nokia Messaging is a push e-mail UI that enables mobile users with compatible Nokia phones...

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BlackBerry chief walks out of interview when asked on India's demand

Research In Motion RIM founder Mike Lazaridis ordered a BBC reporter to stop the interview after he was asked questions about his problems with India and Middle East countries which are seeking access to BlackBerry enterprise emails in view of national security issues."That's just not fair," Mike Lazaridis shot back at BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones when he posed this question to the RIM co-CEO at a recent interview. Looking sideways, a visibly upset RIM boss said, "First of all, we have no security problem. We've got the most secure platform. We've just been singled out because we're so successful around the world." When...

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Superbug threat: Govt mulls introducing new 'schedule'

New Delhi: The threat of a multi-drug resistant superbug looming large has forced the government to consider introduction of a separate schedule in the existing Drugs Act to regulate and check unauthorised sale of antibiotics in the country. According to the current law, schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act contains a list of 536 drugs which are required to be dispensed on the prescriptions of a registered medical practitioner. In order to have separate regulation to check unauthorised sale of antibiotics, a 'Schedule H1' may be introduced under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, a senior health ministry official told a news agency. As...

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Study: 2 million babies stillborn every year

More than 2 million babies are stillborn every year worldwide and about half could be saved if their mothers had better medical care, according to researchers' estimates. While the vast majority of stillbirths happen in the developing world, the rates in countries including Britain, France and the U.S. have not dropped to the degree many experts had expected, as rising obesity levels among pregnant women increase the risk. Experts say providing better obstetric care, treating conditions like syphilis, high blood pressure and diabetes in mothers, among other strategies, could save more than 1 million infants every year. The research was paid...

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Our addiction to antibiotics created the superbug

In the December 2009 edition of Antimicrobials and Chemotherapy, an article carried the lines: "A Swedish patient of Indian origin travelled to New Delhi, India, and acquired a urinary tract infection caused by a carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain." But it was the next line that really caught the attention of the microbiological and infectious disease fraternity: "The isolate, Klebsiella pneumoniae 05-506, was shown to possess a metallo-ßbeta-lactamase (MBL) but was negative for previously known MBL genes." Of course, beta lactamases are hardly exotic, in fact they traipse around hospital wards with the wild abandon only a microscopic...

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Review: Teen Thay Bhai

Teen Thay Bhai is a film so bewildering and tonally inconsistent that as you watch, you can only wonder: what were these people smoking? The story, about three estranged brothers who are forced to spend time together because of their grandfather’s will, must have sounded good on paper. But the film careens wildly going from slapstick to stoner comedy to high emotion to a chest-waxing scene that echoes The 40 Year Old Virgin. And yet, despite the frantic activity, it manages to be staggeringly boring. Which, given the talent involved, is an absolute shame. The film is produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and the brothers Chixie, Happy and Fancy...

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Angry over cancellation of Akon`s concert, fans protest

Pune: Angry fans, disappointed with the cancellation of popular American songwriter-singer Akon`s concert, protested here tonight, sources close to the artiste said. Akon was not given permission to perform as the local organizers did not have the necessary foreign artiste performance license, a spokesperson of the event manager said. Protesting fans created ruckus in the conference hall of a hotel here. Police, however, said that no official complaint of damage to hotel property has been registered with them and the organizers were refunding the ticket money of the full hou...

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Akon wants to act in Bollywood movies

Senegalese-American singer Akon, who will be performing in a concert in India, on Friday expressed his desire to act in Bollywood films. "I am waiting to get into Bollywood movies. I'm not quite sure what character I would want to play...but I definitely want to do it," Akon told reporters in Mumbai. The 'Smack that' hit maker has worked with composer Aadesh Srivastava and also sang a song for Shah Rukh Khan's forthcoming film "RaOne". "It was an amazing experience to work with Shah Rukh. Actually he opened me up to Bollywood. I can remember all the Khans. I enjoyed so much that I am trying to get into Bollywood," the singer said. The R&B...

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India cautious over wheat exports as inflation bites

Any government faced with huge grain stockpiles, strengthening global prices and prospects of record output would be tempted to jump into export markets, but India's policy makers will think twice before opening the floodgates for exports of wheat. Wheat shipments from the world's second-largest producer could partly fill a gap in global supplies caused by a shortfall in production in key exporters and calm the international market, which has soared almost 60% since April last year. But India's federal government is expected to tread cautiously and, in the best-case scenario, allow exports of no more than 2-3 million tonne -- just a fraction...

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ABCIL buys Kanoria Chemical's division

Aditya Birla Chemicals (India) (ABCIL) has acquired the Chloro Chemicals division (CCD) of Kanoria Chemicals & Industries for a cash consideration of Rs.830 crore. Aditya Birla Chemicals currently makes chlor alkali at its plant at Rehla in Jharkhand. According to a release, the Chloro Chemicals division of Kanoria is located at Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh, and makes chlor-alkalis, chlorine derivatives and water treatment chemicals. The annual capacity of caustic soda at the facility is 1.15 lakh tonnes. It is a cost competitive manufacturer with captive power plants and coal linkage and forward integration into value adding chlorine derivatives....

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Sensex slides 310 pts on weak infy guidance, inflation nos

Indian equity benchmarks shattered after the IT bellwether Infosys' disappointing earnings per share guidance for FY12 and spike up in inflation numbers on Friday. Unwinding pressure and build up of shorts halted the Wednesday's surprised rally by erasing more than 75% of gains on the Nifty in today's trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty shed more than 100 points during the day to hit a day's low of 5806, before closing at 5,824.55, down 86.95 points or 1.47%, dragged down by 42 stocks out of 50. Mitesh Thacker of miteshthacker.com feels that the market might be in the range of 5750-5910 for next few days. "Clearly 5900 is the level to watch for...

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India, Kazakhstan Sign Nuclear, Oil Pacts

Astana : Embarking on an ambitious roadmap to consolidate their strategic partnership, India and Kazakhstan today signed seven pacts, including a framework agreement in civil nuclear field and a stake-sharing accord in oil sector, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying there was “vast potential” for cooperation in all areas. At wide-ranging talks between Singh and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, the two sides also decided to work for pushing the bilateral trade, which was currently as low as USD 300 million, through engagement of governments and business communities and diversifying to non-oil sectors like pharma, agriculture and...

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Obama Says Gaddafi Is Feeling Pressure To Leave

Chicago  : President Barack Obama says a military stalemate exists on the ground in Libya, but the United States and NATO have averted a “wholesale slaughter” and Muammar Gaddafi is under increasing pressure to leave.  Obama tells The Associated Press he doesn’t see a need to resume direct US participation in enforcing the no-fly zone, saying it’s assisting with intelligence, jamming and refuelling. He acknowledges there’s essentially a stalemate there, but adds that the NATO operation is less than a month old.  Obama says Gaddafi is “getting squeezed in all different kinds of ways,” asserting he’s running out of money and supplies. The...

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NATO Leaders Vow To Oust Gaddafi, Libyan Army Pounds Misurata

Tripoli : Leaders of US, UK and France today vowed to intensify the military campaign in Libya to force Muammar Gaddafi to quit as NATO bombed the capital Tripoli amid massive pounding by government troops of besieged western town of Misurata and key eastern city of Ajdabiya For the second day in a row, pro-Gaddafi forces pounded Misurata, killing at least eight people. A local doctor said seven other civilians, including children and older people, were wounded today in the attacks on Libya’s third-biggest city that has been the scene of major fighting between rebels and Gaddafi’s forces for several weeks. Al Jazeera quoted residents as...

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Over 97 Lakh Voters To Cast Ballots In First Phase Poll In WB

Kolkata : Amidst tight security, 54 assembly constituencies spread across six districts in West Bengal will go to polls in the first phase tomorrow with 97.42 lakh voters expected to exercise their franchise.  The main contest is between CPI-M-led Left Front and Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance. BJP has also fielded candidates in 49 seats. Multi-cornered contests are on the cards in all 54 constituencies in the first phase which would decide the fate of ten ministers. In all, 364 candidates are in the fray in the 54 seats. Tight security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful, free and fair polling in all the constituencies...

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Former Jaipur Ruler Maharaja Bhawani Singh Passes Away

Jaipur : The former ruler of Jaipur Brigadier (Retd) Maharaja Bhawani Singh passed away on Saturday night at the Medicity hospital in Gurgaon near Delhi, doctors said. Bhawani  Singh, 80, was admitted to the hospital as he was not keeping well for some time. He breathed his last at aroun 1 am, family sources said, according to India TV correspondent Sangeeta Pranavendra. Bhawani Singh was successor to the last Maharajah of Jaipur Sawai Man Singh II.  He is survived by his wife Padmini Devi and daughter Diya Kumari. The last rites will be performed on Monday here. Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur, MVC (born 1931) was the last...

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17 Coins Extracted From Youth's Stomach In UP

Aligarh :  Doctors at the Narayani Hospital here were surprised to find 17 coins inside the stomach of a 20-year-old youth Avinash from Jalesar near Etah in Uttar Pradesh, reports India TV correspondent Pradeep Saraswat. Avinash had been stealing coins from his friends for the last six years, doctors said. His secret was out when he suffered stomach disorder ten days ago  and was asked to undergo  an ultrasound test. Seventeen coins of Re 1, Rs 2, 50 paise, 20 paise and 10 paise were extracted from his stomach by the surgeons. Says Dr Sanjeev Garg of Narayani Hospital: "Because of the coins lying in his stomach his intestines...

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