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Prajwal Devaraj Reacts To False Allegations Against Him

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South Bengaluru woke up to a rude start on on 28th Sept, 2017, as it had witnessed a gruesome accident at South End Circle in the wee hours. Grandson of famous industrialist, Adikeshavulu, Mr. Vishnu, is allegedly involved in the accident. The accident involved 2 cars, and Vishnu was driving one of them. He has been injured along with 3 other persons from the other car. Apart from that, it is said that around 850 grams of marijuana was found in Vishnu’s car. Prajwal Devaraj, who is currently in Goa, apparently got fed up by falsified news & came live on Facebook to let people know that he was in Goa, shooting for his next film. He has dismissed the false claims and has expressed his disappointment towards the news channels for spreading fake news. Prajwal while live on Facebook said, “I am not aware of the information regarding the accident but I do know a little bit. My family is shocked by this development. I feel this is done to malign my name. News channels have certain responsibilities like we do, so they should realize that & start working honestly.”

Rakshit Shetty Accepts That Kirik Party Was Based On His Life!!!

Kirik Party is one of the highest grossing Kannada films of all times, having successfully run for more than 200 days in theatres. Released last year, Kirik Party was successful in drawing the youth crowd to theatres. A very few knew the fact that Kirik Party was entirely not fictional. For the uninitiated, the story of Kirik Party had a few situations that happened in Rakshit Shetty’s life when he was a college going student. But, very recently, when Rakshit Shetty appeared on Super Talk Time, the actor completely opened up about his college story and how it helped make him write Kirik Party’s story.

Dr. Shivarajkumar Signs On A New Film Titled Harihara!!!

Dr. Shivarajkumar is probably the busiest actor in Sandalwood, with a load of films piled up for launch. The Hattrick Hero already has a huge list of films banked upon him and has gone a step further to sign on one more. Yes, Dr. Shivarajkumar has signed on a new film titled, Harihara. The film will be helmed by Pramod Chakravarthy & will be produced by Mahadev B, Seshu Chakravarthy & Sangappa B. According to the film’s director Pramod, Harihara will be an out & out commercial film with a lot of sentiment & family values. Apparently, Shivanna is touted to play 2 different shades in the movie. The film will apparently give a career facelift to the already King of Sandalwood, Dr. Shivarajkumar and will only have 2 songs in the entire movie, says the director of the film.

Mohanlal Announces Next Project After Odiyan

Mohanlal has announced his next project, after the ongoing Odiyan. The new film will be directed by Ajoy Varma & will be scripted by Saju Thomas. Produced under the banner of Moonshot Entertainment by Santhosh T Kuruvilla, the film has not been titled yet. Meanwhile, Mohanlal’s Villain is gearing up for release this month. Tamil actor Vishal is playing an important role in the film, along with Manju Warrier, Hansika Motwani, Srikanth & Raashi Khanna. Mohanlal is sporting a salt “n” pepper look in Villain. In fact, the superstar had a slightly similar look in Unnikrishnan’s earlier films Grandmaster & Mister Fraud as well. But in an interview, the director said that it’s a sheer coincidence.

Dileep Given A Rousing Welcome Outside The jail!!!

Dileep, who is finally out of jail after being given bail by the High Court. He was given a rousing welcome by his fans, friends & family members. If the actor was booed by the crowd as he went to the jail almost 85 days back, there were huge cut -outs, crackers bursting & sweets being distributed, at the jail premises. When Dileep reached his house at Aluva, thousands of fans were waiting for him outside the house. He waved to him & they were delighted. Wife Kavya Madhavan & daughter Meenakshi welcomed the actor, who got bail in the actress’ kidnapping case. Actor Dharmajan was present before the jail & he was emotional, as he shared his happiness with the TV cameras. Actor Siddique & director Nadhir Shah were present at the hero’s house. Dileep has been given bail under strict conditions. There are reports that the actor’s fans shouted slogans against a young hero, some news anchors & so on & so forth. Now all eyes are on the investigation team as they get ready to file the charge sheet.

Nivin Pauly’s Kayamkulam Kochunni Starts Rolling

The shooting of Kayamkulam Kochunni, directed by Rosshan Andrrews, has started rolling from 1st Oct, 2017. Nivin Pauly plays the title character in the film. The hero posted pictures from the film’s pooja on Facebook with the note: “It’s a blessing to play on screen the life of Kerala’s most celebrated Robin Hood!!! “I am keenly looking forward for it!” Kayamkulam Kochunni has been scripted by Bobby -Sanjay. There was an earlier film with the same title, directed by P A Thomas with Sathyan in the lead, which came out n 1966 about the local hero from Kerala’s history, who used to rob the rich and give to the poor. A popular Malayalam TV serial was also made on Kochunni.

UN: Myanmar violence may be ‘crimes against humanity’

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UN rights experts urge Myanmar to ‘vigorously prosecute cases of violence’ against Rohingya women and children.

More than 500,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

UN rights experts have warned that the violence against women and children in Rakhine State “may amount to crimes against humanity”.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Rights of a Child called on Myanmar authorities to “promptly and effectively investigate and vigorously prosecute cases of violence against women and children” in northern Rakhine.

“We are particularly worried about the fate of Rohingya women and children subject to serious violations of their human rights, including killings, rape and forced displacement,” the committees said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Such violations may amount to crimes against humanity and we are deeply concerned at the state’s failure to put an end to these shocking human rights violations being committed at the behest of the military and other security forces, and of which women and children continue to bear the brunt.”

More than 507,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar’s army launched a military crackdown in response to an attack by Rohingya fighters on dozens of police posts and an army base on August 25.

Rohingya who have fled have told stories of rape and other sexual abuse, indiscriminate killings and arson by Myanmar security forces.

The UN has previously called the Rohingya exodus from Myanmar to Bangladesh “the most urgent refugee crisis in the world”.

The mainly Muslim minority, who live primarily in Rakhine State, is not recognised as an ethnic group in Myanmar, despite having lived there for generations. They have been denied citizenship and are stateless.

On Monday, Bangladesh’s foreign minister said Myanmar proposed taking back Rohingya refugees who had fled to his country.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Myanmar official Kyaw Tint Swe, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said both countries agreed to form a joint working group to begin work on the massive repatriation.

No details were provided about how such repatriation will take place and rights groups fear the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya without documents will be left in limbo.

The two UN rights committees on Wednesday pointed to how the statelessness of Rohingya women and children and “their protracted displacement had exposed them to high levels of poverty and malnutrition”.

“We urged the Myanmar authorities to address the needs of internally displace Rohingya women and children, as well as Rohingya refugee women and children living in camps in neighbouring countries, with the support of the international community,” the committees said.

BCCI announces Sri Lanka tour schedule

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New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the schedule of Sri Lanka’s tour of India to be held from November 16 to December 24.

The tour will feature three Test matches, three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and as many Twenty20 Internationals (T20I).

The visitors will start with a warm-up match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 11-13 before the opening Test at the same venue from November 16-20.

The second Test will take place in Nagpur from November 24-28 while the third and final Test will be held here from December 2-6.

The ODI series will tee off with the first encounter in Dharamsala on December while the second will be held in Mohali (December 13) and Vizag (December 17).

The T20I series will start on December 20 in Cuttack with Indore (December 22) and Mumbai (December 24) hosting the second and third matches, respectively.

(IANS)

An Interaction With Superstar Mahesh Babu

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Mahesh Babu, the ‘Prince’ly actor turned producer of Tollywood, even after having crossed 40 summers of his life, still looks as handsome as ever. Girls swoon over his good looking sexy demeanor. The “Hunky Heartthrob” of the female brigade is how he is often described as. Besides his dashing & debonair persona makes the fairer sex go weak in the knees every time they happen to see him in flesh & blood or even on the celluloid silver screen. Mahesh Babu was in in Le Meridian, Bangalore recently where he had arrived for the promotional activity of his Telugu – Tamil bilingual film namely Spyder along with herione Rakul Preet Singh & director A R Murgadoss.

*First things first please describe your illustrious filmic journey from your debut film Raja Kumarudu to your latest release Spyder.

*Regarding this I still have a mixed feeling. On one hand it was fulfilling, satisfying albeit exciting, enriching, enthralling, enlightening, exhausting and to some extent even adventurous. And I was also happy, although reluctantly, doing a few Telugu films as a child artiste too. On the other hand it was also depressing, what with people around you trying to pull you down for no reasons whatsoever. In brief I would also add that like any other actor or for that matter a star even I too had my fair share of the ups & downs, the highs & lows including the trials & tribulations in my, as you said, illustrious filmic journey.

*Ok! So moving on, does being the son of a legendary & veteran Telugu actor Krishna proved to be a bane or a boon of your filmic career?

*I would certainly not like to put it that way. As being a star – actor’s son only helped me as far as my debut film Raja Kumarudu was concerned, like as my launch pad it did help me. But then after that I was on my own. As like all my contemporary actors all over I also strongly believe that only talent can succeed. Like for me, I would also say that there was a huge pressure on me. My 1st debut film Raja Kumarudu definitely was a big hit. But it was because of my father’s fans supporting it that I got this opening, but my 2nd, 3rd & 4th film just fell flat on its face and I had to once again prove myself with the other subsequent films of mine. So you see it all boils down to your talent.

*What are your expectations from your latest release Spyder and what is Spyder all about with respect to your role in it?

*This is the 1st time ever that I have worked simultaneously in a Telugu – Tamil bilingual namely Spyder. It has been excellently directed by A R Murgadoss. I wouldn’t say that it’s a typical James Bond kind of spy thriller. But, it has definitely got its elements. It is a typical A R Murugadoss kind of film, where the audiences would be sitting on the edge of their seat. In fact Spyder for me was the most thrilling, the most amazing, the most mind blowing, the most super spydi I mean the most super speedy & obviously the most difficult experience of my Telugu film career. And the most difficult part was shooting for the Tamil version and also shooting simultaneously for the Telugu version of Spyder. As this was the 1st ever time that I was shooting for a Tamil film and only I know what I went through to achieve that perfection & and that finesse that I have always succeeded in displaying so often in all my Telugu films. Incidentally speaking in Spyder I have enacted the role of an Intelligence Bureau officer. Spyder has been produced by Tagore Madhu & N V Prasad besides the film has been made on a lavish budget of approximately 120 crores. while Spyder is actually based on bio -terrorism and it also features actor – filmmaker S J Suryah as the antagonist.

Rakul Preet Singh plays the leading lady. That apart Spyder is a Harris Jayraj musical soiree. And it has been distributed especially in Karnataka by Goldie films. That apart Spyder also happens to be the 1st time ever collaboration of Super director A R Murugadoss & obviously Superstar Mahesh Babu.

*Like other South Indian actors Rajnikant, Kaml Haasan, Mamooty, Mohanlal, Venkatesh, Dhanush etc why are you so reluctant to step into the Bollywoodian arena?

*Here I would like to squash all the rumors once & for all that I have no intention whatsover to mark my entry in the Bollywoodian arena. I have enough of work in Telugu films to even last me for a life time. I will never ever do a Bollywood film, no matter how tempting the offer is.

*But you have given a very contradictory version regarding this particular aspect recently to the electronic media. How come?

*Yes Sir!!! I agree that I did say that I am indeed ready to star in a Bollywood film, but it all depends on the project & the director and when somebody approaches me with an exciting idea I may accept the offer. But on second thoughts I also wish to clarify that I gave that version to the electronic media on the spur of the moment to put an end to all the speculations right there & then and yes I also stand by my version given to the print media today. As now I really do not wish to get into the Bollywoodian rat race. I am considered as the Prince of Telugu films so why should I prefer be a beggar in Bollywood films.

*Next question. How come Prince Mahesh Babu was never a part of the rumor mills as far as any kind of controversies are concerned including the romantic ones?

*The answer to that is very simple. I have always believed in leading a hassle free & straight forward life. And the only time I fell in love with a girl (Read actress Namrata Shirodkar) I instantly got married and she will be my wife forever at least till death do us apart. (Laughs).

*How was the experience of working with your co – star Rakul Preet Singh & director A R Murgadoss?

*It has been a very good experience of working with Rakul Preet Singh. She has proved to be an amazing & a lovely person as a co – star. In fact in all the promotional activity all over we have been talking only about her and how good she is as an actress. Thanks Rakul for being my co – star. That apart I feel at a loss for words to describe the dedication & the perfection of A R Murgadoss Sir.

*It seems you are very much against the idea of remakes of the original language films?

*Yes it is very much true that I have never liked the idea of remaking a film. No sir I am definitely not into remakes. I never liked that idea and my dream was always that a Telugu film should be made in Telugu and then everybody should talk about it. S. S. Rajamouli achieved my dream, so I know that you can dream. That’s how I am and now with Spyder, I am coming closer to my dream.

*Name 5 Best favorite films of your Telugu film career.

*The 5 most favorite films of my Telugu film career are Srimanthudu, Okkadu, Pokiri, Dookudu and now of course Spyder. But I also really enjoyed doing all my Telugu films.

*As a parting shot do you want to say a last few words for your global fans especially the Bangalorean ones?

*Yes of course I hereby take this opportunity to profusely thank all the organizations who have bestowed on me the National & the International awards galore. And last but not the least I wish to thank all my beloved global fans who have always encouraged me to give off my best and a special thanks to my Southern fans who have bestowed on me the title of “Prince”. And I shall also remain forever indebted to all my Bengaluru fans who have always welcomed me with open arms and given me all their love whenever I have come here to promote my films. It has always given me a great pleasure to visit Bengaluru time & again to meet my lovely Bangalorean fans. Namaskara!!!!!

Two rape victims move HC,seek life imprisonment for Dera chief

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Chandigarh: Two women followers raped by the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking life imprisonment for the sect head sentenced to 20 years in prison. A special CBI court on August 28 had sentenced Ram Rahim Singh to 20 years in prison after his conviction in two rape cases.

“A revision petition has been filed today in the Punjab and Haryana High court for the enhancement of sentence for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to life imprisonment in rape case,” said victims’ counsel Navkiran Singh here. “In this case, the Dera sect chief was considered as ‘Pita Ji’ (father) by his followers. Victims were under emotional and physical custody of Dera chief and he broke their trust and misused his position as a religious and spiritual leader. Therefore, we sought life imprisonment instead of 20-year sentence,” the counsel further said.

CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh had pronounced two sentences of 10 years rigorous imprisonment in each of the two cases that date back to 2002. Besides, the court had also fined him Rs 15 lakh in each of the two cases. Ram Rahim was convicted by the special CBI court on August 25, following which violence and arson had erupted in Panchkula and Sirsa districts which left 41 people dead and scores of injured. Ram Rahim is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak district of Panchkula.

In April 2002, an anonymous letter was written to the then Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, complaining about alleged sexual exploitation of women followers at Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa
Then in May 2002, the high court directed Sirsa district and session judge to probe the allegations in the letter. In September 2002, the high court had handed over the matter to the CBI after district court indicated possibility of sexual exploitation.

In December 2002, the CBI registered a case of rape, criminal intimidation against Ram Rahim Singh.
The CBI had filed charge sheet against Dera head in Ambala court in July 2007. The charge sheet mentioned about sexual exploitation of two ‘sadhvis’ (women followers) between 1999 and 2001. In September 2008, the special CBI court framed charges against Gurmeet Ram Rahim under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

On August 17, 2017, the arguments of prosecution and defence concluded and the Special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh on August 25 convicted Ram Rahim Singh in the rape case.

(Agencies)

RBI lowers economic growth projection to 6.7% in FY18

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Mumbai: The Reserve Bank today lowered to 6.7 per cent the economic growth projection for 2017-18 from its August forecast of 7.3 per cent in view of issues with GST implementation and lower kharif output estimates.

In its Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017 -18, RBI said the loss of momentum in first quarter of the current fiscal and the first advance estimates of kharif foodgrains production are early setbacks that impart a downside to the outlook on growth projections.

The implementation of GST so far also appears to have had an adverse impact, rendering prospects for the manufacturing sector uncertain in the short term, it said. “This may further delay the revival of investment activity, which is already hampered by stressed balance sheets of banks and corporates,” it said. RBI further said that consumer confidence and overall business assessment of the manufacturing and services sectors surveyed by it weakened in the second quarter (July- September).

On the positive side, firms expect a significant improvement in business sentiment in third quarter, said the Resolution of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) put by the central bank on its website. “Taking into account the above factors, the projection of real GVA (Gross Value Added) growth for 2017-18 has been revised down to 6.7 per cent from the August 2017 projection of 7.3 per cent, with risks evenly balanced,” it said.

Fitch Ratings this week had lowered India’s economic growth forecast for the current fiscal to 6.9 per cent from 7.4 per cent earlier after the GDP growth “unexpectedly faltered” in the April-June quarter. Asian Development Bank too has lowered the growth projection to 7 per cent for the current fiscal from its earlier estimate of 7.4 per cent. The real GVA growth slowed significantly in the April- June period of 2017-18, cushioned partly by the extensive front- loading of expenditure by the central government.

GVA growth in agriculture and allied activities slackened quarter-on-quarter in the usual first quarter moderation, partly reflecting deceleration in the growth of livestock products, forestry and fisheries. Industrial sector GVA growth fell sequentially as well as on a y-o-y basis. The manufacturing sector the dominant component of industrial GVA grew by 1.2 per cent, the lowest in the last 20 quarters.

RBI said the uneven spatial distribution of the monsoon was reflected in the first advance estimates of kharif production by the Ministry of Agriculture, which were below the level of the previous year due to lower area sown under major crops including rice, coarse cereals, pulses, oilseeds, jute and mesta. The central bank further said that the assessment of food prices going forward is “largely favourable”, though the first advance estimates of kharif production pose some uncertainty.

(Agencies)

Petrol price down Rs 2.5 a litre, diesel by Rs 2.25

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New Delhi: Petrol price was Wednesday cut by Rs 2.5 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.25 following the reduction in excise duty on auto fuels.

Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 68.38 a litre, down from Rs 70.88. A litre of diesel now comes for Rs 56.89 as against Rs 59.14 previously, according to Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer.

The government had yesterday cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre each to moderate the relentless rise in fuel prices over the last three months.

IOC Director (Finance) A K Sharma said the cut in retail selling price is higher after factoring in its impact on VAT.

As things stand, excise duty is levied on fuel produced ex-refinery. Local sales tax or VAT is levied on the total of ex-refinery cost plus excise duty and commission paid to dealers.

So, till yesterday the VAT on petrol in Delhi was Rs 15.07 while today it stands at Rs 14.54. On diesel, VAT today is Rs 8.41 per litre as against Rs 8.73 previously.

The excise duty cut paused the relentless rise in rates witnessed since July 4. While petrol prices had increased by Rs 7.8 to reach Rs 70.88 a litre in Delhi Tuesday, the highest since August 2014, diesel rates had risen by Rs 5.7 to touch an all-time high of Rs 59.14.

The excise duty cut would cost the government Rs 26,000 crore in annual revenue and about Rs 13,000 crore during the remaining part of the current fiscal year that ends on March 31, 2018, the government had said yesterday.

The government, which had between November 2014 and January 2016 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on nine occasions to take away gains arising from plummeting global oil prices, has been criticised for not cutting excise duty despite a sustained rise in fuel prices since early July.

In all, duty on petrol was hiked by Rs 11.77 per litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre in those 15 months that helped government’s excise mop-up more than double to Rs 2,42,000 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 99,000 crore in 2014-15.

While the costliest petrol was sold in September 2013 when it was priced at Rs 76.06 a litre in Delhi, the previous highest rate for diesel was also during the BJP rule in September 2014 when it was priced at Rs 58.97 per litre.

On petrol, excise has been cut to Rs 19.48 per litre from Rs 21.48 per litre and on diesel to Rs 15.33 a litre from Rs 17.33 previously.

The rise in petrol and diesel prices also reflected in wholesale price inflation, which increased to 3.24 per cent in August 2017, as compared to 1.88 per cent in July.

(PTI)

Demonetisation was like suicide: Arun Shourie

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New Delhi: Slamming the Narendra Modi government over sliding economic growth and increasing job losses, former Union Minister Arun Shourie has likened demonetisation with suicide, saying the latter is too “a bold step”.

He also called the Narendra Modi government as “government of two-and-a-half persons”.

“This is a government by ‘ilhaam’ (revelation). The Prime Minister has the ‘ilhaam’ one night that demonetisation should be done and he does it. In any case it was a bold step. I have to remind you suicide too is a bold step,” Shourie said in an interview with NDTV when asked why in his view, the government went in for demonetisation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8 last year.

“Which argument (offered by the government in defence of demonetisation) today survives? Black money? All of it turned white. Terrorism? Terrorists are still coming into India. At the end they have nothing to say,” he added.

Shourie also took a dig at BJP President Amit Shah who has said that current slowdown is “due to technical reasons”, terming him “that famous economist?” and underscoring that official figures cannot be brushed under the carpet.

He also said those running the government do not seek any advice or hear the facts.

“This is a government of two-and-a-half persons, that is, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and one in-house lawyer. They don’t have the expertise and they have surrounded themselves by persons who don’t have the expertise.

“They are now in a sealed echo-chamber. They don’t hear what is happening. The distress the RBI has documented of small and medium enterprise. These poor fellows had been clamouring and shouting. Nobody heard them,” he added.

He said that persons like Yashwant Sinha, P. Chidambaram and several other economists have been “talking about facts”.

“And those facts emerge from official reports such as The Economic Survey, the RBI surveys, the SBI’s report etc. Is it a fact or not that GDP has collapsed to 3.7 per cent according to the old series? Is it a fact or not that index of industrial production has gone down from about 9 per cent in 2015-16 to about 1.7 per cent in April to July? Is it not a matter of concern?” Shourie said.

However, he said, despite all the red signals, there was little hope of a course change as “it all flows from the nature of the government” and the Modi government has a “sense of hustings”.

“Their core competence is event management. They are so self-satisfied with it. They are just briefing each other, not listening to others… They are concerned about 300-feet statute, bullet trains etc,” he said.

On BJP and government functionaries calling former Union Minister Sinha a “frustrated” person after he lashed out at the government, Shourie said it was “their standard operating procedure”.

“Whenever they are confronted with inconvenient facts, they try to bury it in avalanche of abuse. I have aconstructive suggestion for them. They should publish a list of persons in advance who they think are frustrated,” he said.

He said that the government’s policies must have predictability, stability and credibility — all of which is totally absent now — so that investors and industry are sure of what they can expect from the government and not taken by surprise by out of the blue announcements followed by policy flip flops as has happened under the present regime, be it demonetisation or GST implementation.

(PTI)

Nobel Medicine Prize goes to Hall, Rosbash and Young

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Three US geneticists’ discoveries identified genes that set ‘circadian clock’ which regulates sleep and eating patterns.

Young has been on Rockefeller University’s faculty in New York since 1978 [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Three US geneticists – Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young – have been awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for shedding light on the biological clock that governs the sleep-wake cycles of most living things.

The team’s work revealed the role of genes in setting the “circadian clock” which regulates sleep and eating patterns, hormones and body temperature, the Nobel committee said in announcing the prize on Monday.

“Their discoveries explain how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronised with the Earth’s revolutions.”

All life on Earth is tuned to the rotation of our planet. Scientists have long known that living organisms, including humans, have an internal timekeeper that helps them anticipate and adapt to the rhythm of the day.

Hall, 72, Rosbash, 73, and Young, 68, “were able to peek inside our biological clock and elucidate its inner workings”, the jury said.

The three scientists will share the prize of nine million Swedish kronor (about $1.1m or 937,000 euros)

They identified genes that regulate the clock, and the mechanism by which light can synchronise it.

Circadian dysfunction

A disrupted circadian clock is what causes jetlag – which happens when the internal clock and external environment move out of sync as people rapidly change time zones.

The clock also regulates sleep, which is critical for normal brain function.

Circadian dysfunction has been linked to depression, bipolar disorder, cognitive function, poor memory formation and some neurological diseases.

Studies have indicated that a chronic misalignment between a person’s lifestyle and the circadian clock – when doing irregular shift work, for example – might be associated with an increased risk for neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders and inflammation.

Disruptions to the circadian clock can have serious consequences ranging from impulsive behaviour to life-threatening conditions such as obesity and cancer, the experts say.

One need only to look at the poor health records of shift workers such as nurses or factory labourers.

The World Health Organization has already raised the red flag, with a 2007 report noting that “circadian disruption” is “probably carcinogenic” – which means cancer-causing.

Scientists are working hard on methods to alter the rhythm of errant clocks as a means to “improve human health”, the Nobel jury said.

The period gene

Using the fruit fly as a model organism, this year’s laureates isolated a gene that controls the daily biological rhythm, called the period gene.

“They showed that this gene encodes a protein that accumulates in the cell during the night and is then degraded during the day,” the Nobel statement said.

“Subsequently they identified additional protein components of this machinery, exposing the mechanism governing the self-sustaining clockwork inside the cell.”

When workers force themselves to stay awake, it triggers the release of stress hormones such as cortisol – the same one that rushes into your blood in a life-or-death situation.

The chemicals may keep a person awake, but there are significant side effects.

For example, cortisol works to suppress the immune system and, in the long run, can make a person more susceptible to a range of illnesses.

Such a lifestyle also opens one up to eating outside of normal times, when the body’s metabolism might be lower and the calories are more likely to be converted into fat instead of being burned up.

Even short-term disruptions of the circadian clock can wreak havoc on the human body, such as jetlag.

Flying from Paris to Los Angeles deposits travellers nine hours earlier in time, upending eating and sleeping patterns.

The results can be blunted interaction with the world and a lack of empathy, complex thinking, or even clear memories.

In such a state, people can do “overly impulsive things – jump the red traffic light and fail to see the consequences of actions”.

Curiosity for medicine

Rosbash, born in 1944 in Kansas City, Missouri, to parents who had fled Nazi Germany, received his doctoral degree in 1970 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has since 1974 been on faculty at Brandeis University, where he worked closely with Hall on his prize-winning research.

Hall had originally planned to attend medical school when he entered Amherst College in Massachusetts in 1963, but halfway through his bachelor’s degree, his curiosity for medicine was replaced by one for basic science.

He went on to earn his doctoral degree in 1971 at the University of Washington, before joining Brandeis University in 1974. He is now retired.

Young received his doctoral degree from the University of Texas in Austin in 1975 and has been on the faculty at Rockefeller University in New York since 1978.

SIT gathered clues on Gauri’s murder: Minister Ramalinga Reddy

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Chikkaballapura: Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Monday said the Special Investigation Team which is probing the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh has gathered some clues and is gathering evidence to claim it in public.

“SIT gathered some clues, but we cannot tell things to the media for now, because we should have correct evidence for the clues we have got,” he told reporters at Chikkaballapura, 60 km from Bengaluru.

Gauri Lankesh was shot dead at close range by unknown assailants outside her residence here on the night of September 5.

He said “If there are no proper evidence when we file a charge sheet at the court, it won’t stand. So we are trying to collect the evidence correctly. Our SIT is working towards gathering evidence.”

The Karnataka government, which has constituted the SIT headed by IGP (Intelligence) B K Singh, has announced a Rs 10 lakh reward to anyone who gives clues about the killing that led to outrage and protests.

As a political slug fest broke out over the killing, her family had pleaded against giving a political colour to it.

(Agencies)

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