Experts predict Bitcoin to touch INR 26 Lakhs next year

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With Bitcoin becoming the talk of the town owing to its gigantic growth, experts believe that the currency has a much higher growth potential and can grow four folds next year.

Digital currency Bitcoin is nearing INR 6.4 lakhs ($10,000) and has gained a multi fold growth in just a matter of months. While many financial experts have warned in the past about investing in Bitcoins, its unstoppable growth is sure raising active conversations in the industry regarding its mainstream usage.

The newest update in the story has come from  Michael Novogratz, the former manager for Fortress Hedge Fund who has claimed that this crypto currency could grow four folds in the next 13 months reaching a whopping INR 26 lakh ($40,000).

"Bitcoin could be at INR 26 lakhs ($40,000) at the end of 2018. Ethereum, which I think just touched $500 or is getting close, could be triple where it is as well,'' informed Michael Novogratz  to CNBC.

There's a big wave of money coming, not just here but all around the world," adds Novogratz. The former manager is also intending to roll out a digital assets fund of $500 million via his new company, Galaxy Investment Partners.

''What's different about these coins than other commodities? there is no supply response here, so it's a speculator's dream in that as buying happens there's no new supply response that comes up. So every price move gets exaggerated. It's going to get exaggerated on the way up. There will be 50 percent corrections. It will get exaggerated on the way down,'' adds  Novogratz.

The value of a bitcoin in the year 2010 stood at a mere $0.08 and while its trading value has sky rocketed the amount of transactions involved with the currency have not soared at a similar pace. This hints that the crypto currency is solely being utilized as an investment and not as a currency for shopping commodities or services.

The soaring growth of Bitcoin has concluded in thousands of new traders betting big on the currency while new ventures are also utilizing it to raise investments and bypass the transparency  measures.

Experts however also believe that the crypto currency has transformed into a bubble which is detached from the real world and that it could witness a massive crash. As per Economist Nouriel Roubini the growth of this online currency is a speculative bubble and is bound to conclude in a disaster.

The currency which was once the sole mode of payments on the dark web and for hackers is not centrally administered and miners from across the globe facilitate its transactions for some commission. Bitcoins are usually kept in a digital wallet and can be used for currency exchange and buying products and services.

If you plan to invest in the currency then bear in mind that Bitcoin is extremely volatile and crypto currency funds do charge a significant money for investing your money in the currency. The value of this digital currency is also dependent on the expectation that it will continue to balloon and will become the dominant cryptocurrency.

Samosa vs burger: Which junk food is healthier? Here is truth Samosa vs burger: Which junk food is healthier? Here is truth

Are you among those who often go for a burger while in a restaurant but avoid eating a samosa calling it unhealthy? Then, here is an eye-opener for you.

Indian tea-time snack is healthier than a burger as per the CSE report

Are you among those who often go for a burger while in a restaurant but avoid eating a samosa calling it unhealthy? Then, here is an eye-opener for you. The favourite Indian ‘chai’-time snack, samosa has won the battle against burger. In the latest report released by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a samosa is better for an individual’s health than a burger because it is made by using fresh ingredients and is free of additives, preservatives and flavouring. The report, released on Monday, observes that while a samosa may be calorie-dense, it is largely made of chemical-free ingredients such as refined wheat flour, cumin, boiled potatoes, peas, salt, chillies, spices, vegetable oil or ghee. A burger, on the other hand, has preservatives, acidity regulator, emulsifier, improver and antioxidant along with refined wheat flour, sugar, wheat gluten, edible vegetable oil, yeast, salt, soya flour, sesame seed, vegetables, mayonnaise, cheese or potato patty.

The report also talks up other Indian snacks which include foods such as poha that are made with natural ingredients, and fresh juices that are a mix of fruit and water are also termed better than noodles and canned juices that have thickeners, humectants, permitted synthetic food colours and added flavours in it. “Fresh food contains none of the chemicals present in ultra-processed food,” says the report titled ‘Body Burden: Lifestyle Diseases’. With respect to High in Fat Salt and Sugar (HFSS) packaged food and beverages, the survey conducted by CSE revealed high consumption of packaged HFSS foods. Such foods adversely affect the body and thereby, must be avoided.

Body Burden: Lifestyle Diseases by CSE (Source: cse.org)

It must be noted that CSE conducted a ‘Know Your Diet’ survey of over 13,000 schoolchildren (9-17 years), primarily from 15 states between September 2016 and March 2017. The study titled ‘Body Burden: Lifestyle Diseases’ investigates the new and emerging environmental triggers of NCDs in India. The study has listed seven major health problems in India, including obesity, mental health, cancer, heart disease, respiratory and hormonal disorder.

“The number of overweight and obese people in India doubled between 2005 and 2015, while 26% of all deaths happen due to cardiovascular diseases. There were an estimated 22.2 million chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and around 35 million chronic asthma patients in 2016,” noted the study.

The Secret to Turtle Hibernation: Butt-Breathing

Breathing or not breathing, that's the question.
What would happen if you were submerged in a pond where the temperature of the water floated just above the freezing point and the surface was covered by an ice cap for 100 days?
Well, obviously you would die.

Butt-Breathing Turtles? Yes, That’s a Thing

Turtles are the unlikely champions of getting by without oxygen. As Smithsonian ornithologist George Angehr related to The Straight Dope, turtles can survive for more than a day in a chamber containing nothing but nitrogen gas. Sometimes, however, even a turtle gets a little winded. What do they do when they’re hiding underwater and they need some fresh air?
Some turtles, such as the eastern painted turtle of North America, have come up with a unique solution. They can breathe water through their rear ends.

This bizarre-seeming adaptation is actually very clever. Turtles have inflexible shells, so they can’t breathe by expanding their chests the way most animals can. In fact, breathing takes a bit of elbow grease and some workarounds when you’re a turtle. By breathing through both their front and rear ends, they can take in oxygen without expending as much effort.
The white-throated snapping turtle of Australia is another species that shares its American cousin’s methods. Both species have rearward sacs that open out into the cloaca, a versatile orifice located under the tail. While we have a similar orifice, the anus, which we use for excreting waste, reptiles use their cloacas for peeing, pooping, and laying eggs. These turtles add breathing to the already long list. The sacs pump water in and out of the cloaca, picking up oxygen along the way.
The scientific name for this process is cloacal respiration, and some fish can do it, too. Not only is it more efficient to breathe through both ends, cloacal respiration also allows turtles to stay underwater for longer. These turtles can hide for predators for up to days at a time by breathing through their butts. Some can even bury themselves in mud and hibernate for up to five months while slowly breathing via their cloacal sacs.

Unfortunately, despite this neat trick, turtles are in trouble. Like a lot of animals that live in the water, pollution and the fishing industry have hit them hard. Scientific American reports that, as of 2014, the white-throated snapping turtle is critically endangered. It needs clean water to pull off cloacal breathing. As the water it lives in becomes polluted, cloacal respiration becomes more difficult, and the turtles need to surface more frequently to get enough oxygen. Surfacing exposes turtles to dangerous predators.
One way to help save turtles around the world is by donating to wildlife organizations. If you want to help turtles like the painted turtle and the white-throated snapping turtle survive, visit the Rainforest Site and donating to campaigns such as the effort to save hawksbill turtles from deadly nets.
And that's because you're not as cool as a turtle. And by great not only I mean incredible, I mean literally great, like cold. Also, you can not breathe through your ass.
But turtles can, which is just one of the many reasons why turtles are truly amazing.
Cold weather slows down
As an ectotherm, an animal that depends on an external source of heat, the body temperature of a turtle tracks that of its environment. If the pond water is 1 ℃, so is the body of the turtle.
But turtles have lungs and breathe air. So how is it possible that they survive in a frozen pond with an ice cap that prevents them from getting into the air? The answer lies in the relationship between body temperature and metabolism.
A cold turtle in cold water has a slow metabolism. The colder it gets, the slower your metabolism, which translates into a lower demand for energy and oxygen.
When turtles hibernate, they depend on stored energy and absorb oxygen from pond water by moving it through the surfaces of the body that are flush with the blood vessels. In this way, they can get enough oxygen for their minimal needs without using their lungs. Turtles have an area that is especially well vascularized: their butts.

Look, I was not kidding, the turtles can really breathe through their butts. (The technical term is cloacal breathing)
Not frozen, just cold
We are not turtles We are endotherms (expensive ovens of metabolic heat) that need to constantly feed our bodies with food to generate body heat and maintain a constant temperature to stay alive.
When it's cold, we pile on our clothes to trap the metabolic heat and stay warm. We could never get enough oxygen in our vascularized surfaces, apart from our lungs, to supply the high demand of our metabolic kilns.

For humans, a change in body temperature is a sign of illness, that something is wrong. When a turtle's body temperature changes, it's simply because the environment has become warmer or colder.
But even ectotherms have their limits. With very few exceptions (for example, box turtles), adult turtles can not survive sub-zero temperatures; They can not survive by having ice crystals in their bodies. This is the reason why freshwater turtles hibernate in water, where the temperature of their body remains relatively stable and does not drop below zero.
The water acts as a temperature absorber; It has a high specific heat, which means that a lot of energy is needed to change the water temperature. The water temperatures of the pond remain fairly stable during the winter and an ectotherm sitting in that water will have a similarly stable body temperature. The air, on the other hand, has a specific low heat, so its temperature fluctuates and becomes too cold for the survival of the turtles.
Calamitous muscles
An ice-covered pond presents two problems for turtles: they can not emerge to breathe, and little new oxygen enters the water. In addition to that, there are other creatures in the pond that consume the oxygen produced by aquatic plants during the summer.
During the winter, as the oxygen is spent, the pond becomes hypoxic (low oxygen content) or anoxic (no oxygen). Some turtles can handle water with low oxygen content, others do not.
Snapping turtles and painted turtles tolerate this stressful situation by changing their metabolism to one that does not require oxygen. This ability is surprising, but it can be dangerous, even lethal, if it lasts too long, because acids accumulate in your tissues as a result of this metabolic change.
But, how much time is "too long"? Both snapping turtles and painted turtles can survive forced submersion at cold water temperatures in the laboratory for more than 100 days. Painted turtles are the kings of tolerance to anoxia. They mobilize calcium from their shells to neutralize the acid, in the same way that we take antacids that contain calcium for heartburn.
In the spring, when anaerobic turtles emerge from hibernation, they are basically a major muscle cramp. It's like when you make a difficult career: your body changes to anaerobic metabolism, lactic acid builds up and gives you a cramp. Turtles are desperate for sunbathing to increase their body temperature, to activate their metabolism and eliminate these acid byproducts.
And it's hard to move when they have that type of cramping, making them vulnerable to predators and other dangers. The spring emergency can be a dangerous time for these lethargic turtles.
Tracking turtles in cold weather
Field biologists tend to investigate during spring and summer, when animals are most active. But in Ontario, where winters are long, many species of turtles remain inactive for half their lives.

Understanding what they do and need during the winter is essential for their conservation and habitat protection, especially since two thirds of the turtle species are at risk of extinction.
My research group has monitored several species of freshwater turtles during their hibernation. We attach tiny devices to the turtle shells that measure temperature and allow us to follow them under the ice.
We have discovered that all species choose to hibernate in places of wetlands that float just above the freezing point, that move under the ice, hibernate in groups and return to the same places winter after winter.
Despite all this work, we still know very little about this part of turtle life.
Therefore, I do what any committed biologist would do: I send my students to do field research at -25 ℃. We are not restricted to the biology of good weather here.
In addition, there is an incomparable beauty in a Canadian winter landscape, especially when you imagine all those incredible turtles under the ice, breathing for their butts.
Jacqueline Litzgus, Professor, Department of Biology, Laurentian University
This article was originally published in The Conversation

Britain's 'thrilled' Prince Harry announces he will wed U.S. actress Meghan Markle

'I knew she was the one from the very first day': Beaming Prince Harry says he is 'thrilled' to announce engagement to Meghan Markle as she proudly shows off a sparkling ring made with Diana's diamonds and designed by HIM

• Announcement made a week after his grandmother the Queen celebrated her 70th wedding anniversary
• Poignantly Harry chose first photocall in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace - loved by late mother Diana
• Prince revealed he knew his bride-to-be was 'the one' from their very first meeting and said he was 'thrilled'
• Meghan held his hand and rubbed his arm during their first appearance and said: 'So very happy, thank you'
• Her Majesty has given her blessing and she and Prince Philip say they are 'delighted for the couple'
• Harry and Meghan got engaged in London earlier this month and to marry in Spring 2018, Prince Charles said
• Meghan could become a princess or be given title Duchess of Sussex when she marries fifth in line to throne
• Pair have not said where they'll wed but it could be Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral or Windsor Castle
• Harry, 33, and Meghan, 36, revealed they were an item a year ago after a four to six-month secret relationship
• They will live in Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace next door to William, Kate, George and Charlotte
• Meghan has quit the hit show Suits and is shipping all her belongings to Britain including her two dogs

Prince Harry said today he is 'thrilled' to be marrying Meghan Markle and admitted he knew the Suits star was 'the one' from 'the first day we met'.

Meghan, 36, also showed the world her engagement ring designed by Harry himself containing two diamonds from Princess Diana's own personal collection set in a gold band. 

The couple will marry in church in spring 2018 after the prince proposed in early November after getting permission from the Queen and Meghan's parents.

Harry looked nervous but happy as they made their first public appearance since the announcement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, much loved by his late mother Princess Diana.

His fiancee stroked his arm lovingly as they spoke to reporters, who asked him: 'When did you know she was the one?' and he replied: 'From the very first time we met'.

He refused to say how he proposed saying: 'That will come later' but when asked if it was romantic he said: 'Of course it was' - but the couple didn't kiss for the cameras.

The prince said he was 'thrilled, over the moon' adding: 'Very glad it's not raining as well.' Meghan said she was 'so happy, thank you' before they wandered back into Kensington Palace beaming. 

The couple will appear together on national TV in the UK for the first time this evening to discuss their engagement, how Harry proposed and their whirlwind relationship of 16 months.

Scroll down for video

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have appeared in public for the first time since announcing they will marry next year as the world glimpsed the American actress' engagement ring

The prince said he was 'thrilled, over the moon' adding: 'Very glad it's not raining as well' and both were full of smiles as they posed at Kensington Palace

Meghan's engagement ring's two outer diamonds are from Diana's own collection with a central diamond from Botswana - where they went on safari in September - all set within a gold band

Harry and Meghan looked over the moon and Harry said he was 'thrilled' and his fiancee said she was 'so happy'

Harry, 33, who revealed a year ago he had fallen for the actress after a four to six month secret relationship, proposed to Meghan, 36, in London earlier this month

Poignantly the royal chose their first photocall in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, much loved by his late mother Diana

The prince said he was 'thrilled, over the moon' adding: 'Very glad it's not raining as well.' Meghan said she was 'so happy' before they wandered back into Kensington Palace beaming

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement

They will marry next year as the world glimpsed the American actress' engagement ring, designed by Harry himself

The couple (pictured waving to crowds) will appear together on national TV in the UK for the first time this evening to discuss their engagement and whirlwind relationship of 16 months

As news of their engagement spread across the world today it emerged:

• Harry and Meghan have been engaged for almost a month but delayed announcement until today;
• Couple will marry in Spring 2018 - but will likely avoid early April when Kate and William's third child is due;
• Harry said he is 'over the moon' and knew she was 'the one' on the first day they met in 2016;
• Prince designed the engagement ring himself. The two outer diamonds belonged to his mother Princess Diana and central stone is from Botswana - where they holidayed in September
• PM rules out a bank holiday and Windsor Castle's chapel is favourite to host royal wedding;
• They will do their first TV interview together on BBC One at 6pm;

The happy couple made their first appearance in public since the announcement of their impending nuptials, posing for photographs in the Sunken Garden at around 2pm.

Harry and his brother William had white roses planted there in her memory when the 20th anniversary of her death fell in August.

Kensington Palace said the prince designed Ms Markle's engagement ring himself - using two stones which belong to his late mother.

Harry designed bride-to-be's ring using his mother Princess Diana's diamonds

Kensington Palace said the prince designed Ms Markle's engagement ring himself - using two stones which belong to his late mother Princess Diana.

The two outside stones are diamonds from the personal collection of Princess of Wales.

At the centre is a diamond from Botswana, a country that holds special significance for Harry who has visited many times since he was a child.

It is also a place the couple has spent time together over the last year and a half, Kensington Palace said.

The band is made of gold and the ring was made by Cleave and Company, Court Jewellers and Medallists to Her Majesty The Queen.

The two outside stones are diamonds from the personal collection of Diana, Princess of Wales.

At the centre is a diamond from Botswana, a country that holds special significance for Harry who has visited many times since he was a child and they went on safari in September.

It is also a place the couple has spent time together over the last year and a half, Kensington Palace said.

The band is made of gold and the ring was made by Cleave and Company, Court Jewellers and Medallists to Her Majesty The Queen.

Harry, 33, who revealed a year ago he had fallen for the actress after a four to six month secret relationship, proposed to Meghan, 36, in London earlier this month.

Royal protocol dictated that fifth in line to the throne Harry had to ask his grandmother the Queen for permission to marry and she agreed in the month where she celebrated her own 70th wedding anniversary.

In a statement Her Majesty and Prince Philip said they are 'delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness' and this morning huge crowds of tourists and royal fans gathered outside Buckingham Palace.

Harry and his American fiancee, who divorced her first husband in 2013, will move into Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace next door to his brother William and sister-in-law Kate.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge said in a joint statement: 'We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together'. The boys' father Prince Charles said he was 'thrilled' and 'very happy indeed' for them.

Harry also asked Meghan's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, who divorced when their daughter was six, for her hand in marriage before popping the question a few weeks ago, it emerged today.

They said: 'Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents'.

Harry and Meghan have not said where they will marry but most senior royals marry at Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral or the chapel at Windsor Castle. Sources have said it is likely to be a church wedding, especially after the Archbishop of Canterbury gave his blessing today.

Meghan could become a princess or alternatively be given the title Duchess of Sussex when she marries the fifth in line to the throne and joins the royal family.

But they are likely to wait until Prince William and Kate have their third child, which is due in April. 

Bookmakers refused to take any more bets on the couple getting engaged last week as Meghan landed in London and started moving her belongings and two dogs to the UK.

Social media went into meltdown but they have had to wait until today to hear that the fifth-in-line to the throne has proposed to his actress girlfriend.

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Harry and Meghan look delighted to be getting married as they walked along the top of the walled garden where they appeared together for the first time

Harry, wearing a blue suit and tie, said he was 'thrilled' as he expressed his love for Meghan, who he will marry next year

The garden was a favourite of his mother Diana's, who lived there until her death 20 years ago

Harry and Meghan will marry next year with Windsor Castle the favourite ahead of Westminster Abbey or St Paul's

Make like Meghan in a wrap coat by Line the Label

It's the good news we've all been waiting to hear. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are engaged!

We're already big fans of Meghan's wardrobe, but now that the Suits actress will officially be joining the Royal family when the couple tie the knot, she's right up there with the Duchess of Cambridge on our list of people whose style we want to copy.

The pair posed for a photocall in the gardens of Kensington Palace after announcing that Harry has popped the question, and of course the bride-to-be looked beautiful. We can't wait to see what she'll wear to walk down the aisle, but this chic coat will keep us ticking over until next year!

Meghan made her debut as Harry's fiancée wearing a belted wrap coat by Line the Label in an appropriately bridal shade of white. When layered over a green dress by P.A.R.O.S.H. and teamed with nude heels by Aquazzura, it's a very regal look that we're all going to remember.

Her exact coat isn't available to buy, but click through to make sure this Canadian brand is on your radar. Or with Meghan in mind, wrap up in one of the lookalike coats we've got lined up for you in the edit below.

Harry grips his fiancee's hand as they walk over paving slabs in the London garden as she flicked hair out of her face

Harry and Meghan admired the ring the prince had designed as they spoke briefly to reporters

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Meghan would not let go of his hand and laughed and smiled when he spoke but said little herself

Meghan waved more enthusiastically than Harry but she only said two words during the 90 second photocall

 

At one point Harry joked that he was glad it wasn't raining and made his fiancee laugh out loud

The couple were introduced by friends in May 2016 and courted for several months until their romance emerged last November

 

The young couple beamed with joy as they made their announcement, with the world's press looking on

The bride-to-be looked stunning for the occasion in nude lace-up stilettos, an ivory winter coat and emerald dress. She wore her dark hair loose across her shoulders as she stood before members of the press

Meghan looked particularly excited as she waved to the crowds of well-wishers and staff who had come to watch

The couple will also take part in a broadcast interview to be aired this evening.

How 90-second press call of few words showed the world how in love Harry and Meghan really are

News of their engagement comes just one year after it was revealed, in November 2016, how the romance had blossomed

Their long-anticipated engagement was announced by the Prince of Wales on Monday morning - and the young couple couldn't hide their excitement.

Harry, dressed smartly in a blue suit and dark tie for the open air photocall, revealed of Ms Markle: 'When did I know she was the one? Very first time we met.'

Ms Markle said she was 'so very happy, thank you' to be engaged to Harry.

The prince added that he was 'thrilled, over the moon' saying: 'Very glad it's not raining as well.'

A beaming Ms Markle, in a white belted Line the Label coat and dress by P.A.R.O.S.H, clutched Harry's hand with both of her hands as they posed briefly, smiling and giggling throughout their appearance in the chill November air.

When Harry was asked how he proposed, Ms Markle replied 'Save that', with Harry adding: 'That will come later.'

The pair, who are giving a television interview to be broadcast on Monday evening, waved at the cameras as they walked away arm in arm.

A Kensington Palace spokesman tweeted today: 'The Prince of Wales has announced the engagement of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle.

'Prince Harry and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month. Prince Harry has informed The Queen and other close members of The Royal Family.

'Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle's parents. The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.

'The wedding will take place in spring 2018. Further details will be announced in due course.'

They have chosen to state they are getting married just before they spend their first proper Christmas together and will probably head to Sandringham to spend it with the Queen and the royal family.

Miss Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said: 'We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry.

'Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents.

'We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.'

Prime Minister Theresa May said: 'I would like to offer my very warmest congratulations to HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their engagement.

'This is a time of huge celebration for two people in love. On behalf of myself, the Government and the country, I wish them great happiness for the future.'

Her predecessor David Cameron said: 'Congratulations to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Wonderful news and I wish them a long and happy life together.'

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson‏ said: 'Huge congratulations to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - fantastic news! Here's to a happy and long life together.'

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby added: 'I am absolutely delighted to hear the news that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now engaged.

'I have met Prince Harry on a number of occasions and have always been struck by his commitment and passion for his charities, and his immense love for his family.

'Marriage is a special and joyous commitment, one that Jesus celebrated together with friends at the wedding in Cana.

'I am so happy that Prince Harry and Ms Markle have chosen to make their vows before God.

'I wish them many years of love, happiness and fulfilment and ask that God blesses them throughout their married life together.'

In a tender moment, Prince Harry put his arm around Meghan as they strolled through the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace together

The 36-year-old American actress proudly showed off her dazzling three-stone ring, designed by Harry himself with at its centre a diamond from Botswana, which his office said was a place special to the couple, surrounded by two diamonds taken from the personal collection of his late mother Princess Diana

Harry looked very serious as he initially walked down the steps but warmed up and cracked jokes about the weather

Against the backdrop of the historic palace gardens, the pair stood on the steps and revealed their news to the world

As tradition dictates, dignitaries and close family members will be among guests likely to receive one of the sought-after wedding invitations alongside a glitzy mix of American and Canadian stars, British royals and celebrities

Prince Charles reveals his son Harry is going to marry Suits star Meghan Markle

The official announcement today

Prince Harry decision to marry his American actress girlfriend Meghan Markle was revealed by his father Prince Charles.

The much-anticipated news was confirmed by the Prince of Wales in a brief statement issued by Clarence House.

It read: 'His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle.

'The wedding will take place in Spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.

'His Royal Highness and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month.

'Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty the Queen and other close members of his family.

'Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle's parents.

'The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.'

The actress and model did not attend the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary celebrations together - but she has met Her Majesty for tea.

And royal protocol dictates that Harry will have had to ask his grandmother to let him marry.

The Suits star is set to move to London having quit the show and has already left her apartment in Toronto.

She is shipping her belongings to the UK including her beloved dogs - a beagle named Guy and a labrador-shepherd named Bogart.

Initially at least, the newly-engaged couple will move in together at Kensington Palace, where Prince William, Kate, Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be their neighbours.

The announcement marks an extraordinary 12 months since the couple said they were in love after a whirlwind romance where the prince quickly became 'besotted', royal sources said.

The 36-year-old actress, who is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in US legal drama Suits, is believed to have charmed the Royal when he visited Toronto in the summer of 2016.

They managed to keep their relationship secret from the world - but it later emerged she had met William and Kate and he had met her family in California.

Their cover was blown when keen observers spotted pictures of them wearing matching bracelets. The Prince followed the actress on Instagram using a pseudonym.

She also went to Wimbledon and Buckingham Palace this year coinciding with a period when Harry was in London but were never seen together.

As news of their love affair broke on Halloween last year, Harry was forced to abandon a secret trip to visit his actress girlfriend in Canada.

Meghan then flew to London two weeks later during a gap in her filming schedule and was photographed by MailOnline buying food on Kensington High Street, Princess Diana's favourite shopping street.

Days later, in an extraordinary statement on his love life, Harry said he is 'worried about Miss Markle's safety' since rumours of their relationship first surfaced nine days ago.

He lashed out at media intrusion and the 'sexism and racism of social media trolls' in a statement which said 'this is not a game - it is her life and his' and that he is 'deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her'.

Press wait for the newly-engaged couple in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace this afternoon

Media also gathered outside Kensington Palace today where the couple will also settle after they marry next year

So when DID Harry propose? How couple took tea with the Queen a month after being seen kissing in public

Prince Harry obtained the consent of both his grandmother the Queen and Meghan Markle's parents before asking her to marry him.

He took his future wife to meet the Queen for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace last month to introduce her to the woman he wanted to wed.

Harry popped the question this month in London, and there have been several tell-tale signs in the past few weeks that a wedding could be in the cards...

Meghan did not attend the Queen and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary celebrations this week with Harry, pictured with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, although she is understood to have met the Queen for tea last month

September 25: Harry brings his girlfriend to a tennis match at the Invictus Games in Toronto in their first official appearance together as a couple.

He affectionately kissed Miss Markle on the head and they put on a show of togetherness in full view of members of the public and photographers.

October 8: Miss Markle is revealed to have been spotted several times in London being driven around by a chauffeur in a black Volkswagen Golf.

The last time a woman linked to a prince was seen being driven in a flash car was when Kate was in an Audi A3 before her engagement to William in 2010.

October 12: Harry introduces Miss Markle to the Queen over tea at Buckingham Palace as he prepares to ask the actress to marry him.

The teatime meeting was informal to settle any nerves Miss Markle might have felt and to ensure it was not widely publicised within the palace.

November 16: Reports claim Miss Markle is putting arrangements in place to move her beloved dogs from her home in Toronto to London.

The actress has two rescue dogs, a beagle named Guy and a labrador-shepherd mix called Bogart, and said the pair 'mean the absolute world' to her.

November 17: Nicky Bursic, Miss Markle's body double on Suits, seemingly confirms widespread reports that she is to leave the US TV show.

She posted a message of good luck to the actress, saying: 'It's been an absolute pleasure and honour being your 'stand-in' for the last two seasons.'

Last Tuesday: Miss Markle is spotted in Chelsea, West London, after a beauty treatment at an exclusive clinic where the Beckhams are said to be regulars.

The actress was seen carrying a bag from the Sarah Chapman spa and was accompanied by the celebrity facialist herself as she left the beauty clinic.

Last Wednesday: Removal vans are said to have been outside Miss Markle's home in Toronto for the previous two days as she prepares to move out.

Last Thursday: Reports claim that the BBC is primed for an engagement announcement, and bookmakers suspend betting on another royal wedding.

Ladbrokes said they believed it was 'coming imminently' and many believed the announcement could have come as early as the next morning.

Today: Clarence House confirms that Harry and Miss Markle have become engaged and will be married next spring.

A statement said: 'His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle.'

Harry has carried out a number of engagements over the past few weeks, including:

November 15: Harry visits the Terrence Higgins Trust charity's HIV self-test pop-up shop in Hackney, East London, to launch National HIV Testing Week

November 13: Harry attends the Mind Media Awards in London's West End, meeting the charity's president Stephen Fry and ambassador Fearne Cotton

November 12: Harry lays a wreath in the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph along with other royals including his brother, Prince William

November 11: Harry, patron of England Rugby, attends the England v Argentina match at Twickenham Stadium in South West London

November 9: Harry lays a cross of remembrance at Westminster Abbey's Field of Remembrance. He jokes about bringing Miss Markle next year

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle KISS at Invictus Games closing ceremony

Miss Markle, who was born Rachel Meghan Markle, is pictured as a child with father Thomas

Her parents divorced when she was six. Each day after school, she used to visit the set of the TV show Married...with Children where her father worked.

She showed her royal potential as a teenager when she was crowned school homecoming queen. Photos show the Suits actress receiving the honour in a November 1998 ceremony.

Flanked by her court, the 17-year-old was seen walking a red carpet lined with boys holding swords at the lavish event at the private St Francis High School, in Los Angeles.

Miss Markle went to the private Catholic girls' school, which teamed up with boys school St Francis for proms.

Miss Markle (right) is pictured aged 11 with her father Thomas and nephew Tyler Dooley

In two photos from her yearbooks, Miss Markle is listed as Rachel Markle, as the actress was still using her first name at the time (Meghan is her middle name).

Miss Markle has written about her mixed heritage - Thomas Markle is Caucasian and of Dutch and Irish descent and her mother is African-American - and how it created 'a grey area surrounding my self-identification'.

But she added: 'I have come to embrace that. To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.'

She also wrote about how her parents 'who came from little' taught her to care about others, and led by example during her childhood buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving and delivering meals to patients in hospice care.

As a child, she travelled to remote places with her mother and visited slums in Jamaica.

When she was 11, she persuaded a soap manufacturer to alter an advert after she wrote a letter to then first lady Hillary Clinton complaining that it implied women belonged in the kitchen.

Miss Markle graduated from Northwestern University in theatre and international relations.

While trying to pay bills while auditioning for acting roles, she became a freelance calligrapher, doing correspondence for Dolce & Gabbana and wedding invitations for clients such as singer Robin Thicke.

She also worked at the US Embassy in Argentina and was a 'briefcase girl' - one of the models who hold the suitcases full of cash - on the US version of Deal or No Deal.

Miss Markle first hit the screens in America when she featured in an episode of the medical drama General Hospital in 2002, before moving on to roles in CSI, 90210, Without A Trace, Castle, and as an FBI agent in the series Fringe.

She has already been married once before. In September 2011 she wed film producer Trevor Engelson after dating him for half a dozen years. 

She met him in 2004 as they both scrabbled for a start in the entertainment industry, before becoming man and wife in a relaxed ceremony in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Miss Markle  poses for a photo in her school uniform alongside her classmates

It was a gathering of more than 100 family and friends who partied for four days enjoying local beer, rum punches and human wheelbarrow races along the white-sand beach.

The newlyweds began married life in a comfortable gated house just above Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, but it was short-lived.

Shortly before the wedding, Miss Markle had secured her big career break in the TV drama Suits and was already commuting between LA and Toronto to meet filming schedules.

Mr Engelson remained in the marital home to be close to Hollywood. Within two years, it was clear the marriage was not going to survive their lengthy separations.

It is understood it was Miss Markle who ultimately decided the marriage was over. The couple separated in early 2013 and divorced in August, citing irreconcilable differences.

Mr Engelson kept the marital home while she moved permanently to Toronto. The couple divorced two years later. 

She starred in three major Hollywood films: Get Him To The Greek, Remember Me and Horrible Bosses, before landing a major role as paralegal Rachel Zane in the legal series Suits in 2011, relocating her home to Toronto, Canada, where the show is filmed.

In 2014, the beauty, fashion and travel enthusiast founded her blog thetig.com to 'reframe the beauty content to include think pieces about self-empowerment'.

The royals enjoy a deeply traditional three day celebration from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day. Pictured: Members of the Middleton family arrive at church in Sandringham on Christmas day

'Kate was a bag of nerves the first time she did Christmas with the royals, so she knows exactly how daunting it must be for Meghan,'

If Meghan was to join the family at the Norfolk estate she would be welcomed into a Christmas steeped in tradition.

The royal family join the Queen and Prince Philip at their Sandringham residence from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day and everything from their arrival time to when they eat breakfast, walk the dogs, sit down to lunch and retire to bed is strictly timetabled. Even lunch on Christmas Day is pencilled in for just 50 minutes.

Over three days, the royals celebrate a deeply traditional Christmas with a personal touch including 'cheap and cheerful' gifts given on Christmas Eve and a liking for charades.

Prince Philip leads the family on the 330-yard walk to the 16th Century church of St Mary Magdalene on Christmas morning. The Queen, however, is driven. The service is always about 45 minutes, the Queen having received Communion privately in the morning.

The Royals enjoy bespoke Christmas crackers made by Dorset company Celebration Crackers. Everyone wears paper hats except the Queen. Party games are popular, as are cards.

For lunch on Christmas Eve, the men wear suits and the women wear smart silk dresses, but they change into black tie and glamorous gowns for dinner. It's the one time the women wear their most expensive jewellery and almost all wear tiaras.

On Christmas Day, they come down for breakfast dressed in their church outfits – usually a day dress or a smart suit with pearls for the women. For the traditional walk to church, the men don warm overcoats. 

The matching bracelets that gave the royal couple's secret affair away after months of being in the same place at the same time

A blue, black and white bracelet worn by Harry gave away the relationship when Meghan Markle posted several images of her own matching one Instagram.

Before that moment only Harry's closest family and friends knew he had fallen in love with the LA-born star.

Miss Markle posted a picture of herself wearing the distinctive bracelet at a celebrity retreat in Oxfordshire in September last year - two months before it became official.

She then posted several more photos of it on her wrist on social media as Harry attended a series of royal engagements wearing the same one.

Harry reportedly picked them up during one of his trips to Africa - and he was also on the continent at the same as Meghan in their first few months as a couple.

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A blue, black and white bracelet worn by Harry gave away the relationship when Meghan Markle posted several images of her own on Instagram

It later emerged that Meghan had been spending long periods in London, again given away by her Instagram account.

Her posts revealed that they had probably been together since May and the actress had enjoyed near-monthly visits to London ever since then.

In May 2016, Harry was in the Canadian city to promote his Invictus Games for wounded servicemen and met the divorcee actress, who spends long periods filming hit TV show Suits there.

It seems she repaid the visit and according to her Instagram account she was in London in June, July, August, September and October that year.

After their Toronto meeting, Meghan was seen in the Royal Box at Wimbledon on June 28 - the same day Harry appeared on stage with Coldplay in west London.

Miss Markle posted several pictures of recent trips to London, including a view that appears to be of Kensington, where Harry lives, in July, and a picture of his grandmother's house, Buckingham Palace.

In August she was back in London sightseeing near Tower Bridge and in September she also posted a picture of herself at the luxury Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire with friend Millie Mackintosh.

In October she posed with a panda mask, reportedly in Harry's local Sainsbury's while her husband-to-be was in London.

By then she was wearing a distinctive beaded friendship bracelet with blue, white and black beads - Harry has been wearing an identical one since April this year - and this eventually gave them away.

2012: MOLLIE KING

Mollie and Harry first met at a polo match in 2010 and were pictured partying together at Public nightclub and karaoke bar Bunga Bunga in London.

The 24-year-old singer - who split from male model David Gandy earlier that year - and Harry were allegedly set up by his cousin Zara Phillips, who is a friend of the pop star's Saturdays bandmate Una Healy.

Mollie had previously remained very cryptic about the reports that she was in a relationship with the royal.

Mollie and Harry first met at a polo match in 2010 and were pictured partying together at nightclubs

2010: FLORENCE BRUDENELL-BRUCE

According to friends, Miss Brudenell-Bruce, who was Harry's first girlfriend following his split from Chelsy Davy in 2011, found the attention that came with dating a royal hard to deal with.

'Henry has been around a long time,' a source was quoted as saying at the time. 'Harry was more of an affair. Flee hated all the press attention she got when she was dating Harry.

'She really liked him but she was embarrassed by being splashed all over the papers.'

Chelsea Davy was also lined up to be Prince Harry's wife before they split in 2010

On and off with Harry for the best part of seven years, Zimbabwe-born Davy revealed that she 'couldn't cope' with the attention and eventually retreated back to Africa for calm.

In an interview with the Times, Davy revealed that being chased by photographers desperate to capture images of the couple together was terrifying.

Harry and Chelsea were on and off again for the best part of seven years

When the couple split in 2010, she says she retreated once again to her native Zimbabwe

She said: 'It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable. I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope.'

The former lawyer describes herself as 'just a normal kid' and says it was 'tough' to go through such chases at such a young age, saying: 'I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible.'

After first meeting while she was a teenager at Cheltenham and then getting together during Prince Harry's gap year in Cape Town, Davy returned to the UK to study in Leeds and be closer to the young royal.

Despite going on to establish a highly prized career at solicitor's firm Allen & Overy, Chelsy was branded 'a party girl' by the media for her love of socialising.

She concedes she did nothing to correct the image and admits to 'going out and partying a lot'.

When the couple split in 2010, she says she retreated once again to her native Zimbabwe unable to handle the break-up headlines. 'It was nuts,' she says. 'That's also why I wanted to go back to Africa. Now it's calm, it's fine.'

Chelsy, whose mother Beverley Donald is former Miss Rhodesia 1973, now divides her time between Zimbabwe, where her family is based, her jewellery mine in Zambia and west London - where she has a home in Chelsea.

She says she'll always 'be good friends' with Harry and indeed remained so much a part of the royal circle that she was invited to William and Kate's wedding in 2011.

She's happy to be back in the media spotlight once more though, this time launching her new venture, an ethical beauty range.

The African-based jewellery company, Aya, making pieces with gems mined in Zambia. Of the range, she has said: 'Aya is not a charity, it is a luxury brand of beautiful top quality stones and solid gold. But it won't neglect the communities from where they are sourced.'

Klemens Schillinger's Substitute Phone aims to help overcome smartphone addiction

These ‘Substitute Phones’ are fabricated for fidgety phone fingers

  

Smartphones are more ubiquitous than ever. Doubtless, a lot of that usage is related to work or entertainment.

However, there are other reasons we’re constantly swiping and tapping our phone screens. The simple act of doing so can be enjoyable for some people, and can give you something to do with your hands even if you don’t really want to be connected all the time. If you’ve ever wanted to play with your phone while not actually using your phone, then Klemens Schillinger’s Substitute Phones may be just what you need.

The Substitute Phone made of high-quality, heavy-duty plastic designed to mimic the look and feel of a traditional smartphone. The devices feature stone beads which are designed to simulate the various gestures one would make on their smartphone. In a way, you can think of them as phone-shaped fidget spinners. They fulfill the same tactile urge to touch and swipe that your actual smartphone does, but will give you a break from the constant text messages and notifications.

“The object, which some of us describe as a prosthesis, is reduced to nothing but the motions,” the product description reads. “This calming limitation offers help for smartphone addicts to cope with withdrawal symptoms.”

While speaking with Dezeen, Schillinger said that the device had two inspirations. The first was the large amount of time he spent looking at his smartphone even when he didn’t necessarily want to use it. The second was writer Umberto Eco who, when attempting to quit smoking, substituted his pipe for a stick in order to simulate the sensation of holding a pipe without the nicotine.

“It was the same thing, but without the nicotine, just the physical stimulation,” he told Dezeen. “I remembered this and thought to make phones that would provide the physical stimulation but not the connectivity.”

The Substitute Phone is the second creation that Schillinger has created in an attempt to help explain our relationship with technology. The first was the Offline Lamp, which would only turn on when a smartphone-sized device was placed in its drawer.

Designer Klemens Schillinger has created a set of therapeutic phone-like objects, to help smartphone "addicts" cope with being away from their devices.

The Vienna-based designer created a series of five Substitute Phones, which use stone beads to imitate the different motions used for smart devices, such as scrolling, zooming, and swiping.

By replacing digital functions with the stone beads, Schillinger aims to create a set of therapeutic tools that can help frequent smartphone users cope with withdrawal symptoms, by providing physical stimulation as a substitute for phone usage.

"The touchscreen smartphone has made it possible to 'escape' into social media," he told Dezeen. "We check emails and messages not only on public transport but also in social situations, for example when having drinks with friends."

"More and more often one feels the urge to check their phone, even if you are not expecting a specific message or call. These observations inspired the idea of making a tool that would help stop this 'checking' behaviour."

When researching his project, Schillinger was inspired by a documentary featuring the Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco – who was trying to give up smoking by substituting his pipe with a wooden stick.

"It was the same thing, but without the nicotine, just the physical stimulation," he said. "I remembered this and thought to make phones that would provide the physical stimulation but not the connectivity."

With a marble-like appearance, each set of beads have been made using the natural stone Howlith. These were then set into a body made from black polyoxymethylene (POM) plastic – also known as acetal.

As this kind of plastic is relatively heavy, the substitute phone also replicates the weight of an ordinary smartphone – making the imitation more convincing.

"Some of these finger movements – like zooming in, or moving up and down – were born with the smartphone," the designer told Dezeen.

"The Substitute Phones allow these movements to be felt by scrolling on the marbles that are integrated into the case, something which is a clear differentiation from fidget spinners or fidget cubes."

This is the second project by Schillinger that aims to discourage people from using their mobile devices.

His Offline Lamp only lights up once the user is willing to surrender their smartphone, urging them to concentrate on more worthwhile activities – like reading or working.

Both of the projects were created for an exhibition called #Offline – Design for the (Good Old) Real World, which took place at this year's Vienna Design Week from 29 September until 8 October 2017.

US company all set to brew beer on Mars

Budweiser is all set to brew beer on Mars

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Imagine how it would be if you can enjoy a chilled beer on Mars? US-based brewing company Anheuser-Busch is all set to make “Budweiser” the first brand of beer on the Red Planet. Budweiser is upholding its commitment, announced earlier this year at an event “South by Southwest” that “it would create a beer suitable for drinking in space… and when people get there they will toast on Budweiser…”, the company said in a statement this week.

“Budweiser is always pushing the boundaries of innovation and we are inspired by the collective American Dream to get to Mars,” said Ricardo Marques, Vice President, Budweiser. “We are excited to begin our research to brew beer for the red planet,” Marques added.

The company also plans to send 20 barley seeds — a core ingredient in Budweiser’s recipe — into space. Twenty Budweiser barley seeds will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), packaged in two Space Tango CubeLabs — shoebox-sized facilities that host small-scale experiments.

They will be sent to space on the upcoming cargo supply mission SpaceX’s CRS-13 scheduled to be launched on December 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The seeds will be in orbit for approximately 30 days to see how they react in a microgravity environment, before being brought back to earth for Budweiser’s innovation team to analyse.

The two barley experiments will focus on barley seed exposure and barley germination. Not only will the research offer insights on steps to creating beer on the Red Planet, but it could also provide valuable information on the production of barley and the larger agricultural community here on earth. These experiments on the ISS are the first of many steps Budweiser will take to reach its larger goal of creating a microgravity beer for Mars, the statement said.

Settlers could arrive on Mars as soon as 2024, if SpaceX gets its way. And, those newcomers to the red planet are going to need supplies, like...beer. While Elon Musk and co. are aspiring to send (useful) cargo to Mars two years ahead of the first visitors, Budweiser is planning for the inevitable celebrations. The company previously said it wanted to be the first beer on Mars, and it's moving ahead with its publicity-stunt-cum-science-experiment, with plans to send barley into space in December. Cue (disastrous) micro-gravity beer pong and drunk astronauts joyriding in Mars rovers (Engadget does not condone intergalactic drink-driving).

Before then, Budweiser needs to crack how to brew beer in space, and barley will form the basis of its initial tests on the International Space Station (ISS). The grain will be blasted to the giant orbiting spacecraft aboard SpaceX's supply rocket on December 4th. Once on the ISS, scientists will examine Bud's barley seeds (a core beer ingredient, in case you didn't know) to see how they react to microgravity exposure and germination. The seedlings will be in orbit for 30 days before returning back to earth, for Budweiser to further analyze.

You may recall that Scottish distiller Ardbeg sent some actual booze to the ISS in 2011, later finding that the stay altered the ratio of its whisky's chemicals. Does that mean 'Bud Mars' will be different than earth beer? Well, that remains to be seen.

Aside from providing good times on Mars, Budweiser claims the research could also proffer valuable insights for agriculture on our planet. If only Matt Damon hadn't been too busy growing potatoes for survival, he could've caught some downtime with a cold brew.

New cancer treatment... using cancer survivor cells

A radical radical  new cancer treatment inspired by patients who seem to ‘shrug off’ the disease could be tested next year.

The technique uses potent cancer-killing cells from people with the strongest immune systems.

These ‘neutrophil’ cells – which form part of the body’s first line of defence – are then multiplied millions of times and injected into cancer patients.

They are believed to be a key reason why rare individuals spontaneously reject lethal cancers and seem to have ‘miracle recoveries’.

Following experiments with mice, a British company is now preparing for early trials of the neutrophil treatment on a small number of patients.

Alex Blyth, chief executive of Lift BioSciences, said: ‘We’re not talking about simply managing cancer. We’re looking at a curative therapy that you would receive once a week over the course of five to six weeks.

‘Based on our laboratory and mouse model experiments we would hope to see patients experiencing complete remission. Our ultimate aim is to create the world’s first cell bank of powerful cancer-killing neutrophils.’

The team – along with researchers from King’s College London – is initially focusing on pancreatic cancer, which is among the most lethal forms.

Each year around 9,618 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 8,817 die from the disease – which has a five-year survival rate of less than 3 percent.

Early laboratory tests have also shown that neutrophils can kill cervical cancer cells.

Blyth said key advantage of neutrophils is that a donor’s cells can be given to anyone without fear of serious rejection. They live in the body for only five days and disappear before the recipient’s immune system has chance to respond.

Neutrophils kill cancer cells either directly, by destroying them with chemicals and antibodies, or indirectly by recruiting other immune cells.

There is evidence that neutrophils may sometimes not recognise cancer as ‘foreign’ and can even shield tumours from other immune responses.

But when they do target cancer, they are highly efficient – wiping out 95 percent of test cancer cells in 24 hours. It is neutrophils with this ability that form the basis of the new therapy.

The Lift team has collected thousands of the cells discarded as a waste product by blood banks, and is mass-screening them for their cancer-killing potential in a laboratory.

Those that pass the test are cultured and multiplied many times over using a secret process. The researchers are also working on a way of altering them to become even more potent.

Professor Farzin Farzaneh, who is leading the research at King’s College, said: ‘I was initially sceptical when Lift BioSciences approached us. It is something I don’t believe has been done before, and producing these specific cells with cancer-killing ability is a notion we had not thought of. We are excited by the early results.’

The pilot trials, potentially starting in a year’s time, would involve a small group of 20 to 40 patients with pancreatic cancer, or possibly a rare form of soft tissue cancer.

Each participant would receive weekly infusions of potent neutrophils. One patient’s treatment would require around 2.5billion of the cells.

Cheque books are here to stay

Not withdrawing bank cheque book facility: Ministry of Finance

It was assumed that a ban on cheque books might bring India closer to that target but its seems that government has other thoughts.

The finance ministry today said there is no proposal to withdraw the bank cheque bookfacility, which is an integral part of the payments landscape.
The clarification comes in the backdrop of reports in a certain section of media that there is a possibility that the central government may withdraw bank cheque book facility in the near future, with an intent to encourage digital transactions.
This has been denied by the government and reaffirmed that there's no such proposal, it said in statement.
"The Government of India has reaffirmed that there is NO proposal under consideration to withdraw the bank Cheque Book facility," the finance ministry said in a tweet.
Post demonetisation, the government has been pushing digital transaction with an aim to move towards less cash society.

Ministry of Finance

✔@FinMinIndia

It had appeared in a certain section of media that there is a possibility that the Central Govt may withdraw bank cheque book facility in the near future, with an intent to encourage digital transactions.This has been denied by the Govt & reaffirmed that there's no such proposal

The ministry emphasised that while the government is committed to transform India into a less cash economy and promote digital and electronic transactions, "cheques are an integral part of the payments landscape".

India has no plans of scrapping the cheque book. The Finance Ministry said that cheques are an integral part of the country’s payments ecosystem and form the backbone of trade and commerce. The ministry was compelled to clarify as multiple news reports reported that the cheque book facility may be discontinued to push digital transactions. Deccan Chronicle reports that cheque book usage has increased, especially among traders, after the centre’s demonetisation decision last year.