1) The Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine 2023:
the 2023 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine jointly to Katalin Karikó
and Drew Weissman.
for their discoveries
concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of
effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19
The discoveries by the
two Nobel Laureates were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines
against COVID-19 during the pandemic that began in early 2020. Through their
groundbreaking findings, which have fundamentally changed our understanding of
how mRNA interacts with our immune system, the laureates contributed to the
unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to
human health in modern times.
Vaccines before the
pandemic
Vaccination stimulates
the formation of an immune response to a particular pathogen. This gives the
body a head start in the fight against disease in the event of a later
exposure. Vaccines based on killed or weakened viruses have long been
available, exemplified by the vaccines against polio, measles, and yellow
fever. In 1951, Max Theiler was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine for developing the yellow fever vaccine.
Thanks to the progress
in molecular biology in recent decades, vaccines based on individual viral
components, rather than whole viruses, have been developed. Parts of the viral
genetic code, usually encoding proteins found on the virus surface, are used to
make proteins that stimulate the formation of virus-blocking antibodies.
Examples are the vaccines against the hepatitis B virus and human
papillomavirus. Alternatively, parts of the viral genetic code can be moved to
a harmless carrier virus, a “vector.” This method is used in vaccines against
the Ebola virus. When vector vaccines are injected, the selected viral protein
is produced in our cells, stimulating an immune response against the targeted
virus.
Producing whole virus-,
protein- and vector-based vaccines requires large-scale cell culture. This
resource-intensive process limits the possibilities for rapid vaccine
production in response to outbreaks and pandemics. Therefore, researchers have
long attempted to develop vaccine technologies independent of cell culture, but
this proved challenging.
mRNA vaccines: A
promising idea
In our cells, genetic
information encoded in DNA is transferred to messenger RNA (mRNA), which is
used as a template for protein production. During the 1980s, efficient methods
for producing mRNA without cell culture were introduced, called in vitro
transcription. This decisive step accelerated the development of molecular
biology applications in several fields. Ideas of using mRNA technologies for
vaccine and therapeutic purposes also took off, but roadblocks lay ahead. In
vitro transcribed mRNA was considered unstable and challenging to deliver,
requiring the development of sophisticated carrier lipid systems to encapsulate
the mRNA. Moreover, in vitro-produced mRNA gave rise to inflammatory reactions.
Enthusiasm for developing the mRNA technology for clinical purposes was,
therefore, initially limited.
These obstacles did not
discourage the Hungarian biochemist Katalin Karikó, who was devoted to
developing methods to use mRNA for therapy. During the early 1990s, when she
was an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, she remained true
to her vision of realizing mRNA as a therapeutic despite encountering
difficulties in convincing research funders of the significance of her project.
A new colleague of Karikó at her university was the immunologist Drew Weissman.
He was interested in dendritic cells, which have important functions in immune
surveillance and the activation of vaccine-induced immune responses. Spurred by
new ideas, a fruitful collaboration between the two soon began, focusing on how
different RNA types interact with the immune system.
The breakthrough
Karikó and Weissman
noticed that dendritic cells recognize in vitro transcribed mRNA as a foreign
substance, which leads to their activation and the release of inflammatory
signaling molecules. They wondered why the in vitro transcribed mRNA was
recognized as foreign while mRNA from mammalian cells did not give rise to the
same reaction. Karikó and Weissman realized that some critical properties must
distinguish the different types of mRNA.
RNA contains four bases,
abbreviated A, U, G, and C, corresponding to A, T, G, and C in DNA, the letters
of the genetic code. Karikó and Weissman knew that bases in RNA from mammalian
cells are frequently chemically modified, while in vitro transcribed mRNA is
not. They wondered if the absence of altered bases in the in vitro transcribed
RNA could explain the unwanted inflammatory reaction. To investigate this, they
produced different variants of mRNA, each with unique chemical alterations in
their bases, which they delivered to dendritic cells. The results were
striking: The inflammatory response was almost abolished when base
modifications were included in the mRNA. This was a paradigm change in our
understanding of how cells recognize and respond to different forms of mRNA.
Karikó and Weissman immediately understood that their discovery had profound
significance for using mRNA as therapy. These seminal results were published in
2005, fifteen years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In further studies
published in 2008 and 2010, Karikó and Weissman showed that the delivery of
mRNA generated with base modifications markedly increased protein production
compared to unmodified mRNA. The effect was due to the reduced activation of an
enzyme that regulates protein production. Through their discoveries that base
modifications both reduced inflammatory responses and increased protein
production, Karikó and Weissman had eliminated critical obstacles on the way to
clinical applications of mRNA. mRNA vaccines realized their potential
Interest in mRNA
technology began to pick up, and in 2010, several companies were working on
developing the method. Vaccines against Zika virus and MERS-CoV were pursued;
the latter is closely related to SARS-CoV-2. After the outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic, two base-modified mRNA vaccines encoding the SARS-CoV-2 surface
protein were developed at record speed. Protective effects of around 95% were
reported, and both vaccines were approved as early as December 2020.
The impressive
flexibility and speed with which mRNA vaccines can be developed pave the way
for using the new platform also for vaccines against other infectious diseases.
In the future, the technology may also be used to deliver therapeutic proteins
and treat some cancer types.
Several other vaccines
against SARS-CoV-2, based on different methodologies, were also rapidly
introduced, and together, more than 13 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been
given globally. The vaccines have saved millions of lives and prevented severe
disease in many more, allowing societies to open and return to normal
conditions. Through their fundamental discoveries of the importance of base
modifications in mRNA, this year’s Nobel laureates critically contributed to
this transformative development during one of the biggest health crises of our
time.
Katalin Karikó was born in 1955 in Szolnok, Hungary. She received her
PhD from Szeged’s University in 1982 and performed postdoctoral research at the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Szeged until 1985. She then conducted
postdoctoral research at Temple University, Philadelphia, and the University of
Health Science, Bethesda. In 1989, she was appointed Assistant Professor at the
University of Pennsylvania, where she remained until 2013. After that, she
became vice president and later senior vice president at BioNTech RNA
Pharmaceuticals. Since 2021, she has been a Professor at Szeged University and
an Adjunct Professor at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Drew Weissman was born in 1959 in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. He
received his MD, PhD degrees from Boston University in 1987. He did his
clinical training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical
School and postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health. In 1997,
Weissman established his research group at the Perelman School of Medicine at
the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine
Research and Director of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovations.
2)The Nobel Prize
in Physics 2023:
The Nobel Prize in
Physics 2023 was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier
"for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the
study of electron dynamics in matter"
Electrons in pulses
of light
Through their
experiments, this year’s laureates have created fashes of light that are short
enough
to take snapshots of
electrons’ extremely rapid movements. Anne L’Huillier discovered a new effect
from laser light’s
interaction with atoms in a gas. Pierre Agostini and Ferenc Krausz demonstrated
that this effect can be
used to create shorter pulses of light than were previously possible.
A tiny hummingbird can beat
its wings 80 times per second. We are only able to perceive this as a whirring
sound and blurred movement. For the human senses, rapid movements blur
together,and extremely short events are impossible to observe. We need to use
technological tricks to capture or depict these very brief instants.High-speed
photography and strobe lighting make it possible to capture detailed images of
feeting phenomena. A highly focused photograph of a hummingbird in fight
requires an exposure time that is much shorter than a single wingbeat. The
faster the event, the faster the picture needs to be taken if it is to capture
the instant.
The same principle
applies to all the methods used to measure or depict rapid processes; any
measurementmust be done more quickly than the time it takes for the system
being studied to undergo a noticeable change, otherwise the result is vague.
This year’s laureates have conducted experiments that demonstrate a method for
producing pulses of light that are brief enough to capture images of processes
inside atoms and molecules.
Atoms’ natural time
scale is incredibly short. In a molecule, atoms can move and turn in millionths
of a billionth of a second, femtoseconds. These movements can be studied with
the very shortest pulses that can be produced with a laser – but when entire
atoms move the timescale is determined by their large and heavy nuclei, which
are extremely slow compared to light and nimble electrons.When electrons move
inside atoms or molecules, they do it so quickly that changes are blurred out
in a femtosecond. In the world of electrons, positions and energies change at
speeds of between oneand a few hundred attoseconds, where an attosecond is one
billionth of a billionth of a second.
An attosecond is so
short that that the number of them in one second is the same as the number of
seconds that have elapsed since the universe came into existence, 13.8 billion
years ago. On a more relatable scale, we can imagine a fash of light being sent
from one end of a room to the oppositewall – this takes ten billion
attoseconds.
A femtosecond was long
regarded as the limit for the fashes of light it was possible to produce.
Improving existing technology was not enough to see processes occurring on the
amazingly brief timescales of electrons; something entirely new was required.
This year’s laureates conducted experiments that opened up the new research
feld of attosecond physics.
Shorter pulses with
the help of high overtones
Light consists of waves
– vibrations in electrical and magnetic felds – that move through a vacuum
faster than anything else. These have diferent wavelengths, equivalent to
diferent colours. For example, red light has a wavelength of about 700
nanometres, one hundredth the width of a hair, and it cycles at about four
hundred and thirty thousand billion times per second. We can think of the
shortest possible pulse of light as the length of a single period in the light
wave, the cycle where it swings up to a peak, down to a trough, and back to its
starting point. In this case, the wavelengths used in ordinary laser systems
are never able to get below a femtosecond, so in the 1980s this wasregarded as
a hard limit for the shortest possible bursts of light.The mathematics that
describes waves demonstrates that any wave form can be built if enough waves of
the right sizes, wavelengths and amplitudes (distances between peaks and
troughs) are used. The trick to attosecond pulses is that it is possible to
make shorter pulses by combining moreand shorter wavelengths.Observing
electrons’ movements on an atomic scale requires short-enough pulses of light,
whichmeans combining short waves of many diferent wavelengths.
To add new wavelengths
to light, more than just a laser is necessary; the key to accessing the
briefest instant ever studied is a phenomenon that arises when laser light
passes through a gas. The light interacts with its atoms and causes overtones –
waves that complete a number of entire cycles for eachcycle in the original
wave. We can compare this to the overtones that give a sound its
particularcharacter, allowing us to hear the diference between the same note
played on a guitar and a piano.
In 1987, Anne L’Huillier
and her colleagues at a French laboratory were able to produce and demonstrate
overtones using an infrared laser beam that was transmitted through a noble
gas. The infrared light
caused more and stronger
overtones than the laser with shorter wavelengths that had been used in
previous experiments. In this experiment, many overtones of about the same
light intensity were observed. In a series of articles, L’Huillier continued to
explore this efect during the 1990s, including at her new base, Lund
University. Her results contributed to the theoretical understanding of this
phenomenon, laying the foundation of the next experimental breakthrough.
Escaping electrons
create overtones
When the laser light
enters the gas and afects its atoms, it causes electromagnetic vibrations that
distort the electric feld holding the electrons around the atomic nucleus. The
electrons can then escape from the atoms. However, the light’s electrical feld
vibrates continuously and, when it changes direction, a loose electron may rush
back to its atom’s nucleus. During the electron’s excursion it collected lots
of extra energy from the laser light’s electrical feld and, to reattach to the
nucleus, it must release its excess energy as a pulse of light. These light
pulses from the electrons are what create the overtones that appear in the
experiments.
Once these overtones
exist, they interact with each other. The light becomes more intense when the
lightwaves’ peaks coincide, but becomes less intense when the peak in one cycle
coincides with the trough of another. In the right circumstances, the overtones
coincide so that a series of pulses of ultraviolet light occur, where each
pulse is a few hundred attoseconds long. Physicists understood the theory
behind this in the 1990s, but the breakthrough in actually identifying and
testing the pulses occurred in 2001
Pierre Agostini and his
research group in France succeeded in producing and investigating a series of
consecutive light pulses, like a train with carriages. They used a special
trick, putting the “pulse train” together with a delayed part of the original
laser pulse, to see how the overtones were in phase with each other. This
procedure also gave them a measurement for the duration of the pulses
in the train, and they
could see that each pulse lasted just 250 attoseconds.At the same time, Ferenc
Krausz and his research group in Austria were working on a technique that
could select a single
pulse – like a carriage being uncoupled from a train and switched to another
track. The pulse they succeeded in isolating lasted 650 attoseconds and the
group used it to track and study a process in which electrons were pulled away
from their atoms.
These experiments
demonstrated that attosecond pulses could be observed and measured, and that
they could also be used in new experiments. Now that the attosecond world has
become accessible, these short bursts of light can be used to study the
movements of electrons. It is now possible to produce pulses down to just a few
dozen attoseconds, and this technology is developing all the time
Electrons’
movements have become accessible
Attosecond pulses make
it possible to measure the time it takes for an electron to be tugged away from
an atom, and to examine how the time this takes depends on how tightly the
electron is bound to the atom’s nucleus. It is possible to reconstruct how the
distribution of electrons oscillates from side to side or place to place in
molecules and materials; previously their position could only be measured as an
average.
Attosecond pulses can be
used to test the internal processes of matter, and to identify diferent events.
These pulses have been used to explore the detailed physics of atoms and
molecules, and they have potential applications in areas from electronics to
medicine.
For example, attosecond
pulses can be used to push molecules, which emit a measurable signal. The
signal from the molecules has a special structure, a type of fngerprint that
reveals what molecule it is, and the possible applications of this include
medical diagnostics.
Pierre Agostini. PhD 1968 from Aix-Marseille University, France.
Professor at The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
Ferenc Krausz, born 1962 in Mór, Hungary. PhD 1991 from Vienna
University of Technology, Austria. Director at Max Planck Institute of Quantum
Optics, Garching and Professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München,
Germany.
Anne L’Huillier, born 1958 in Paris, France. PhD 1986 from University
Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France. Professor at Lund University, Sweden.
3) The Nobel Prize
in Chemistry 2023:
Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis
E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov are awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 for
the discovery and development of quantum dots. These tiny particles have unique
properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps.
They catalyse chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumour
tissue for a surgeon.
Moungi G. Bawendi, born 1961 in Paris, France. PhD 1988 from University of
Chicago, IL, USA. Professor at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT),
Cambridge, MA, USA.
Louis E. Brus, born 1943 in Cleveland, OH, USA. PhD 1969 from Columbia
University, New York, NY, USA. Professor at Columbia University, New York, NY,
USA.
Alexei I. Ekimov, born 1945 in the former USSR. PhD 1974 from Ioffe
Physical-Technical Institute, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Formerly Chief
Scientist at Nanocrystals Technology Inc., New York, NY, USA.
They added colour
to nanotechnology
“Toto, I’ve a feeling
we’re not in Kansas anymore,” is a classic quote from the film The Wizard of
Oz. Twelve-year-old Dorothy faints onto her bed when her house is swept away by
a powerful tornado, but when the house lands again and she steps outside the
door, her dog Toto in her arms, everything has changed. Suddenly she is in a
magical, technicolour world.
If an enchanted tornado
were to sweep into our lives and shrink everything to nano dimensions, we would
almost certainly be as astonished as Dorothy in the land of Oz. Our
surroundings would be dazzlingly colourful and everything would change. Our
gold earrings would suddenly glimmer in blue, while the gold ring on our finger
would shine a ruby red. If we tried to fry something on the gas hob, the frying
pan might melt. And our white walls – whose paint contains titanium dioxide –
would start generating lots of reactive oxygen species.
Size matters on the
nanoscale
In the nanoworld, things
really do behave differently. Once the size of matter starts to be measured in
millionths of a millimetre, strange phenomena start to occur – quantum effects
– that challenge our intuition. The 2023 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have all
been pioneers in the exploration of the nanoworld. In the early 1980s, Louis
Brus and Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating – independently of each other –
quantum dots, which are nanoparticles so tiny that quantum effects determine
their characteristics. In 1993, Moungi Bawendi revolutionised the methods for
manufacturing quantum dots, making their quality extremely high – a vital
prerequisite for their use in today’s nanotechnology.
Thanks to the work of
the laureates, humanity is now able to utilise some of the peculiar properties
of the nanoworld. Quantum dots are now found in commercial products and used
across many scientific disciplines, from physics and chemistry to medicine –
but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s uncover the background to the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023.
For decades,
quantum phenomena in the nanoworld were just a prediction
Researchers were
fascinated by this insight and, using mathematical tools, they succeeded in
predicting numerous size-dependent quantum effects. They also worked to try to
demonstrate them in reality, but this was easier said than done because they
needed to sculpt a structure that was about a million times smaller than a
pinhead.
Few people thought
quantum effects could be utilised
Still, in the 1970s,
researchers did succeed in making such a nanostructure. Using a type of
molecular beam, they created a nano-thin layer of coating material on top of a
bulk material. Once the assembly was complete, they were able to show that the
coating’s optical properties varied depending on how thin it was, an
observation that matched the predictions of quantum mechanics.
This was a major
breakthrough, but the experiment required very advanced technology. Researchers
needed both an ultra-high vacuum and temperatures close to absolute zero, so
few people expected that quantum mechanical phenomena would be put to practical
use. However, now and again science offers up the unexpected and, this time,
the turning point was due to studies of an ancient invention: coloured glass.
A single substance
can give glass different colours
The oldest
archaeological finds of coloured glass are from several thousand years ago.
Glassmakers have tested their way to an understanding of how glass can be
produced in all the colours of the rainbow. They added substances such as
silver, gold and cadmium and then played with different temperatures to produce
beautiful shades of glass.
In the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, when physicists started to investigate the optical
properties of light, the glassmakers’ knowledge was put to use. Physicists
could use coloured glass to filter out selected wavelengths of light. To
optimise their experiments, they started to produce glass themselves, which led
to important insights. One thing they learned was that a single substance could
result in completely differently coloured glass. For example, a mixture of
cadmium selenide and cadmium sulphide could make glass turn either yellow or
red – which one it became depended on how much the molten glass was heated and how
it was cooled. Eventually, they were also able to show that the colours came
from particles forming inside the glass and that the colour depended on the
particles’ size.
This was more or less
the state of the knowledge at the end of the 1970s, when one of this year’s
laureates, Alexei Ekimov, a recent doctoral graduate, started working at the S.
I. Vavilov State Optical Institute in what was then the Soviet Union.
Alexei Ekimov maps
the mysteries of coloured glass
The fact that a single
substance could result in different coloured glass interested Alexei Ekimov,
because it is actually illogical. If you paint a picture in cadmium red, it
will always be cadmium red, unless you mix in other pigments. So how could a
single substance give glass of different colours?
During his doctoral
degree, Ekimov studied semiconductors – important components in
microelectronics. In this field, optical methods are used as diagnostic tools
for assessing the quality of semiconducting material. Researchers shine light
on the material and measure the absorbance. This reveals what substances the
material is made from and how well-ordered the crystal structure is.
Ekimov was familiar with
these methods, so he began using them to examine coloured glass. After some
initial experiments, he decided to systematically produce glass that was tinted
with copper chloride. He heated the molten glass to a range of temperatures
between 500°C and 700°C, varying the heating time from 1 hour to 96 hours. Once
the glass had cooled and hardened, he X-rayed it. The scattered rays showed
that tiny crystals of copper chloride had formed inside the glass and the
manufacturing process affected the size of these particles. In some of the
glass samples they were only about two nanometres, in others they were up to 30
nanometres.
Interestingly, it turned
out that the glass’ light absorption was affected by the size of the particles.
The biggest particles absorbed the light in the same way that copper chloride
normally does, but the smaller the particles, the bluer the light that they
absorbed. As a physicist, Ekimov was well acquainted with the laws of quantum
mechanics and quickly realised that he had observed a size-dependent quantum
effect (figure 3).
This was the first time
someone had succeeded in deliberately producing quantum dots – nanoparticles
that cause size-dependent quantum effects. In 1981, Ekimov published his
discovery in a Soviet scientific journal, but this was difficult for
researchers on the other side of the Iron Curtain to access. Therefore, this
year’s next Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry – Louis Brus – was unaware of
Alexei Ekimov’s discovery when, in 1983, he was the first researcher in the
world to discover size-dependent quantum effects in particles floating freely
in a solution.
Brus shows that the
strange properties of particles are quantum effects
Louis Brus was working
at Bell Laboratories in the US, with the long-term aim of making chemical
reactions happen using solar energy. To achieve this, he was using particles of
cadmium sulphide, which can capture light and then utilise its energy to drive
reactions. The particles were in a solution and Brus made them very small,
because this gave him a larger area on which the chemical reactions could take
place; the more a material is chopped up, the greater the surface area it will
expose to its surroundings.
During his work with
these tiny particles, Brus noticed something strange – their optical properties
changed after he had left them on the lab bench for a while. He guessed that
this could be because the particles had grown, so to confirm his suspicions he
produced cadmium sulphide particles that were just about 4.5 nanometres in
diameter. Brus then compared the optical properties of these newly made
particles with those of the larger particles, which had a diameter of about
12.5 nanometres. The larger particles absorbed light at the same wavelengths as
cadmium sulphide generally does, but the smaller particles had an absorption
that shifted towards blue (figure 3).
Just like Ekimov, Brus
understood that he had observed a size-dependent quantum effect. He published
his discovery in 1983 and then started investigating particles made from a
range of other substances. The pattern was the same – the smaller the
particles, the bluer the light they absorbed.
The periodic table
gained a third dimension
This is where you may be
tempted to ask “Why does it matter if a substance’s absorbance is slightly more
towards blue? Why is that so amazing?”
Well, the optical
changes revealed that the substance’s characteristics had completely changed. A
substance’s optical properties are governed by its electrons. The same
electrons also govern the substance’s other properties, such as its ability to
catalyse chemical reactions or conduct electricity. So when researchers
detected the changed absorption they understood that, in principle, they were
looking at an entirely new material.
If you want to
understand the magnitude of this discovery, you can imagine that the periodic
table suddenly gained a third dimension. An element’s properties are not only
affected by the number of electron shells and how many electrons there are it
the outer shell but, at the nano level, size also matters. A chemist who wanted
to develop a new material thus had another factor to play with – of course this
tickled researchers’ imaginations!
There was just one
problem. The methods Brus had used to fabricate nonparticles generally resulted
in unpredictable quality. Quantum dots are tiny crystals (figure 2) and the
ones that could be produced at that time often contained defects. They were
also of varying sizes. It was possible to control how the crystals were formed
so the particles had a given average size, but if researchers wanted all the
particles in a solution to be about the same size they had to sort them after
they were made. This was a difficult process that hindered development.
Moungi Bawendi
revolutionises the production of quantum dots
This was a problem that
this year’s third Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry decided to solve. Moungi
Bawendi started his postdoctoral training at Louis Brus’ laboratory in 1988,
where intensive work was underway to improve the methods used to produce
quantum dots. Using a range of solvents, temperatures and techniques, they
experimented with a variety of substances to try and form well-organised
nanocrystals. And the crystals were getting better, but were still not good
enough.
However, Bawendi did not
give up. When he started working as a research leader at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, MIT, he continued his efforts to produce higher
quality nanoparticles. The major breakthrough came in 1993, when the research
group injected the substances that would form nanocrystals into a heated and
carefully chosen solvent. They injected as much of the substances as was
necessary to precisely saturate the solution, which led to tiny crystal embryos
beginning to form simultaneously (figure 4).
Then, by dynamically
varying the temperature of the solution, Moungi Bawendi and his research group
succeeded in growing nanocrystals of a specific size. During this phase, the
solvent helped give the crystals a smooth and even surface.
The nanocrystals that
Bawendi produced were almost perfect, giving rise to distinct quantum effects.
Because the production method was easy to use, it was revolutionary – more and
more chemists started working with nanotechnology and began to investigate the
unique properties of quantum dots.
The luminous
properties of quantum dots find commercial uses
Thirty years later,
quantum dots are now an important part of nanotechnology’s toolbox and are
found in commercial products. Researchers have primarily utilised quantum dots
to create coloured light. If quantum dots are illuminated with blue light, they
absorb the light and emit a different colour. Modifying the size of the
particles makes it possible to determine exactly what colour they should glow
(figure 3).
The luminous properties
of quantum dots are utilised in computer and television screens based on QLED
technology, where the Q stands for quantum dot. In these screens, blue light is
generated using the energy-efficient diodes that were recognised with the Nobel
Prize in Physics 2014. Quantum dots are used to change the colour of some of
the blue light, transforming it into red or green. This makes it possible to
produce the three primary colours of light needed in a television screen.
Similarly, quantum dots
are used in some LED lamps to adjust the cold light of the diodes. The light
can then become as energising as daylight or as calming as the warm glow from a
dimmed bulb. The light from quantum dots can also be used in biochemistry and
medicine. Biochemists attach quantum dots to biomolecules to map cells and
organs. Doctors have begun investigating the potential use of quantum dots to
track tumour tissue in the body. Chemists instead use the catalytic properties
of quantum dots to drive chemical reactions.
Quantum dots are thus
bringing the greatest benefit to humankind, and we have just begun to explore
their potential. Researchers believe that in the future quantum dots can
contribute to flexible electronics, miniscule sensors, slimmer solar cells and
perhaps encrypted quantum communication. One thing is certain – there is a lot
left to learn about amazing quantum phenomena. So if there’s a 12-year-old
Dorothy out there looking for adventure, the nanoworld has a great deal to
offer.
4) Scientists
discover a new enzyme that helps cells fight genomic parasites :by Universitaet
Mainz
 |
| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Identification of the catalytic center of TOFU-2. a, Model of piRNA (21U RNA) formation in C. elegans. Individually transcribed piRNA precursors are stabilized by PETISCO. After the removal of the 5′-cap and two nucleotides, intermediates are loaded onto PRG-1, followed by trimming and 3′-end methylation. The nuclease that processes the 5′-end is currently unclear. b, Schematic of TOFU-1, TOFU-2 and SLFL-3/4, in comparison to rat SLFN13. The lines indicate low-complexity regions and the rectangles indicate the predicted folded domains. BD, bridging domain. c, Superposition of TOFU-1 and TOFU-2 SLFN domains onto the crystal structure of the N-terminal SLFN13 endoribonuclease domain (Protein Data Bank (PDB): 5YD0). Domains are colored as in b. The magnified view shows the active site of SLFN13. Involved residues are shown as sticks. d, Label-free proteomic quantification of TOFU-2–HA and wild-type immunoprecipitates from young adult extracts. n = 4 biological replicates. The x axis shows the median fold enrichment of individual proteins, and the y axis shows −log10[P]. P values were calculated using Welch two-sided t-tests. The dashed lines represent enrichment thresholds at P = 0.05 and fold change > 2, curvature of enrichment threshold c = 0.05. The dots represent enriched (blue/red) or quantified (gray) proteins. Only uniquely matching peptides were used. e, Schematic of the mCherry–H2B piRNA sensor. f, Wide-field fluorescence microscopy analysis of adult hermaphrodites carrying the piRNA sensor in the following three genetic backgrounds: tofu-2(E216A) (top), prg-1(n4357) (middle) and wild type (bottom). Germlines are outlined by white dashed lines. Scale bar, 50 µm. A representative image from a series of ten is shown. g, Total mature piRNA levels (type 1) in wild-type and tofu-2(E216A)-mutant young adult hermaphrodites. n = 3 biological replicates. The red lines show the group means. P values were calculated using two-tailed unpaired t-tests. h, The relative abundance of type 1 piRNA precursors from individual loci in tofu-2(E216A)-mutant versus wild-type young adult hermaphrodites. n = 3 biological replicates. RPM, reads per million non-structural small RNA reads. Credit: Nature (2023). |
The research teams of
Professor René Ketting at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz,
Germany, and Dr. Sebastian Falk at the Max Perutz Labs in Vienna, Austria, have
identified a new enzyme called PUCH, which plays a key role in preventing the
spread of parasitic DNA in our genomes. These findings may reveal new insights
into how our bodies detect and fight bacteria and viruses to prevent
infections.
Our cells are under
constant attack from millions of foreign intruders, such as viruses and
bacteria. To keep us from getting sick, our bodies have an immune system—a
whole army of cells that specializes in detecting and destroying these
invaders. However, our cells face threats not only from external enemies but
also from within.
Genomic parasites
populate a large part of the genome
An amazing 45 percent of
our genome is comprised of thousands of genomic parasites, i.e., repetitive DNA
sequences called transposable elements (TEs). TEs are found in all organisms
but have no specific function. They can, however, be dangerous. TEs are also
called "jumping genes" because they can copy and paste themselves
into new locations in our DNA.
This is a major problem
because it can lead to mutations that cause our cells to stop working normally
or to become cancerous. As such, almost half of our genome is engaged in a
constant guerrilla war with the other half as TEs seek to multiply, while our
cells try to prevent them from spreading.
How do our cells combat
these internal enemies? Fortunately, our cells have evolved a genomic defense
system of specialized proteins whose job it is to hunt down TEs and prevent
them from replicating.
In a new paper published
in Nature, René Ketting and Sebastian Falk together with their research teams
report their discovery of PUCH—a completely new, previously unknown type of
enzyme, which is key to this genomic defense system. They found that PUCH plays
a crucial role in producing small molecules called piRNAs, which detect TEs
when they attempt to "jump." They then activate the genomic defense
system to stop TEs before they paste themselves into new locations in our DNA.
The researchers
discovered PUCH in the cells of the roundworm C. elegans, a simple invertebrate
often used in biological research. However, the findings may also shed light on
how our own immune system works. PUCH is characterized by unique molecular
structures called Schlafen folds.
Enzymes with Schlafen
folds are also found in mice and humans, where they appear to play a role in
innate immunity, the body's first line of defense against viruses and bacteria.
For example, some Schlafen proteins interfere with the replication of viruses
in humans. On the other hand, some viruses such as monkeypox viruses, for
example, may also use Schlafen proteins to attack the cell's defense system.
René Ketting suspects that Schlafen proteins may have a wider, conserved role
in immunity in many species, including humans.
"Schlafen proteins
may represent a previously unknown molecular link between immune responses in
mammals and deeply conserved RNA-based mechanisms that control TEs," said
Ketting, who is also a Professor of Biology at Johannes Gutenberg University
Mainz (JGU). If so, Schlafen proteins may represent a common defense mechanism
against both external enemies like viruses and bacteria as well as internal
ones such as TEs.
"It's conceivable
that Schlafen proteins have been repurposed into enzymes that protect cells
from infectious DNA sequences, such as TEs," added Sebastian Falk.
"This discovery may profoundly impact our understanding of innate immune
biology."
5) Team develops
superhydrophobic surface that can stay dry for months underwater : by Harvard
John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
.jpg) |
| Physicochemical characteristics of Ti-APhS Credit Nature Materials (2023) |
A species of spider
lives its entire life underwater, despite having lungs that can only breathe
atmospheric oxygen. How does it do it? This spider, known as the Argyroneta
aquatica, has millions of rough, water-repellent hairs that trap air around its
body, creating an oxygen reservoir and acting as a barrier between the spider's
lungs and the water.
This thin layer of air
is called a plastron and for decades, material scientists have been trying to
harness its protective effects. Doing so could lead to underwater
superhydrophobic surfaces able to prevent corrosion, bacterial growth, the
adhesion of marine organisms, chemical fouling, and other deleterious effects
of liquid on surfaces. But plastrons have proved highly unstable under water,
keeping surfaces dry for only a matter of hours in the lab.
Now, a team of
researchers led by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences (SEAS), the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired
Engineering at Harvard, the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
in Germany, and Aalto University in Finland have developed a superhydrophobic
surface with a stable plastron that can last for months under water.
The team's general
strategy to create long-lasting underwater superhydrophobic surfaces, which
repel blood and drastically reduce or prevent the adhesion of bacterial and
marine organisms such as barnacles and mussels, opens a range of applications
in biomedicine and industry.
The research is
published in Nature Materials.
"Research in bioinspired
materials is an extremely exciting area that continues to bring into the realm
of man-made materials elegant solutions evolved in nature, which allow us to
introduce new materials with properties never seen before," said Joanna
Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of
Chemistry & Chemical Biology at SEAS and co-author of the paper. "This
research exemplifies how uncovering these principles can lead to developing
surfaces that maintain superhydrophobicity under water."
Aizenberg is also an
associate faculty member of the Wyss Institute.
Researchers have known
for 20 years that a stable, underwater plastron was theoretically possible, but
until now, haven't been able to show it experimentally.
One of the biggest issues
with plastrons is that they need rough surfaces to form, like the hair of
Argyroneta aquatica. But this roughness makes the surface mechanically unstable
and susceptible to any small perturbation in temperature, pressure, or tiny
defect.
Current techniques to
assess artificially made superhydrophobic surfaces only take into account two
parameters, which don't give enough information about the stability of the air
plastron underwater. Aizenberg, Jaakko V. I. Timonen and Robin H. A. Ras from
Aalto University, and Alexander B. Tesler and Wolfgang H. Goldmann from FAU and
their teams identified a larger group of parameters, including information on
surface roughness, the hydrophobicity of the surface molecules, plastron
coverage, contact angles, and more, which, when combined with thermodynamic
theory, allowed them to figure out if the air plastron would be stable.
With this new method and
a simple manufacturing technique, the team designed a so-called aerophilic
surface from a commonly used and inexpensive titanium alloy with a long-lasting
plastron that kept the surface dry thousands of hours longer than previous
experiments and even longer than the plastrons of living species.
"We used a
characterization method that had been suggested by theorists 20 years ago to
prove that our surface is stable, which means that not only have we made a
novel type of extremely repellent, extremely durable superhydrophobic surface,
but we can also have a pathway of doing it again with a different
material," said Tesler, a former postdoctoral fellow at SEAS and the Wyss
Institute, and lead author of the paper.
To prove the stability
of the plastron, the researchers put the surface through the ringer—bending it,
twisting it, blasting it with hot and cold water, and abrading it with sand and
steel to block the surface remaining aerophilic. It survived 208 days submerged
in water and hundreds of dunks in a petri dish of blood. It severely reduced
the growth of E.coli and barnacles on its surface and stopped the adhesion of
mussels altogether.
"The stability,
simplicity, and scalability of this system make it valuable for real-world
applications," said Stefan Kolle, a graduate student at SEAS and co-author
of the paper. "With the characterization approach shown here, we demonstrate
a simple toolkit that allows you to optimize your superhydrophobic surface to
reach stability, which dramatically changes your application space."
That application space
includes biomedical applications, where it could be used to reduce infection
after surgery or as biodegradable implants such as stents, according to
Goldmann, senior author of the paper, and former Harvard fellow. It also
includes underwater applications, where it could prevent corrosion in pipelines
and sensors. In the future, it could even be used in combination with the
super-slick coating known as SLIPS, the Slippery Liquid-Infused Porous
Surfaces, developed by Aizenberg and her team more than a decade ago, to
protect surfaces even further from contamination.
1) NewsClick
founder among 2 held as journalists raided:
 |
| After conducting a day-long search, seizures and detentions, Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested NewsClick founder and its editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, firm's human resources head, |
This came after at least
400 police officials raided around 30locations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram,
Mumbai and Ghaziabad on Tuesday morning The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested
the founder and the head of the human resources department of online portal NewsClickafter
sweeping raids across five cities over allegations of irregularities in the
website’s cashbooks and foreign funding.
A Delhi Police
spokesperson said NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resource head
Amit Chakravarty were arrested in connection with a case registered by the
special cell this August under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Act. This came after at least 400 police officials raided around 30locations
across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Ghaziabad on Tuesday morning,
questioning 46 people, including journalists, freelancers, writers and
satirists, for eighthours.
“A total of 37 male
suspects have been questioned at police station, nine female suspects have been
questioned at their respective places of stay and digital devices, documents
etc. have been seized for examination,” said the spokesperson.
The raids and arrest
sparked a controversy with Opposition parties accusing the Bharatiya Janata
Party of trying to muzzle the press, and the government defending itself.
Several media bodies also condemned the raids, saying it will have a chilling
effect on press freedom. On August 17, Delhi Police’s special cell registered a
case under section 153A (promoting enmity) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of
the Indian Penal Code and sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act),17
(punishment for raising funds for terrorist act),18 (punishment for
conspiracy), and 22C (punishment for offences by companies, societies or
trusts) of UAPA.
This camedays after an
investigation published in The New York Times alleged that the portal was part
of a global network that received money for pushing Chinese propaganda. The
American newspaper said that millionaire Neville Roy Singham funded NewsClick,
among other outlets across the globe, to sprinkle its coverage with Chinese
government talking points.
Those who were
questioned and whose devices were seized included Purkayastha, journalists
Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Bhasha Singh, Aditi Nigam, Urmilesh,
Subodh Verma, D Raghunandan, Githa Hariharan, and historian Sohail Hashmi. Most
of them were either consultants with the portal or contributors. The families
of some of them said the raids began around 6am and ended about four hours
later, with their laptops, mobile phones, hard disks and some documents seized.
Thirty sevenwere also asked to come to the special cell police station on Lodhi
Road, where they were questioned further and then asked to leave.
Officials asked some
people what articles they wrote on issues such as Covid-19, Delhi riots and the
farmers’ protest, indicating that investigators were looking to establish
whether the website indulged in propaganda on behalf of alleged Chinese
funders.
“Today, early morning at
6 am, Delhi Police’s special cell raided Sohail Hashmi’s residence. 6 people
barged into the house and the bedroom . Questioned him for two hours . The cops
have seized his computer, phone, hard disc and flash drives. His residence was
one among many journalists whose houses were raided by the special cell early
morning today,” said his sister Shabnam Hashmi. Communist Party of India
(Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury’s residence in the Capital was also raided as
the son of one of his associates who lives in the same house works with
NewsClick. Police seized a phone, two hard drives and a laptop from the house.
“Police came to my
residence because one of my companions who lives with me there, his son, works
for NewsClick. The police came to question him. They took his laptop and phone.
What are they investigating? Nobody knows. If this is an attempt to try and
muzzle the media, the country must know the reason behind this,” Yechury said.
The developments stoked
a political controversy with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive
Alliance (INDIA) accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of muzzling the press. But
the BJP defended itself. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag
Thakur said investigating agencies are independent and they act according to
law. “I don’t have to justify the raids. If someone has committed any wrong,
investigating agencies do act on them. Nowhere it is written that if you have
wrongfully acquired wealth and committed offence, the investigating agencies
would not take action,” he said.
Founded in 2009,
NewsClick first ran into trouble in 2021, when ED registered a case based on an
FIR registered by Delhi Police’s Economic Offence Wing in 2020. Allegations in
the FIR included overvaluing of shares, diverting funds, and violation of FDI
regulations.
“In 2021, the ED searched
the premises of NewsClick and its director Prabir Purkayastha. This search was
conducted to collect additional information to help probe money laundering
charges against the company. A money trail of foreign remittances amounting to ₹38
crores was also unearthed during the search. In the same year, the economic
offence wing (EOW) of Delhi Police also registered a case against NewsClick,
which is still under investigation. Today’s arrest have been made in the third
case lodged in the special cell,” said a senior Delhi Police officer, wishing
not to be named. The officer cited above further said that during the
investigation, many irregularities were found in the cashbook of NewsClick.
“Within months of incorporation, NewsClick received crores of funds for services
exported, out of which a payment of ₹1.55 crore was made to an electrician.
Also, Puryakastha and Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case,
have incorporated a company together with an American defence supplier company.
We have found some e-mails exchanged between Puryakastha and Neville Roy
Singham, which were aimed to tarnish India’s image at the international level,”
the officer said, requesting anonymity.
“After a day long
interrogation... I am back home. Each and every question posed will be
answered. Nothing to fear... Not backing down at any cost,” said Abhisar.
A friend of Thakurta
said the journalist, who was a consultant with NewsClick, was asked
specifically ifhe knew any activists whose names the police read out from a
list. “He was asked to hand over his devices but he refused, saying it’s his
livelihood. Then, they asked him to come to the police station with them,” he
said.
The raids were condemned
by press bodies.
“EGI is concerned that
these raids are yet another attempt to muzzle the media. While we recognise
that the law must take its course if actual offences are involved, due process
must be followed. The investigation of specific offences must not create a
general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws, or
impinge on freedom of expression and the raising of dissenting and critical
voices,” it said. Indian Women’s Press Corporation (IWPC) said the raids
reflected very poorly on a government representing the world’s largest
democracy. Press Club of India said it was deeply concerned about the raids and
stood in solidarity with the journalists.
2) Sanjay Singh
arrest: At protest against AAP, BJP says ‘Kejriwal will go to jail’
MPs and MLAs from the
Delhi BJP along with other party leaders held a prayer meeting at Rajghat for
"liberation" of people from the "corrupt" AAP government.
India's national capital
saw protests and counter-protests over the arrest of AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh
in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise
policy. While AAP workers gathered at the party headquarters against the
arrest, the Delhi BJP leaders flocked to Rajghat for a prayer meeting for the
"liberation" of people from the "corrupt" AAP government in
the city. Several AAP workers also gathered at the party office at DDU Marg,
raising slogans against the Centre and demanding the release of Singh. A
scuffle broke out between AAP workers and the police after which some of them
were detained.
Delhi BJP president
Virendra Sachdeva said the struggle for liberation of the people from
"corrupt" Arvind Kejriwal government will continue, alleging that the
chief minister was the "kingpin" of the alleged liquor scam in Delhi.
Mahatma Gandhi used to
say alcohol destroys both the body and the soul, Sachdeva said.
"Kejriwal has not
only destroyed the soul but also the entire Aam Aadmi Party," he said,
hitting out at the AAP National Convener and the Delhi Chief Minister.
BJP MP Harshvardhan
said, “AAP leaders visited this place (Rajghat) a lot. However, we are now
witnessing that they are the ones who are crushing the ethics of politics.”
Another BJP lawmaker,
Parvesh Sahib Singh, said the “liquor scam was unearthed” with the “blessings
of Gandhi ji…who always opposed alcohol”.
“The day is not far when
the mastermind of liquor policy Arvind Kejriwal will also go to jail,” he
claimed.
The AAP, on the other
hand, has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate arrested Singh as he raised
issues related to the Adani Group in Parliament.
Addressing a press conference,
senior AAP leader Atishi claimed that over 500 officers of the ED and CBI
conducted raids at various places linked to the AAP leaders in the last 15
months but “haven't found a single evidence” against them.
“They raided Manish
Sisodia's residence, offices and several other places but they couldn't find
evidence of corruption of even a single penny. And now, Sanjay Singh has been
targeted,” she said. The ED officers raided every inch of Sanjay Singh's
residence but couldn't find anything. They arrested him because he constantly
raised issues of Centre's corruption,” she added.
Atishi further said that
if there is any evidence against their leader, the Centre “should make it
public”.
“I want to challenge the
BJP that if they found any evidence against Sanjay Singh, they should make it
public or they should quit politics. They can send their officers anywhere
where Sanjay Singh visited and I can vouch that they will not find anything against
him,” she claimed.
3) Nanded hospital
deaths: Dean booked for culpable homicide:
An FIR was earlier
registered against ruling Shiv Sena Parliament member Hemant Patil on Wednesday
for allegedly making the dean clean a toilet after the deaths at the hospital
The dean and the
paediatric department head of a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded,
where deaths of 38 patients including infants this week triggered outrage, have
been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder over the death of a
22-year-old woman and her newborn on Wednesday.
Anjali Waghmare, the
woman, was admitted to the hospital on September 30 and delivered the baby the
next day. According to the first information report (FIR) filed in the case,
Waghmare’s family was told it was a normal delivery and both the mother and
baby were well good before they were informed that the two were critical.
“The doctors said Anjali
was bleeding heavily and the baby’s condition was deteriorating. When we went
and gave the medicines and blood units, the doctor was unavailable. Seeing my
daughter’s condition and her child’s critical state, I met the dean and begged
him to provide doctors and treatment. But he kept me waiting outside his room,”
said Waghmare’s father, Kamaji Mohan Tompe, in his complaint. “If the dean and
doctors had treated my daughter and her child on time, they would have been
alive. We spent ₹45,000 on medicines too.” Dr Shankarao Chavan Government
Medical College and Hospital dean Shyamrao Wakode and the paediatric department
head have been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 304 (culpable
homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common interest) on Tompe’s
complaint.
An FIR was earlier
registered against ruling Shiv Sena Parliament member Hemant Patil on Wednesday
under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act
for allegedly making Wakode clean a toilet after the deaths at the hospital.
Waghmare’s family, which
refused to initially accept her body, claimed she gave birth to a girl child
but hospital records said it was a boy, who was one among the eleven neonates
(less than a month old) who died at the hospital on October 2 when 24 deaths
were reported in 24 hours. Doctors said Waghmare’s newborn had meconium
aspiration syndrome and that the baby’s brain and other organs did not get
enough oxygen and nutrients before, during or right after birth.
Waghmare’s husband,
Manchak, said they first took her to a primary healthcare centre from where she
was referred to a sub-district hospital. “Since her condition was not
improving, the doctors instructed us to get her to Dr Shankarrao Chavan
Government Medical College and Hospital,” he said.
A six-member committee
set up to probe the deaths pointed at a lack of resources and manpower at the
Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital. In its report,
the committee said that of the 24 patients who died between September 30 and
October 1, 17 were referred from private and peripheral government hospitals in
critical condition with multiple comorbidities. Of the 24, 11 were neonates who
were on ventilator support. The Bombay high court said the reasons given for
deaths “cannot be accepted” as it took suo motu cognisance of the matter.
4) Sikkim flood |
10 dead, 22 army men among 82 missing as flash flood wreaks havoc:
Sikkim cloudburst causes
flooding in 4 Bengal districts
The Sikkim flood has
also impacted four districts of Bengal. According to the ANI news agency,
Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar have been inundated after
more than 8000 cubic meters per second of water was released from the Teesta
barrage.
The flood in Sikkim that
started around 1:30 a.m. on October 4 was made worse by the release of water
from Chungthang dam, the officials said.
At least ten people died
and 80 others, including 22 army personnel, went missing on Wednesday after a
cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the
Teesta River basin, officials said.
All 10 who died have
been identified as civilians including 3 of the dead who were washed up in
north Bengal, they said adding that one of the 23 army men who had gone missing
in the morning was rescued later.
The flood in Sikkim that
started around 1:30 a.m. was made worse by the release of water from Chungthang
dam, the officials said. Over 3,000 tourists from various parts of the country,
were reported to be stranded in different parts of Sikkim, Sikkim Chief
Secretary V.B. Pathak said.
Several workers employed
with Teesta Stage III dam in Chungthang were also stranded in tunnels of the
dam, Pathak said.
The Sikkim Chief
Secretary said that the road infrastructure has suffered extensive damage due
to flooding as 14 bridges have collapsed with nine of them being under Border
Roads Organization (BRO) and five others belonging to the state government.
Scores of people missing
and injured have been reported from Chungthang in Mangan district, and Dikchu,
Singtam in Gangtok district and Rangpo in Pakyong district, Mr. Pathak said.
Another official said
some 166 people have so far been rescued, including the army man.
"The health
condition of the rescued soldier is stable," Defence Spokesperson Lt. Col
Mahendra Rawat said. Bodies, including that of a child, were fished out from
the flood plains of the Teesta river at Golitar in Singtam by rescue personnel,
the officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday to take stock of
the situation in the state and assured him of all possible support.
"Spoke to Sikkim CM
Shri @PSTamangGolay and took stock of the situation in the wake of the
unfortunate natural calamity in parts of the state. Assured all possible
support in addressing the challenge. I pray for the safety and well-being of
all those affected," Mr. Modi said on X.
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh also prayed for the well-being of the missing army personnel.The Sikkim
government, in a notification, said the natural calamity has been declared as a
disaster.The release of water from the Chungthang dam led to a sudden increase
in water levels up to 15-20 feet high downstream, the defence spokesperson
said.
"Twenty-two army
personnel have been reported missing and 41 vehicles submerged under the
slush,” he said."All other Indian Army personnel posted in Sikkim and
North Bengal are safe but they are unable to contact their family members due
to disruptions of mobile communication," a defence official said."A
steel bridge at Singtam, known as Indreni bridge, 30 km from the state capital
Gangtok has been completely washed away by Teesta river water early Wednesday,”
another Sikkim government official said.
Rajeev Bhattacharya, 25,
a tourist from Kolkata who was on a trek from Gangtok towards Singtem, told PTI
over phone: "We saw a huge wave of water rushing at great speed through
the valley and mangled remains of structures being swept away. Luckily, my
friends and I were on high ground and not affected by the flash flood. We are
now making our way back to Gangtok."Several towns, including Dikchu,
Singtam and Rangpo located in the Teesta basin, have also been flooded with the
upsurge in the river.Meanwhile, all schools located in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong
and Namchi districts will remain closed till October 8, the education
department said.Parts of National Highway-10, the main link between Sikkim and
the rest of the country, were washed away, the officials said, adding, a flood
alert has been issued for North Bengal and Bangladesh through which the Teesta
flows."We were travelling to Gangtok from Siliguri when our car was forced
to halt in the Swetjhora area. The NH-10 had caved in as incessant rains had
eroded the rock and soil below the road. Fortunately, all cars were moving
slowly because of the rains, otherwise, the cave-in could have actually
swallowed a vehicle," Dolma Bhutia, a college student going back home to
Sikkim, told PTI.
Police officers in neighbouring
West Bengal said two youths from Uttar Dinajpur district - Swarnadwip Majumder
(23) and Srikant Majumder (27) and another, Ishan, from Jharkhand - went
missing in Sikkim on Wednesday.The trio had left for the small Himalayan state
on Saturday on a motorcycle holiday."Since Tuesday morning, they could not
be traced as their mobile numbers remained unreachable. We have contacted
Sikkim Police for help,” a police officer from Raiganj, the district
headquarters town, said.The officials said two other bridges, Baluatar and
another near the Lanco Hydel power project, have collapsed due to the spate in
Teesta since Tuesday night.The administration has set up a number of relief
camps, where hundreds are taking shelter, they said.
Chief Minister P.S. Tamang
visited Singtam and took stock of the situation. He also held a meeting with
senior officials at the Singtam Nagar Panchayat office and asked them to keep
vigil."I want to assure you that the government is fully committed to
providing all necessary assistance and relief to those in need. We understand
the magnitude of the situation and are mobilising all available resources to
ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens. Our dedicated teams are
working day and night to address the immediate concerns and challenges posed by
this calamity," Mr. Tamang said.Meanwhile, fearing the shortage of ration
and other essentials in Sikkim, the state government has decided to construct
Bailey bridge with help from the Army and NHIDCL.The state government has set up
18 relief camps in Singtam, Rangpo, Dikchu and Adarsh Gaon to house the
displaced people.Meanwhile, downstream North Bengal was badly affected too as
water from the swollen Teesta river innudated parts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong,
Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri disricts.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
on Wednesday said that 10,000 people have been rescued and kept in 190 relief
camps in nine districts in the southern and northern parts of the state.
5) "Does
Congress Want To Clip Muslims' Rights?" PM's Big Caste Census Charge:
PM Modi said that for
him, the poor form the biggest chunk of the country's population and they
should have the first right over resources, irrespective of their caste or
community.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday slammed Congress over its nationwide caste census pitch and
accused the party of trying to divide Hindus, and sought to know if it wants to
curtail the rights of Muslims by advocating a population-based distribution of
resources.
PM Modi said that for
him, the poor form the biggest chunk of the country's population and they
should have the first right over resources, irrespective of their caste or
community. He also accused the Congress of dividing the society on caste lines
for votes.
The PM's statements came
a day after the Nitish Kumar government released a caste survey that revealed
Other Backward Classes and Economically Backwar Classes constitute a whopping
63% of Bihar's population. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, whose party is a
constituent of the ruling bloc in the state, welcomed the caste survey and said
the country needs a caste census to give people rights as per their proportion
in population.
Addressing the BJP's
"Parivartan Mahasankalp" rally in Jagdalpur, the headquarters of
Bastar district in Chhattisgarh, PM Modi claimed that the Congress has entered
into a "secret pact" with a foreign country and takes pleasure in
speaking against India, and urged people to be alert.
The country's oldest
party is being run not by its leaders but by some "behind the curtain"
elements who are in nexus with anti-national forces, he claimed.
"Since yesterday
(Monday), the Congress has started speaking a different tune. Congress leaders
say the 'abadi' (population) of people will decide the rights (on resources),
but for Modi, poor people are the biggest 'abadi' of the country and they have
the first right over resources. Welfare of the poor is my aim," he said.
The BJP's star
campaigner referred to a 2006 statement of then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
advocating that minorities, particularly Muslims, must have the "first
claim" on resources.
"I was wondering
what would former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ji be thinking? Manmohan Singh
ji used to say minorities have the first right over resources of the country
and that too the Muslims. But now the Congress is saying proportion in
population will decide who will get how much share of rights. Does that mean
they want to curtail the rights of Muslims?" he asked.
"Whose population
is more?" the PM asked and wondered if it will be possible to ensure
distribution of the rights according to social groups' share in the demographic
mix.
"If they want to
divide the rights on the basis of population, then who will have the first
right (over resources)? Whose population is more? Congress leaders should
clarify whether the rights will be given according to share in population,
whether the Congress wants to take away the rights of minorities. Should
Hindus, who have the biggest population in the country, come forward and claim
all the rights?" he asked.
Attacking the
Mallikarjun Kharge-led party, the PM said the national outfit wants to destroy
India by dividing the Hindus.
"I have been saying
for a long time that the Congress is no longer being run by Congress people.
Big leaders of the Congress are sitting with their mouths shut. Now people in
nexus with anti-national forces are running the Congress from behind the
curtain. The Congress wants to destroy India by dividing the Hindus at any
cost. It wants to divide the poor also. For me, the poor are the biggest
community in the country. Welfare of the poor means welfare of the
country," the PM said.
Continuing his attack on
the Congress, a key constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, the PM said that
the 138-year-old party takes pleasure in speaking against the country.
"So far, the
Congress has not disclosed what secret pact it has entered into with some other
country. But the people are watching that the Congress takes pleasure in
speaking against India. It presents the good things of India in a bad light and
enjoys it. It seems their love for the country has dwindled," he said. The
poor have the first right over resources, irrespective of whether they are
Dalits, tribals, from backward classes, or the general category, the Prime Minister
said.
"The Congress has
given the country only poverty and divided society on caste lines to secure its
vote bank. The party has been indulging in the same act today. They have been
jailing those who are raising their voices for their rights in Chhattisgarh. On
the other hand, the BJP is dedicated towards social justice," he stated.
The Prime Minister
targeted the Congress government in Chhattisgarh and said that corruption is at
its peak in the state and that Chhattisgarh is among states which lead in crimes,
including murders.
"Sometimes it seems
there is competition between Rajasthan (also ruled by Congress) and
Chhattisgarh as to where the maximum number of crimes happens. Development in
Chhattisgarh is only visible either in posts and banners or in the coffers of
Congress leaders," he said.
The Congress has a track
record of looting natural resources of Chhattisgarh, the PM said, vowing that
he will not allow the ruling party to usurp the Nagarnar steel plant in
Jagdalpur.
"The Congress is
trying to usurp the Nagarnar steel plant by spreading lies. It is Modi's
guarantee that it will not happen. Bastar's brothers and sisters are the owners
of this steel plant. You have a right on it. The Congress will not be given a
chance to encroach on it," PM Modi asserted.
The Congress on Tuesday
observed a 'Bastar bandh' alleging the Centre is planning to privatise the
Nagarnar steel plant.Neither the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister nor his ministers
attended the unveiling or foundation stone laying function of development
projects on Tuesday, which shows they have no concern for welfare of the state,
where assembly polls are due by the year-end, PM Modi said.
He accused the Congress
of converting 'loktantra' (democracy) into 'lootantra' (corruption) and
'prajatantra' (democracy) into 'parivartantra' (dynasty).Modi accused the
Congress government of committing irregularities in recruitments by the state
public service commission (PSC) and promised to send culprits to jail if the
BJP came to power after the elections.The PM said it is important for
first-time voters to know about what was happening in the country before 2014
when newspaper carried news of big scams and corruption during the Congress-led
UPA government."In 2014, the country dislodged the Congress from power and
elected the BJP with a full majority. Today, instead of scams, India's pride is
discussed in the world," he said.
6) Bihar caste
census survey: 112 EBC castes under reserved category. See full list:
The survey revealed 112
castes in extreme backward classes and 30 castes in backward classes were among
196 reserved castes. The Bihar government on Monday unveiled the caste census
report months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The survey was carried out
by the state government in two phases- between January 7 and 21 in the first
phase and between April 15 and first week of August.
According to the report,
the total population of the state covered under the survey was 12,53,53,288 of
which 6,41,31,992 were male and 6,11,31,992 were female with a sex ratio:
1000:953. A total of 2,83,44,107 household was surveyed.
“The extremely backward
class is 36.01 per cent, the general category is 15.52 per cent and the Other
Backward Caste (OBC) is 27 per cent", Vivek Kumar Singh, Additional Chief
Secretary said.
Here is a castewise
breakup according to the survey report.
There are a total of 203
notified castes in Bihar mentioned in the report. Out of these, four Hindu
castes (Rajput, Kayastha, Brahmin and Bhumihar) and three Muslim castes
(Sheikh, Pathan and Syed) have been notified as unreserved or general category.
2. There are 196 castes
mentioned in reserved category. These castes are divided into extremely
backward class (112 castes), backward class (30), scheduled castes (22) and
scheduled tribe (32).
3. Ten castes have been
reported by the DMs as not notified either in Centre or state caste list. They
are Bengali Kayastha, Khatri, Dharaami, Sutihar, Navesood, Bhumij, Marwari,
Bahelia, Rastogi and Darzi.
4. According to the
report, the Kewani caste has been reported by State Commission for Backward
classes, but has not been notified either in Centre or state caste list, but at
survey stage now.
5. The reservation
percentage in Bihar govt jobs stands as follows:
EBC: 18% SC: 16% Backward class: 12% EWS: 10%
Women from reserved
category, excluding EWS: 3%
Scheduled Tribes: 1%
‘Caste census
revealed economic situation of everyone’
Bihar chief minister
Nitish Kumar took to social media platform X on the recently unveiled caste
census report.
"The proposal for
caste-based enumeration was passed unanimously in the Legislature. It was
decided with the consent of all 9 parties of the Bihar Assembly that the state
government will conduct a caste-based census from its own resources and its
approval was given by the Council of Ministers on June 6, 2022. On this basis,
the state government has conducted caste-based census from its own
resources," he said.
"Caste-based census
not only revealed the castes but also gave information about the economic
condition of everyone. On the basis of this report, further action will be
taken for the development and upliftment of all sections,” he added.
7) Rahul Gandhi to
join 'Jan Aakrosh Yatra' in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh
Congress is taking out
‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ from 7 regions across state from September 19 covering
11,400 kilometres and nearly all the assembly constituencies. Congress MP Rahul
Gandhi is scheduled to visit poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, September
30 and he will participate in Congress’s Jan Aakrosh Yatra here. Former
minister and Congress MLA Jitu Patwari has confirmed Rahul Gandhi’s visit to
the state and said that Rahul Gandhi would arrive at Kalapipal assembly
constituency in Shajapur district.
In a video message,
Patwari said, “The Congress Party is running a campaign ‘Jan Akrosh Yatra’, to
bring the pain of the public on the streets in the entire state. The party
along with senior leaders have been taking out this yatra from seven places
covering the entire state to express the pain of the youth, women, farmers,
employees, common people before the state government.”
"In this series,
Rahul Gandhi is coming to participate in Jan Akrosh Yatra in Kalapipal assembly
constituency in Shajapur district on September 30," he added.
The Congress party is
taking out ‘Jan Aakrosh Yatra’ from seven different regions across the state
from September 19 covering 11,400 kilometres and nearly all the assembly
constituencies. Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to go for the assembly polls later
this year. Through the polls, the state will elect legislators from 230
Assembly constituencies.
Earlier this week, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi visited the state and addressed a ‘Karyakarta
Mahakumbh’, a mega congregation of BJP workers here in Bhopal on September 25.
Speaking at the rally
the Prime Minister had criticised the Congress for keeping MP underdeveloped
during its tenure in the state and the centre. After independence the Congress
ruled MP for several years. But the misrule by the Congress government kept MP
among the BIMARU states. During its tenure in Madhya Pradesh the BJP has taken
the state to new heights with a new energy" the Prime Minister had
said.Notably, for the last few weeks, the BJP has been taking out Jan Ashirwad
Yatras, a mass-contact programme, from five different places in the state. PM
Modi addressed the ‘Karyakarta Mahakumbh’ to mark the culmination of those
yatras.
8) Abhishek
Banerjee reacts sharply as TMC members allegedly mistreated at Rajghat:
The TMC held a ‘mega
protest’ in New Delhi on Monday against the central government's suspension of
MGNREGA funds to the West Bengal government. Trinamool Congress general
secretary Abhishek Banerjee has alleged that his party leaders were
“mistreated” during the protest at Rajghat in New Delhi on Monday demanding the
release of MGNREGA and housing scheme funds to the West Bengal government. He
shared a video of a scuffle between the TMC leaders and the police during the
protest on X (formerly Twitter) and said the incident is “deeply distressing
and intriguing” for it to be happening on the day of Gandhi Jayanthi.
“Today's events at
Rajghat are deeply distressing and infuriating. Our lawmakers had to endure
mistreatment under the oppressive regime of the BJP's ZAMINDAR GOVERNMENT that
too on #GandhiJayanti , a day dedicated to Gandhiji's principles of PEACE, NON
VIOLENCE AND SWARAJ,” Banerjee wrote in his tweet. He further said that their
protest was only “embracing the path of satyagraha”.
Banerjee said, “Their
only crime was embracing the path of satyagraha inspired by the revered Mahatma
Gandhi, in their endeavour to secure WB’s rightful dues. I implore their
MASTERS to heed this message: The days of your ZAMINDARI REIGN ARE NUMBERED and
the people will emerge victorious!” In the video shared by the TMC MP, a party
member was being pushed by two police personnel, and in another video, a woman
protester was seen having a physical altercation with the police during the
protest at the Rajghat, a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.
Earlier, the Delhi
Police said the TMC leaders were requested not to sit at the Samadhi Sthal – as
the day marks the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and thousands of people
were visiting the area, news agency ANI reported. The police further said the
TMC leaders were not listening to the repeated requests and that it affected
the public entry to visit the area.
Abhishek Banerjee, who
has been leading the party's protest against the central government, earlier
said that the police “lathi-charged women protesters” and “turned the protest
violent”. “The way they misbehaved and manhandled it clearly shows that BJP is
scared...If the people feel that those who we elected to power have stopped the
funds and there is a need to change the government, no one can stop that from
happening,” he said.
TMC protest at
Rajghat
The TMC initiated a
‘mega protest’ in the national capital against the central government's
suspension of MGNREGA funds to the state government. Abhishek Banerjee
criticised Union minister Anurag Thakur, saying, “Anurag Thakur says that they
gave ₹2 lakh crore. But the question is, how much amount have they taken from
West Bengal? They have been in power for nine years, and they have taken at
least ₹5-7 lakh crore from West Bengal. You have taken money from the state and
are keeping it deprived of rights.”
Banerjee decided to
stage this protest during a rally in West Bengal, where he witnessed the
significant adverse effects on the state's residents resulting from the central
government's withholding of funds.
The Bengal BJP, accused
the TMC of financial mismanagement by generating more than one crore fraudulent
job cards. Leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari in the Bengal assembly,
labelled it as the “biggest scam after independence”.
The Union minister for
rural development Giriraj Singh, rejected the TMC's claims, saying that the
central government had never halted funds in any program and accused the West
Bengal government of “looting the poor” under the guise of MGNREGA.
9) The Nobel Peace
Prize 2023:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the
Nobel Peace Prize 2023 to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and
her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.
This year’s peace prize
also recognises the hundreds of thousands of people who, in the preceding year,
have demonstrated against Iran’s theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination
and oppression targeting women. The motto adopted by the demonstrators – “Woman
– Life – Freedom” – suitably expresses the dedication and work of Narges
Mohammadi.
Freedom. She fights for freedom of expression and the right of
independence, and against rules requiring women to remain out of sight and to
cover their bodies. The freedom demands expressed by demonstrators apply not
only to women, but to the entire population.
In the 1990s, as a young
physics student, Narges Mohammadi was already distinguishing herself as an
advocate for equality and women’s rights. After concluding her studies, she
worked as an engineer as well as a columnist in various reform-minded
newspapers. In 2003 she became involved with the Defenders of Human Rights
Center in Tehran, an organisation founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin
Ebadi. In 2011 Ms Mohammadi was arrested for the first time and sentenced to
many years of imprisonment for her efforts to assist incarcerated activists and
their families.
Two years later, after
her release on bail, Ms Mohammadi immersed herself in a campaign against use of
the death penalty. Iran has long been among the countries that execute the
highest proportion of their inhabitants annually. Just since January 2022, more
than 860 prisoners have been punished by death in Iran.
Her activism against the
death penalty led to the re-arrest of Ms Mohammadi in 2015, and to a sentence
of additional years behind walls. Upon her return to prison, she began opposing
the regime’s systematic use of torture and sexualised violence against
political prisoners, especially women, that is practised in Iranian prisons.
Last year’s wave of protests became known to the political prisoners held inside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran. Once again, Ms Mohammadi assumed leadership. From prison she expressed support for the demonstrators and organised solidarity actions among her fellow inmates. The prison authorities responded by imposing even stricter conditions. Ms Mohammadi was prohibited from receiving calls and visitors. She nevertheless managed to smuggle out an article which the New York Times published on the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s killing. The message was: “The more of us they lock up, the stronger we become.” From captivity, Ms Mohammadi has helped to ensure that the protests have not ebbed out.
Narges Mohammadi is a woman, a human rights advocate, and a freedom
fighter. In awarding her this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel
Committee wishes to honour her courageous fight for human rights, freedom, and
democracy in Iran. This year’s Peace Prize also recognises the hundreds of
thousands of people who, in the preceding year, have demonstrated against the
theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women.
Only by embracing equal rights for all can the world achieve the fraternity
between nations that Alfred Nobel sought to promote. The award to Narges
Mohammadi follows a long tradition in which the Norwegian Nobel Committee has
awarded the Peace Prize to those working to advance social justice, human
rights, and democracy. These are important preconditions for lasting peace.
Kishore Kumar Jena bags
silver as India logs 1-2 finish - as it happened. India's Neeraj Chopra, with a
season-best throw of 88.88m, saw off a challenge from compatriot Kishore Jena,
who threw a personal best of 87.54m.
India celebrated a
remarkable 1-2 finish in the Men’s Javelin Throw competition at the Asian Games
2023, held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Park Main Stadium in the People’s
Republic of China. Neeraj Chopra secured the gold medal, while Kishore Kumar
Jena clinched the silver, showcasing their exceptional talent on the grand
continental stage.
2) India's Annu
Rani bags gold in women's javelin throw at Asian Games.
Annu touched 62.92m,
which was her season's best throw and topped the chart to win the country its
15th gold in the ongoing Asian Games.
3) Asian Games |
India wins gold in men’s 4x400 relay
Indian quartet of Anas
Muhammed Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi and Rajesh Ramesh
sealed the gold for India in the men’s 4x400m relay with a timing of 3:01.58.
4) Asian Games 2023:
Bopanna-Rutuja win mixed doubles gold:
The mixed doubles pair
of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale beat Chinese Taipei pair En-shuo Liang and
Tsung-hao Huang in the finals to clinch gold.
The mixed doubles pair
of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale beat Chinese Taipei pair En-shuo Liang and
Tsung-hao Huang in the finals to clinch gold at the Asian Games 2023 in
Hangzhou on Saturday.The pair won India’s ninth gold in this Asiads.
5) Dipika Pallikal
and Harinder Sandhu win historic squash mixed doubles gold:
Dipika Pallikal and
Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu beat Malaysia in straight games win gold in squash
mixed doubles team event. India's Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu
created history by becoming the first pair to win the gold medal in the squash
mixed doubles event at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. This was the first
mixed doubles event in squash at the Games. This was India's second team gold
in squash at the 19th Games after the top finish of the men's team. The Indian
pair beat Malaysia's Aifa Binti Azman and Mohammad Kamal of Malaysia in a
roller-coaster final.
In the end, India won it
in straight games but it wasn't easy for even once, as both the games were
decided after it was 10-10. India won the game point on both occasions in the
best-of-three encounter.
Squash: Saurav Ghosal gets silver in men's singles squash
6) India clinched gold in the compound women's
team archery final,
India clinched gold in
the compound women's team archery final, sealing a 230-229 win vs Chinese
Taipei on Day 12 of the ongoing Asian Games 2023, in Hangzhou on Thursday.
Indian archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Gopichand Swami and Parneet Kaur
were in hot form as India came out on top in a thrilling clash. India also got
gold in the men's compound archery team final
Indian archery
compound men's team clinches gold at Asian Games
Asian Games 2023: Ojas
Deotale, Abhishek Verma, Prathamesh Jawkar clinch Gold medal in men's compound
archery The Indian men's team of Ojas Deotale, Abhishek Verma and Prathamesh
Jawkar clinched another Gold medal for India at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian
Games 2023. The Indian trio defeated Korea's Jaehoon Joo, Jaewon Yang and
Jongho Kim 235-230 to bag the 21st Gold medal for India at the Games. The men's
team assured India of a hat-trick of Gold as they dominated the Korean
opponents
7) Asian Games:
India wins bronze medal in table tennis women’s doubles
India made history at
the Asian Games when Ahyika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee clinched the
bronze medal in the Table Tennis Women’s Doubles event on Monday.
In the second semi-final
of the table tennis women’s doubles competition at the ongoing Asian Games,
India’s Ahyika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee faced a 4-3 defeat against
North Korea’s Suyong Cha and Sugyong Pak. This achievement marked the
first-ever table tennis medal for India in the history of the Asian Games.
India started strongly
in the match by winning the first game 7-11 but couldn’t maintain their
consistency. They managed to secure victories in the third and sixth games,
with scores of 7-11 and 5-11, respectively. However, in the final and deciding
game, they were unable to stage a comeback, ultimately settling for the bronze
medal.
8) Asian Games 2023 Live Updates Day 12: Saurav Ghosal wins silver in squash; wrestler Antim takes bronze
India clinched gold in
the compound women's team archery final, sealing a 230-229 win vs Chinese
Taipei on Day 12 of the ongoing Asian Games 2023, in Hangzhou on Thursday.
Indian archers Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Gopichand Swami and Parneet Kaur
were in hot form as India came out on top in a thrilling clash. India also got
gold in the men's compound archery team final. Meanwhile, Dipika Pallikal and
Harinder Pal Singh won gold in squash mixed doubles. India received a massive
setback earlier, as PV Sindhu crashed out of the women's singles quarterfinals.
The Indian shuttler lost in straight games to China's He Bingjiao (16-21 12-21)
in what turned out to be a rather one-sided contest. But HS Prannoy responded
well for India, winning his quarterfinal clash which sent him to the semifinal
and also assured him of a medal.
India also lost 0-4 to
China in their women's hockey semifinal, and will now fight for bronze.
Experienced Saurav Ghosal secured a silver in the men's singles squash final
event before wrestler Antim won in the women's freestyle 53kg match.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be in action in men's doubles.
India's medal so
far
Gold: 20
Silver: 31
Bronze: 32
Results-
Archery: India clinch GOLD in compound women's team final
India win GOLD in
compound men's team final
Men's marathon: Man Singh finished in eighth position
Appachangada Bo
Belliappa came 13th
Badminton: PV Sindhu loses to China's He Bingjiao 16-21 12-21 in
women's singles quarterfinal
Roller Skating: Charles finishes 12th in preliminary second run
Shreyasi finishes 13th
in preliminary second run
Sepaktakraw: India lose 0-2 to Thailand in men's preliminary Group B
India seal 2-1 win vs
China in women's preliminary Group A
Soft Tennis: India lose to Chinese Taipei in mixed doubles Group 1
Wrestling: Mansi crashes to a defeat against Japan's Tsugumi
Sakurain in the women's freestyle 57kg quarterfinal
Pooja Gehlot defeats
Mongolia's Namuuntsetseg Tsogt-Ochir in women's freestyle wrestling 50kg
quarterfinal
Antim Panghal loses to
Japan's Akari Fujinami in women's freestyle 53kg quarterfinal
Squash: India win GOLD in mixed doubles final
Hockey: India lose to China in women's semifinal
Squash: Saurav Ghosal gets silver in men's singles squash
Wrestling: Antim takes bronze in women's freestyle 53Kg
India are ranked
fourth at the Asian Games 2023 with 82 medals - 19 gold, 31 silver and 32
bronze - behind China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. It is India's highest
medal tally in a single edition of the Asian Games.TILL DAY 12
Shooting: 22 - seven
gold, nine silver and six bronze.
Rowing: 5 - two silver
and three bronze.
Cricket: 1 - gold.
Sailing: 3 - one silver
and two bronze.
Equestrian: 2 - one gold
and one bronze.
Wushu: 1 - silver.
Tennis: 2 - one gold and
one silver.
Squash: 3 - one gold and
two bronze.
Athletics: 29 - six
gold, 14 silver and nine bronze.
Golf: 1 - silver.
Boxing: 5 - one silver
and four bronze.
Badminton: 1 - silver.
Roller skating: 2 -
bronze.
Table tennis: - 1
bronze.
Canoe: 1 bronze.
Archery: 2 - gold
Wrestling: 1 - bronze
9) Asian Games 2023
semi-final: IND assure medal after breezing past BAN, to play for gold:
Asian Games 2023: The
Indian men's cricket team has guaranteed a medal at the Asian Games by beating
Bangladesh by 9 wickets in the first semifinal and entering the gold medal
match. After keeping Bangladesh to a lowly 96/9, India were jolted early in
their chase as Yashasvi Jaiswal, the centurion from the previous game, fell in
the first over. But it was smooth sailing for India ever since, as Tilak Varma
and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad unleashed on the Bangladesh bowlers with a flurry
of fours and sixes and knocked off the target in just 9.2 overs.
Bangladesh were kept to
inside 100 as India's bowlers put up a brilliant show. R Sai Kishore finished
with 3/12 and Washington Sundar picked 2/15. Following a brief rain delay,
India's captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, won the toss and chose to field. The Indian
pacers provided an impressive start, causing Bangladesh to struggle at 21/3. R
Sai Kishore claimed India's first wicket, while Washington Sundar delivered two
crucial blows in his second over, adding to Bangladesh's woes. Pakistan vs
Netherlands Live Score, The situation took a turn for the worse following the
Powerplay, as the Bangladesh scoreboard painted a dismal picture at 41/5 with
India's finger spinners continuing to have a ball. Bangladesh's last 4 wickets
could only add 55 more as Indian bowlers made merry.
10) India thrash Japan 5-1 to reclaim Asian Games gold in men's hockey, qualify for Paris Olympics:
A dominant Indian men's hockey team thrashed defending champions Japan 5-1 to reclaim the Asian Games gold medal after nine years and qualify for next year's Paris Olympics here on Friday. The Indians, who had to be content with a bronze medal in the last edition in Jakarta, thus won their fourth Asian Games gold and first since the 2014 Incheon edition. India's other gold medals came in 1966 and 1998, both times in Bangkok.
Harmanpreet Singh (32nd, 59th minutes) scored a brace through penalty corners, Amit Rohidas (36th) also sounded the board from a set-piece, while Manpreet Singh (25th) and Abhishek (48th) found the net from field efforts to register the famous victory victory for India. Seren Tanaka converted a penalty corner for Japan in the 51st minutes.
The Nobel Prize in
Literature 2023 was awarded to Jon Fosse, "for his innovative plays and
prose which give voice to the unsayable" Jon Fosse
The Nobel Prize in
Literature for 2023 is awarded to the Norwegian author Jon Fosse,
The Nobel prize in
literature has been awarded to 64-year-old Norwegian author Jon Fosse “for his
innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”. His works include
the Septology series of novels, Aliss at the Fire, Melancholy and A Shining.
“His huge oeuvre,
spanning a variety of genres, comprises around 40 plays and a wealth of novels,
poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations,” said Anders
Olsson, chairman of the Nobel committee for literature. “Fosse blends a
rootedness in the language and nature of his Norwegian background with artistic
techniques in the wake of modernism.”
Jacques Testard, Fosse’s
fiction publisher, said on hearing the news: “He is an exceptional writer, who
has managed to find a totally unique way of writing fiction. As his Norwegian
editor Cecilie Seiness put it recently in an interview, if you open any book by
Jon and read a couple of lines, it couldn’t be written by anyone else.
“His fiction is
incantatory, mystical, and rooted in the landscape of the western fjords where
he grew up,” he added. “It’s very important to remember that he writes in
Nynorsk or New Norwegian, a minority language in Norway, a political act in
itself. He’s also an exceptional playwright and poet. He’s an incredible mind,
and it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.”
Born in 1959 in
Haugesund on the west coast of Norway, Fosse grew up in Strandebarm. Aged
seven, he nearly died in an accident, which he said was “the most important
experience” of his childhood and one that “created” him as an artist. In his
adolescence, he aspired to be a rock guitarist, before turning his ambitions to
writing.
His debut novel, Raudt,
svart (“Red, Black”), was published in 1983. His first play to be performed, Og
aldri skal vi skiljast (“And Never Shall We Part”), was staged at the National
Theater in Bergen in 1994. Yet, the first play he wrote, Nokon kjem til å komme
(“Someone Is Going to Come”), would lead to his breakthrough in 1999 when
French director Claude Régy staged it in Nanterre.
BOOK OF THIS WEEK:
Trilogy (Dalkey
Archive Essentials) Paperback : by Jon Fosse (Author), May-Brit Akerholt
(Translator)
Trilogy is Jon Fosse’s
critically acclaimed, luminous love story about Asle and Alida, two lovers
trying to find their place in this world. Homeless and sleepless, they wander
around Bergen in the rain, trying to make a life for themselves and the child
they expect. Through a rich web of historical, cultural, and theological
allusions, Fosse constructs a modern parable of injustice, resistance, crime,
and redemption. Consisting of three novellas (Wakefulness, Olav’s Dreams, and
Weariness), Trilogy is a haunting, mysterious, and poignant evocation of love,
for which Fosse received The Nordic Council’s Prize for Literature in 2015.
OTT AND MOVIE
RELEASE THIS WEEK:
Khufiya:
Directed by: Vishal
Bhardwaj
Cast: Tabu, Ali Fazal,
Wamiqa Gabbi
Vishal Bhardwaj is back
with another thrilling film Khufiya featuring Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi and Tabu. Tabu
essays the role of Krishna Mehra who is a RAW agent. India’s Research &
Analysis Wing has given her the responsibility of finding out an inside traitor
who is passing on secrets to their enemies. Tabu plays the convincing role of
someone who has lost her lover and that of a spy as she uncovers the truth of
such deception.
Releasing on: 5 October
Where To Watch: OTT
Thank You For
Coming:
Directed by: Karan
Boolani
Cast: Bhumi Pednekar,
Shehnaaz Gill, Dolly Singh, Kusha Kapila, Shibani Bedi
A coming-of-age sex
comedy featuring a fun gang of girls as its lead cast, the names include Bhumi
Pednekar, Shehnaaz Gill, Dolly Singh, Kusha Kapila, and Shibani Bedi. These 5
friends reunite after a long time at a family event. As fate may have it, chaos
ensues in heaps and bounds as they explore themes of friendship, love and
pleasure and rekindle their bonds.
Releasing on: October 6
Where To Watch: Cinemas
Mission Raniganj:
The Great Bharat Rescue:
Directed by: Tinu Suresh
Desai
Cast: Akshay Kumar,
Parineeti Chopra, Kumud Mishra, Pavan Malhotra, Ravi Kishan, Varun Badola,
Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma
Akshay Kumar is back to
enthral audiences with another film that’s based on a bone-chilling real-life
incident. The Raniganj Coalfields collapse in the year 1989 in West Bengal was
a dreadful incident. Akshay Kumar essays the role of the brave Jaswant Singh
Gill who led the operation of rescuing 65 mine workers. Parineeti will be seen
playing the role of his wife Nirdosh Kaur Gill. Jaswant has been honoured with
various accolades for his bravado act.
Releasing on: October 6
Where To Watch: Cinemas
Dono:
Directed by: Avnish S.
Barjatya
Cast: Rajveer Deol and
Paloma Dhillon
Dono marks the debut of
Rajveer Deol and Paloma Dhillon in the movies. Helmed by Avnish S. Barjatya,
the film revolves around their onscreen characters Dev and Meghna respectively.
They are strangers to each other. Dev is a friend of the bride, and Meghna is a
friend of the groom. Their paths cross each other at a lavish wedding and then
comes the journey of how they connect and their bond develops.
Releasing on: October 5
Where To Watch: Cinemas
Gadar 2 OTT
RELEASE:
Directed by Anil Sharma,
'Gadar 2' stars the iconic Sunny Deol, along with Utkarsh Sharma and Ameesha
Patel in pivotal roles. The film is all set to grace Zee5 on October 6.
Building upon the legacy of its predecessor, 'Gadar 2' continues the story with
Sunny Deol's character embarking on a daring mission. He ventures back into
Pakistan to rescue his son, who finds himself imprisoned and subjected to
unwarranted torture by Pakistani soldiers. Fans of the original film will
undoubtedly relish this thrilling sequel.
Mumbai Diaries
Season 2:
Directed by Nikkhil
Advani, 'Mumbai Diaries Season 2' takes viewers on an emotionally charged
journey as a team of skilled doctors grapples with the harrowing challenges of
saving lives during the catastrophic Mumbai floods of 2005. The series boasts
an ensemble cast, including Mohit Raina, Konkana Sen Sharma, Shreya
Dhanwanthary, Natasha Bhardwaj, Satyajeet Dubey, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Tina
Desai, Prakash Belawadi, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ridhi Dogra, Balaji Gauri,
and Sonali Kulkarni. This intense medical drama will be available for streaming
on Amazon Prime Video starting October 6.
Loki 2:
The much-anticipated
return of Tom Hiddleston's 'Loki' is slated for October 6 on Disney+Hotstar.
Directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, 'Loki 2' explores the titular
character's mission to track down Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes.
The stellar cast includes Sophia Di Martino, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku,
Eugene Cordero, Rafael Casal, Tara Strong, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr, Neil Ellice,
Jonathan Majors, Ke Huy Quan, and Owen Wilson. This release is certain to be a
highlight of the week for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Nature Magazine
National Geographic
Cartoon Games
History Channel
Online Movies
Scientific American
Filmfare Mag
Online Britannica
Time Mag
Unexplained Mysteries
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