Monday, February 16

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Burning firewood at home in winters raising air pollution, premature deaths
Health

Burning firewood at home in winters raising air pollution, premature deaths

Burning firewood at home can be a major contributor to air pollution and premature deaths in winters, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, showed that residential wood burning comprises about 22 per cent of PM2.5 pollution in winter, making it one of the single largest sources of fine particle pollution during the coldest months. The modelling study led by researchers from Northwestern University found that pollution from residential wood burning is associated with about 8,600 premature deaths per year in the US. They suggested using alternative appliances to heat homes instead of burning wood, which can have a big impact on fine particulate matter in the air -- and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. "We frequently hear about the negati...
Arjun Kanungo on making music for Ashish Chanchlani’s horror comedy Ekaki
Entertainment, Movies

Arjun Kanungo on making music for Ashish Chanchlani’s horror comedy Ekaki

Arjun Kanungo has a peculiar way of describing his music in director Ashish Chanchlani’s new series Ekaki. According to the composer, the three songs in the series don’t “try to behave”. “Ekaki is a horror comedy, which means nothing is supposed to behave properly, including the music. I let the scenes guide me and trusted instinct more than planning,” he elaborated, when we got on a call with him. That fluidity is audible across the soundtrack. Porancha Ranga marks Kanungo’s debut Marathi composition. While it’s a new language in his discography, it isn’t an unfamiliar one. “I’ve grown up in Mumbai, and even though I’m not Maharashtrian, Marathi has always been around me. I grew up hearing it constantly, so it felt familiar even though I hadn’t composed in it before.”  A still from ‘Eka...
This Soundcore Bluetooth Speaker Is $75 Right Now
Life Style

This Soundcore Bluetooth Speaker Is $75 Right Now

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Soundcore Boom 3i is clearly built with water-first trips in mind. It has an IP68 rating, so it’s fully resistant to dust and water, and it’s also designed to handle saltwater, which in itself is pretty rare even for outdoor speakers. That’s the kind of detail that matters if your idea of “outside” means beaches, boats, or time near the ocean. It also floats, and it does so with the speakers facing upward, which keeps the sound usable instead of muffled when it’s bobbing around. In practice, that makes it less annoying to live with than other floating speakers that constantly flip or drift sideways. The Boom 3i normally sits at $...
Prince Harry takes stand, denies having ‘leaky’ social circle in Daily Mail trial – National
Entertainment, Movies

Prince Harry takes stand, denies having ‘leaky’ social circle in Daily Mail trial – National

Prince Harry struck a defensive tone at the start of his testimony on Wednesday in his lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail and left the witness box hours later on the brink of tears. After disputing that reporters used legitimate sources to publish revealing details of his life, he provided an emotional glimpse into the toll that a life in the spotlight and his battle against the British media had taken on him and his family.“They continue to come after me, they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery,” he said as he choked back tears in London’s High Court.Harry and six other prominent figures, including Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, allege that Associated Newspapers Ltd. invaded their privacy by engaging in a “clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful infor...
Indian doctors brave extreme weather to carry out life-saving liver and pancreas
Health

Indian doctors brave extreme weather to carry out life-saving liver and pancreas

Braving biting cold, incessant rain and strong winds, transplant teams of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) ensured that the precious gift of life reached two waiting recipients without compromise. In a remarkable demonstration of medical excellence, the hospital retrieved and transplanted vital organs from AIIMS Rishikesh in Uttarakhand under exceptionally challenging conditions and critical time constraints. Raghu Paswan’s liver, one kidney and pancreas were allocated to PGIMER in Chandigarh, while one kidney was allocated to AIIMS in New Delhi, the heart to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) in New Delhi, and the lungs to Apollo Hospital in Chennai, extending the donor’s legacy of life across multiple regions of the country. From sudden loss...
Google Chrome Is About to Drop Support for These Macs
Life Style

Google Chrome Is About to Drop Support for These Macs

Nothing lasts forever, and technology is no exception. As shiny and new as your computer was when you first bought it, eventually, developers will drop support for it. There's no telling when exactly, but at some point, you'll open an app to find a message that reads something like: "This device does not support the latest version of this app. Please update your hardware."That goes for Macs, as well. You might forget that fact, since Apple's computers tend to stick around for a long time. But inevitably, the shadow of end-of-life policies comes for them, too. If you're still rocking an older Mac, I have some bad news, specifically if you use Chrome: Google is officially planning its last supported version of the browser. Google Chrome is dropping support for macOS Monterey Google quietly...
Finn Wolfhard`s SNL monologue crashed by Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin
Entertainment, Movies

Finn Wolfhard`s SNL monologue crashed by Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin

Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard`s latest stint on Saturday Night Live was hilariously crashed by his long-time co-stars and friends Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin. In the superhit Netflix show, Wolfhard played the character of Mike Wheeler, while Gaten and Caleb were seen as Dustin and Lucas, respectively. During his SNL opening monologue, Finn Wolfhard joked about finally being an adult, only to find his friends joining in. Addressing the conclusion of Stranger Things, Wolfhard playfully said, "I know a lot of people still see me as the kid from Stranger Things, right? But I`m 23 now, and I`m proud to officially announce that I am a man. Oh yeah, that`s right. Things are different now. Like, for example, I have facial hair. Can we zoom in on it? It might only be one hair, but t...
Delhi docs remove 19.9 kg tumour from woman suffering from colon cancer
Health

Delhi docs remove 19.9 kg tumour from woman suffering from colon cancer

Doctors at the All India Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi have successfully treated a colon cancer patient by removing a whopping 19.9 kg tumour from a 43-year-old, giving her a new lease of life.  Munmun, hailing from Durgapur, West Bengal, came to the hospital in July 2024 with abdominal distension (a larger-than-normal belly). She had a history of unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy -- the surgical removal of one ovary and one fallopian tube on one side of the body -- 25 years ago. Munmun was diagnosed with Stage-4 colon cancer, featuring pelvic predominance. She had visited multiple hospitals and undergone several cycles of chemotherapy. Despite that, there was no improvement, and the disease kept progressing. With the tumour spreading to multiple abdominal organs, she was given only 3-4...
Whatever happened to the blockbuster movie soundtrack? – National
Entertainment, Movies

Whatever happened to the blockbuster movie soundtrack? – National

When talking pictures arrived in the late 1920s, songs from movies became big business. Al Jolson, who starred in The Jazz Singer, the first blockbuster talkie, sold millions of 78 RPM records. Fifteen years later, Irving Berlin sat next to a swimming pool in Hollywood and wrote White Christmas for the film Holiday Inn. The Bing Crosby version, released on July 30, 1942, is still the biggest-selling single of all time with lifetime sales somewhere in excess of $50 million.When Columbia Records unveiled the long-playing vinyl album at a big ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in June 1948, Hollywood was very interested. Since almost the beginning of recorded music, songs from Broadway musicals and films had been a major source of hits. Movie producers saw the LP as another way...
Google’s AI-Generated Headlines Are Here to Stay
Life Style

Google’s AI-Generated Headlines Are Here to Stay

Last month, Google told online publishers that it had started testing AI-generated headlines in Google Discover, replacing stories' carefully handcrafted titles with truncated alternatives made up by Gemini. Some journalists were predictably unhappy, but now, the company says that the AI headlines are no longer an experiment—they're a "feature."Back when the testing began, the results ranged from poorly worded to straight up misinformation. For instance, one AI-generated headline promised "Steam Machine price revealed," when the original article made no such claim. Another said "BG3 players exploit children," which sounds serious, until you click through to the article and see that it's about a clever way to recruit invincible party members in Baldur's Gate 3 (which, to be fair, does invol...