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  • Estrogen-driven brain activity boosts binge drinking in females: Study

    Drinking alcohol when estrogen levels are surging could compel women to hit the bottle harder, thereby possibly driving them to ‘binge-drink’, researchers said after they found that female mice drank much more on days when the sex hormone’s levels were high.

    Representative image. Photo courtesy: Unsplash
    Female mice drank more when estrogen levels surged. Representative image. Photo courtesy: Unsplash

    The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, is the first to find that a higher estrogen level in the body promotes ‘binge-drinking’ behaviour in women by contributing to sex-specific differences, researchers said.

    Binge-drinking is said to intensify alcohol’s harmful effects, with women being more vulnerable to the negative health effects, compared to men.

    Researchers, led by those at Weill Cornell Medicine, US, previously showed that neurons in a brain region called ‘bed nucleus of the stria terminalis’, or BNST, were more excitable in female mice, compared to male ones.

    Sometimes referred to as the ‘extended amygdala’, the BNST is a central hub for regulating stress-related brain activity, including mood, anxiety and depression.

    The enhanced activity in the BNST correlated with the female mice’s binge drinking behaviour, the researchers said.

    “Estrogen has such powerful effects on so many behaviours, particularly in females. So, it makes sense that it would also modulate drinking,” senior author Kristen Pleil, associate professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine, said.

    In the latest study, the researchers monitored ‘estrogen’ hormone levels throughout the estrous cycle of female mice — the equivalent of menstrual cycle in women — following which, the mice were served alcohol.

    The team found that on days when a female mouse had high levels of estrogen circulating in the body, it drank more, compared to days with low levels.

    “We found that female mice displayed greater binge alcohol drinking and reduced avoidance when estrogen was high during the estrous cycle than when it was low,” the authors said.

    The intensified binge-drinking behaviour was related to heightened activity in the BNST, the researchers said.

    “When a female takes her first sip from the bottle containing alcohol, those neurons go crazy. And if she’s in a high-estrogen state, they go even crazier,” Pleil said.

    That extra boost of neural activity meant that the mice hit the bottle even harder, particularly within the first 30 minutes after the alcohol was made available, Pleil explained.

    The study’s findings could lead to new approaches for treating alcohol use disorder, the authors said.

  • Deceased OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji’s mother alleges foul play, demands FBI probe; Elon Musk agrees

    The mother of Suchir Balaji, the OpenAI whistleblower who was found dead in his apartment in San Francisco, has alleged foul play in her son’s death.

    Suchir Balaji with his mother Poornima. Photo courtesy: x.com/RaoPoornima
    Suchir Balaji with his mother Poornima. Photo courtesy: x.com/RaoPoornima

    While authorities have certified it as a suicide, Suchir’s mother demanded an FBI probe while stated her doubts on X.

    Poornima Rao, Suchir’s mother, tweeted: “Update on @suchirbalaji. We hired private investigator and did second autopsy to throw light on cause of death. Private autopsy doesn’t confirm cause of death stated by police.

    ALSO READ: USA: Indian-origin OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji found dead in apartment, Elon Musk reacts

    “Suchir’s apartment was ransacked, sign of struggle in the bathroom and looks like some one hit him in bathroom based on blood spots.

    “It’s a cold blooded mudr declared by authorities as suicide.

    “Lobbying in SF city doesn’t stop us from getting justices.

    “We demand FBi investigation

    Poornima received support from Elon Musk, who replied to the tweet, stating: “This doesn’t seem like a suicide.”

    Suchir was found dead in his Buchanan Street apartment on November 26, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department told TechCrunch.

    He previously made headlines after he accused OpenAI of violating US copyright law.

    In his interview with The New York Times, Suchir earlier said he left OpenAI because he no longer wanted to contribute to technologies that he believed would bring society more harm than benefit.

    According to reports, he even alleged that OpenAI was violating copyright law.

  • ISRO begins countdown for Space Docking Experiment onboard PSLV-C60 rocket

    The countdown for Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Space Docking Experiment onboard a PSLV rocket on Monday, December 30, that would be a key milestone in India’s space programme, commenced on Sunday evening, the space agency said.

    ISRO is gearing up for the launch on December 30. Photo courtesy: Screengrab from X.
    ISRO is gearing up for the launch on December 30. Photo courtesy: Screengrab from X.

    A cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for in-space docking, it would make India join an elite list featuring China, Russia and the US.

    ISRO has scheduled the lift-off of the PSLV-C60 rocket, at 10:15 pm from the first launch pad at this spaceport here on December 30 and it would carry SpaDeX with two spacecraft as the primary payloads along with 24 secondary payloads.

    “PSLV-C60/SpaDeX Mission Launch countdown commenced at 9 pm” on Sunday, an ISRO official told PTI.

    The in-space docking technology would be essential for taking up India’s ambitions in space, including sending human to the Moon, bringing samples from there, and also building and operating India’s own space station- Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

    The docking technology would also be utilised when multiple rocket launches are planned to achieve common mission objectives.

    ISRO said the two spacecraft in the PSLV rocket — Spacecraft A (SDX01) and Spacecraft B (SDX02) — would be placed in an orbit that would keep them 5 km apart from each other. Later, scientists at ISRO headquarters would try to bring them closer up to 3 metre which would subsequently lead them for merging together at an altitude of about 470km above Earth.

    The process is expected to take place about 10-14 days after the scheduled lift-off on Monday, ISRO officials said.

    In the SpaDeX mission, Spacecraft A carries a High-Resolution Camera, while Spacecraft B has Miniature Multispectral Payload and a Radiation Monitor Payload. These payloads would provide high-resolution images, natural resource monitoring, vegetation studies, among others.

    Apart from this significant mission, scientists would also conduct the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-4 (POEM-4) in which 24 payloads — 14 from ISRO and 10 from industry and academia — would be placed in the desired orbits one after the other over a 90-minute period after the lift-off.

    The life of the payloads in the fourth stage would be about three to four months. The vehicle for the PSLV-C60 mission used here would be the 18th Core-Alone variant.

    This would be ISRO’s last mission in 2024 and the PSLV-C60 is the first vehicle to be integrated up to the fourth stage at the PSLV Integration Facility that has been established here.

  • USA: Oldest survivor of Pearl Harbor attack dies at 105

    Oldest survivor of Pearl Harbor attack dies at 105
    Oldest Pearl Harbour attack survivor dies at 105. Photo Courtesy: U.S. Naval Institute X page

    The oldest American living survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack died on Christmas morning, media reports said.

    He was identified as 105-year-old World War II veteran Warren “Red” Upton.

    Upton was a “very humble, gentle, soft-spoken man,” who was “well-read and well-informed with current affairs,” Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, told CNN.

    “Warren never considered himself a hero,” Farley said.

    Upton passed away at a hospital in Los Gatos, California, early Wednesday morning, after suffering a bout of pneumonia for several days, Farley said.

    Barbara Upton, 57, told CNN she and her brother were at the hospital at the time of her father’s death.

    “He was a very good and humble man, and a little bit shy,” she told the news channel.

    She said her mother and father always taught them ‘good values’.

    Farley said Upton was the last surviving crew member of the battleship USS Utah, one of the seven ships sunk during the attack on December 7, 1941.

    He died just days after the 83rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack was observed.

    Born on October 17, 1919, in El Dorado, California, Upton served as a Navy radioman aboard the USS Utah, according to Farley and Upton’s daughter, reported CNN.

    The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, the United States, just before 8:00 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, December 7, 1941.

    At the time, the United States was a neutral country in World War II.

    The attack on Hawaii and other U.S. territories led the United States to formally enter World War II on the side of the Allies the day following the attack, on December 8, 1941.

  • Amsterdam-bound Dutch plane skids off Oslo airport runway after emergency landing

    Amsterdam-bound Dutch plane skids off Oslo airport runway. No casualty has been reported so far. This was the third major aviation mishap reported over the weekend with the deadliest occurring in South Korea where 179 people died after a flight crashed in Muan International Airport
    Dutch plane skids off runway after making emergency landing in Norway airport. Photo Courtesy: Nick Sortor X page

    On the day of a deadly air crash in South Korea claiming 179 lives, a major tragedy was averted after an Amsterdam-bound flight skidded off the runway at Oslo Torp Sandefjord Airport in southern Norway after it experienced a technical malfunction after takeoff.

    All 182 passengers, including the crew of the flight, remained unharmed.

    Sharing details about the flight, the Norwegian Police earlier wrote on its website: “A passenger plane en route from Oslo to Amsterdam has made an emergency landing at Torp Airport after a report of a hydraulic failure.”

    “The plane has landed on the runway,” police said.

    All passengers of the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines-operated Boeing 737-800 were evacuated from the flight.

    KLM has decided to send a flight to Oslo to pick up the passengers stranded in the airport, media reports said.

    Several videos of the flight are currently going viral on social media platforms.

    Meanwhile, an Air Canada flight made a perilous landing at Halifax airport as the plane skidded down the runway and caught fire. The plane touched down with a broken landing gear.

    No casualty has been reported while the video of the flames as it was landing has gone viral. 

    The Oslo incident occurred just hours before a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operated by Jeju Air, flying from Bangkok to South Korea with 181 people on board, crashed after it landed at Muan International Airport on Sunday.

    According to reports, 179 passengers on the flight died in the crash.

    Only two passengers were evacuated safely from the plane.

  • Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy wins second World Rapid Chess Championship

    Koneru Humpy wins second World Rapid Chess Championship

    Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy defeated Indonesia’s Irene Sukandar to clinch the historic second title at the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York on Sunday.

    She is now the second player after Ju Wenjun of China to win the title in the women’s section more than once.

    The final round of the match was crucial since Humpy could only bag the title by winning it.

    She had last won the title in 2019.

    Humpy won the title just weeks after D Gukesh lifted the Chess World Championship in the classical format.

    Gukesh became the second Indian player to win the prestigious title since Viswanathan Anand won it.

    Humpy thanks family members for supporting her

    Humpy thanked her family member for supporting her and credited them for the victory.

    “I think it was possible because of the support from my family. My husband, and my parents, support me a lot. Especially my parents look after my daughter when I travel. It’s not easy to become a World Champion when you are 37,” she said.

    “It’s quite difficult when you get older to keep that motivation and stay sharp when required. I’m glad that I made it,” the champion said.

    Narendra Modi congratulates Humpy

    Indian PM Narendra Modi appreciated her for the victory and said her grit and brilliance continue to inspire millions of people worldwide.

    Modi wrote on X: “Congratulations to @humpy_koneru on winning the 2024 FIDE Women’s World Rapid Championship! Her grit and brilliance continues to inspire millions.”

    “This victory is even more historic because it is her second world rapid championship title, thereby making her the only Indian to achieve this incredible feat,” he said.

  • Jasprit Bumrah completes 200 wickets in Test during ongoing fourth match against Australia 

    Jasprit Bumrah picks up 200 wickets in Test match
    Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah picks up 200 wickets in Test match. Photo Courtesy: BCCI X page

    Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday completed 200 wickets in Test cricket, touching yet another shining milestone in his career.

    He reached a glorious moment in his cricket career on the fourth day of the ongoing Test match against Australia.

    Bumrah completed picking up the 200th wicket of his career when he dismissed Australian batsman Travis Head on Day 4 of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

    With an average of 19.5 in Test cricket, he is ahead of legends like Malcolm Marshall (20.9), Joel Garner (21.0), and Curtly Ambrose (21.0).

    Bumrah touched a 200-wicket landmark while playing his 44th Test match.

    In terms of balls bowled, Bumran reached the mark by bowling 8484th legal delivery in Test cricket, the fastest among Indians.

    Internationally, he is just behind Waqar Younis (7725 balls), Dale Steyn (7848 balls), and Kagiso Rabada (8154 balls) in the elite list.

    He also became the first bowler in the world to take 200 Test wickets with a sub-20 average.

    India and Australia are fighting to take lead in the series which is evenly balanced at 1-1.

    India won the first Test match of the series under Bumrah’s leadership.

    He was serving as the temporary skipper in Rohit Sharma’s absence in the first Test.

  • At least 85 dead as Jeju Air flight crash-lands in South Korea

    At least 85 people were killed after a plane with 181 people on board crashed at South Korea’s Muan airport as it skidded off the runway while landing and burst into a fireball on Sunday, media reports said.

    According to the Yonhap news agency, the crash was reported in the South Jeolla province when the Jeju Air flight 2216 was arriving from Thailand.

    Jeju Air flight crashes in South Korea airport killing 85. Photo courtesy: Videograb from X

    Among the 181 on board, 175 were passengers and six were flight crew. 

    Emergency services were pressed into action at the airport around 9 am after the aircraft crashed into a fence and burst into flames following a failed belly landing attempt.

    Authorities rescued two people and continued evacuating passengers from the Boeing 737-800’s rear section.

    Captured footage showed the plane hurtling into the wall and then erupting. Visuals showed black smoke rising above the crash site.

    The crash is believed to have been caused by “contact with birds, resulting in malfunctioning landing gear”, said reports.

    Acting President Choi Sang-mok called for the mobilisation of all resources to save the passengers. “All related agencies must mobilise all available resources to save the personnel,” he instructed officials in a statement.

    Jeju Air in a statement said: “We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident at Muan Airport.
    We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused.”

    This is the second air crash within a week after an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane crashed on Wednesday in Kazakhstan, claiming 38 lives.

    Azerbaijan Airlines’ Flight J2-8243 crashed and caught fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities.

  • UNICEF assessment shows 2024 was one of the worst years in history for children in conflict

    UNICEF assessment shows 2024 was one of the worst years in history for children in conflict areas
     9-year-old Farzan in the ruins of his house in Ghor province, western Afghanistan (May 2024). Photo Courtesy: UNICEF/Naftalin

    The impact of armed conflicts on children around the world reached devastating and likely record levels in 2024, as per an assessment by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    The study, released on Friday, found that the rights of a record number of children were being violated, including by being killed and injured, missing out of school and life-saving vaccines, and being critically malnourished; the number was expected to grow.

    From Palestine to Myanmar, Haiti to Sudan, the world is experiencing the highest number of conflicts since World War II. Almost 19 percent of the world’s children – over 473 million – now live in conflict zones, and 47.2 million have been displaced by conflict and violence.

    Thousands of children have been killed and injured in Gaza, and in Ukraine, the UN verified more child casualties during the first nine months of 2024 than during all of 2023.

    There have been widespread reports of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in conflict settings.

    In Haiti, so far this year, there has been a 1,000 percent increase in reported incidents of sexual violence against children. In situations of armed conflict, children with disabilities also tend to be disproportionately exposed to violence and rights violations.

    Education severely disrupted

    More than 52 million children in countries affected by conflict are estimated to be out of school.

    Children in the Gaza Strip, and a significant portion of children in Sudan, have missed out on more than a year of education, while in countries such as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria, schools have been damaged, destroyed or repurposed, leaving millions of children without access to learning.

    The destruction of educational infrastructure and insecurity near schools have exacerbated an already dire situation for children’s education in these regions.

    Malnutrition and famine

    Malnutrition among children in conflict zones has also risen to alarming levels, as conflict and armed violence continue to be the primary drivers of hunger in numerous hotspots, disrupting food systems, displacing populations, and obstructing humanitarian access.

    For example, in Sudan, famine was declared in North Darfur, the first famine determination since 2017. In 2024, more than half a million people in five conflict-affected countries are estimated to be living in the most extreme food insecurity situations.

    Healthcare threatened

    Conflicts are also having a devastating effect on children’s access to critical healthcare.

    Around 40 percent of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children live in countries that are either partially or entirely affected by conflict.

    These children are often the most vulnerable to disease outbreaks like measles and polio, because of disruptions and lack of access to security, nutrition, and health services.

    The impact on children’s mental health is also huge; exposure to violence, destruction and the loss of loved ones can result in reactions such as depression, nightmares and difficulty sleeping, aggressive or withdrawn behaviour, sadness and fear, among others.

    This must not be the new normal

    “By almost every measure, 2024 has been one of the worst years on record for children in conflict in UNICEF’s history – both in terms of the number of children affected and the level of impact on their lives,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

    “A child growing up in a conflict zone is far more likely to be out of school, malnourished, or forced from their home – too often repeatedly – compared to a child living in places of peace. This must not be the new normal. We cannot allow a generation of children to become collateral damage to the world’s unchecked wars.”

  • India bids adieu to Manmohan Singh; former PM cremated with full state honours

    Former Indian PM Manmohan Singh last rites performed in New Delhi with full state honours.
    Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honours. Photo Courtesy: Congress X page video grab.

    India mourned as the last rites of Manmohan Singh, the county’s two-time Prime Minister, were performed with full state honours in New Delhi on Saturday, ending an era in Indian politics.

    Singh, who passed away on Thursday night at the age of 92, was given a gun salute.

    His funeral was conducted by following Sikh traditions.

    Draped in Indian the Indian national flag, Singh’s body was carried through the national capital on a flower-decked carriage on its way to the funeral site.

    President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were amongst those who paid their final tribute to the man, who was one of the longest serving Prime Ministers of India.

    Singh’s mortal remains were taken from his residence to Congress headquarters at 9 am.

    His final journey started from Congress’ headquarters later and reached the crematorium at 11:30 pm.

    Slogans of “Manmohan Singh Amar Rahe” (long live Manmohan Singh) filled the air.

    Before becoming the PM, Singh served as India’s Finance Minister, as well as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

    He rose to prominence as the FM during the Congress regime headed by PV Narasimha Rao from 1991 to 1996, for bringing sweeping reforms that transformed the economy.

    As the two-term UPA Prime Minister, he stayed at the top post from 2004 to 2014 and served as a member of the Rajya Sabha till early this year.

    He retired from the Rajya Sabha in April.