Exposure to a fungal toxin – a potent carcinogen – may cause up to 80 per cent of liver cancer around the world, say MIT scientists who have developed a new way to detect early signs of the deadly disease.

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US exposed mice to a single dose of aflatoxin, four days after birth. After this exposure, all of the mice eventually developed liver cancer.

They then sequenced DNA from those tumours and also from liver cells removed only 10 weeks after exposure, before tumours developed.

To find mutations at about 10 weeks, the researchers used a powerful genome sequencing technique that combines data from two complementary strands of DNA.

"What we are doing is creating a fingerprint," said John Essigmann, of MIT.

"It is really a measure of prior exposure to something that causes cancer," he added.

Researchers found that at 10 weeks, a distinctive pattern of mutations that can serve as a 'fingerprint' for aflatoxin exposure had already emerged.

Specifically, about 25 per cent of the mutations occurred in CGC sequences. For reasons not yet known, aflatoxin is much more likely to produce mutations in guanine when it is flanked by cytosine on both sides, researchers said.

This fungus is often found in corn, peanuts, and other crops that are dietary staples in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa regions.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

All paramilitary personnel who die in action are considered martyrs, Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said on Tuesday.

Ahir said in Lok Sabha that enough protection gear, modern arms and ammunition are provided to paramilitary personnel deployed for various law and order duties.

"Those who die in action are considered martyrs," he said during Question Hour.

The minister said no paramilitary personnel was killed while dealing with riots and various protests in different parts of the country in the last four years.

He said as many as 3,436 paramilitary personnel were injured between 2014 and March 21, 2017.

However, 12 policemen were killed and 4,780 of them injured by riotous mobs during 2013-15.

Ahir said the state government concerned is mandated to take measures to ensure protection of their police personnel.

The Centre provides assistance for procurement of various safety instrument and equipments including anti-riot equipment, full body protector, bullet resistant jackets and bullet resistant helmets under the modernisation police force scheme as per their operational requirements and strategic priorities, he said.

Colin de Grandhomme fired with bat and ball to back up Kane Williamson's 176 as New Zealand tightened the screws on South Africa in the series deciding final Test here on Tuesday.

At stumps on day four, South Africa were 80 for five in their second innings, still 95 runs short of making New Zealand bat again.

Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock were both 15 not out.

De Grandhomme, whose lower order 57 helped push New Zealand to 489, a lead of 175, struck in the sixth over of South Africa's reply with the wicket of Dean Elgar for five.

He rounded off his day with a smart catch to dismiss Hashim Amla.

The Zimbabwe-born de Grandhomme was not required for the first Test when Elgar scored 140 and 89 but in four innings since he has removed the opener for scores of nine, 17, five and five.

The loss of Elgar should have signalled to South Africa it was time to dig in but instead wickets fell at regular intervals.

Theinus de Bruyn was run out for 12 in a bizarre mid-pitch collision after an Amla drive to mid off.

De Bruyn was keeping an eye on the fielder and veered into Amla, leaving the batsmen sprawled on the ground as Williamson threw to BJ Watling to complete the dismissal.

Amla, on eight then, progressed to 19 when he edged a ball from Jeetan Patel which rebounded off Watling's glove to the sole slip de Grandhomme.

Patel also bowled JP Duminy (13) and Matt Henry had Temba Bavuma caught behind for one to leave South Africa 59 for five before du Plessis and de Kock survived 12 overs to stumps.

Should New Zealand level the series it will be a remarkable turnaround from the eight-wicket, three-day hiding suffered in the second Test, and achieved without injured strike bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee as well as senior batsman Ross Taylor.

New Zealand started the day with a seven-run lead and added a further 168 with Williamson posting his third-highest Test score and de Grandhomme chipping in with his maiden half-century.

After Williamson and Mitchell Santner consolidated the innings with a patient 88-run stand for the fifth wicket, de Grandhomme finished the innings with a flourish, smacking five fours and two sixes in his 70-ball stay.

Williamson had looked assured throughout until he hooked Morkel to Vernon Philander at long leg after 449 minutes in the middle.

He faced 285 deliveries in the marathon innings which lasted more than seven hours and included 16 fours and three sixes.

When Santner went in the last over before lunch for 41, de Grandhomme joined BJ Watling to lift the pace.

From less than two an over the run rate lifted to four with Watling contributing 24 before he was bowled by Keshav Maharaj.

Henry added 12 and Patel five before the innings folded with de Grandhomme gloving a Morne Morkel flyer through to wicketkeeper de Kock.

Morkel took four for 100 and Kagiso Rabada four for 122 while de Kock held five catches behind the stumps.

Nagaland Assembly on Tuesday passed a government resolution appealing to the Centre to urge the Myanmar government to permanently drop the Indo-Myanmar border fencing project.

The resolution was introduced in the House by Health and Family Welfare minister, P Longon, on March 24 last.

The resolution, which was taken up for discussion and consideration today, was passed by voice vote without any amendment.

While introducing the resolution, the minister had requested the Central government to urge the Myanmar government to permanently drop the project on the Indo-Myanmar border in Nagaland for continuing with the cordial and fraternal relations among the Nagas living on both sides of the border.

During the ongoing session, MLAs had expressed concern over the intention of the Myanmar government to fence the international border at Pangsha in Noklak sub-division of Tuensang district.

Two other bills, The Nagaland Co-operative Societies Bill 2017 and The Nagaland Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, 2017 introduced by the Chief Minister, Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu, on March 23 last were also passed by voice vote today.

The Cooperatives Societies Bill will repeal the Assam Cooperative Societies Act, 1949, which is in operation in Nagaland till date.

Introducing the bill, the Chief Minister had said it was necessary to enact a new law relating to the functioning of cooperative societies within the territorial limit of Nagaland to facilitate the voluntary formation and democratic functioning of cooperative societies.

On the Appropriation Acts (Repeal) Bill, he said that the object of the bill was to repeal obsolete and redundant laws, enacted by Parliament during President s Rule in states, which have become irrelevant or dysfunctional, which the state legislature has the competent power to amend or repeal.

Actor Tom Holland says he didnt reach out to actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to prepare for the role of Spider-Man in Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Holland is currently gearing up for Spider-Man: Homecoming. Maguire and Garfield have previously portrayed the superhero in different film franchises.

"I wasn't in touch with them (Maguire and Garfield). They both said some really lovely things about me online. I met Andrew at the BAFTAs the other day. It was cool. He's such a nice guy and we had a great chat and went our separate ways," Holland told variety.com.

Holland said that when he met Garfield, they mainly talked about their professional careers.

"We just talked about how fantastic he's been doing and all the brilliant movies he's been in lately. He talked to me about how excited I must be and how happy he was for me. It was all great," he said.

Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Tiuesday said that the state government would welcome the Bru refugees lodged in relief camps in Tripura if they were bona fide residents of the state.

Intervening in the discussion on Bru repatriation during question hour in the state legislature, Lal Thanhawla said the Brus had left the state on their own will, while many of them remained in the state and refused to go even after being threatened by Bru militants.

The chief minister also said he would never allow creation of separate autonomous district council for any community, including the Brus. He made this statement when state Home Minister R Lalzirliana said that the Brus had pleaded before the Supreme Court for setting up such a council in the state.

He said that the then Union Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani had made allegation against the people and government of Mizoram saying that Brus had been persecuted by the Mizo community for being followers of Hinduism.

"I gave replies to Advani that the Brus were never Hindus and though they were originally animists, majority of them were converted to Christianity," he said adding that the allegations of 28 Hindu temples were burnt in Mizoram was false as there was no such Hindu temple in the Bru-dominated areas.

The home minister said that 5,407 Bru families in the six Tripura relief camps were identified as bona fide residents of Mizoram during November 2 to 23, 2016 by Mizoram government officials at the relief camps.

He further said that 10,763 Brus lodged in the relief camps were enrolled in the Mizoram voters' lists.

Beef dealers in West Bengal wish to meet Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to apprise her of the "harrowing situation" in the state due to the crackdown on slaughterhouses in Uttar Pradesh, a representative said on Tuesday.

"It is only in Bengal and Kerala that cow slaughter is allowed. Cows used to be brought from other states… Now the supply has completely stopped," Mohammed Ali, President of Calcutta Beef Dealers Association said.

Ali said this had "severely crippled" the livelihood of those employed directly and indirectly in the sector.

"From loading to packaging, lakhs of people are employed (in Bengal). People are scared to work in this sector now and livelihoods, cutting across religious lines, have been hit," he added.

Ali said goods trains with 72 bogies ferried around six to eight animals in each compartment from Uttar Pradesh to Bengal.

"The supply of beef to UP has also stopped and one of the concerns is the obstruction in transportation. Trucks are being stopped and checked. We have faith in the CM that she will consider our plight," Ali added.

Bestselling cookbooks give little useful advice about reducing the risk of foodborne illness, especially in recipes involving meat products, say scientists who found that most of the information in the books are inaccurate and not based on sound science.

"Cookbooks aren't widely viewed as a primary source of food-safety information, but cookbook sales are strong and they're intended to be instructional," said Ben Chapman, from the North Carolina State University in the US.

"Cookbooks tell people how to cook, so we wanted to see if cookbooks were providing any food-safety information related to cooking meat, poultry, seafood or eggs, and whether they were telling people to cook in a way that could affect the risk of contracting foodborne illness," Chapman said.

Researchers evaluated a total 1,497 recipes from 29 cookbooks that appeared on the New York Times best sellers list for food and diet books.

All of the recipes included handling raw animal ingredients such as meat, poultry, seafood or eggs.

Specifically, researchers looked whether the recipe tell readers to cook the dish to a specific internal temperature, and if that temperature has been shown to be "safe".

They also looked at whether the recipes perpetuate food-safety myths – such as saying to cook poultry until the juices "run clear" – that have been proven unreliable as ways of determining if the dish has reached a safe temperature.

The researchers found that only 123 recipes – 8 per cent of those reviewed – mentioned cooking the dish to a specific temperature. Not all of the temperatures listed were high enough to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

"In other words, very few recipes provided relevant food-safety information, and 34 of those 123 recipes gave readers information that wasn't safe," Chapman said.

"Put another way, only 89 out of 1,497 recipes gave readers reliable information that they could use to reduce their risk of foodborne illness," he said.

In addition, 99.7 per cent of recipes gave readers "subjective indicators" to determine when a dish was done cooking.

None of those indicators were reliable ways to tell if a dish was cooked to a safe temperature.

"The most common indicator was cooking time, which appeared in 44 per cent of the recipes," said Katrina Levine, from NC State's Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences.

"And cooking time is particularly unreliable, because so many factors can affect how long it takes to cook something: the size of the dish being cooked, how cold it was before going into the oven, differences in cooking equipment, and so on," Levine said.

Other common indicators used in the cookbooks included references to the colour or texture of the meat, as well as vague language such as "cook until done." 

"This is important because cooking meat, poultry, seafood and eggs to a safe internal temperature kills off pathogens that cause foodborne illness," Levine said.

The study was published in the British Food Journal.

Indian captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday described the 2-1 triumph over Australia as his side's best series win so far, saying his highly motivated teammates give it right back when poked.

"Regardless of whether we are on top or not, we speak, if something pokes us we speak and give it right back.

All people don't digest it well but we take it very well and we give it back even better," Kohli told 'Star Sports' after the fourth Test here, which he missed owing to a shoulder injury.

The feisty batsman was in the Australian media's line of fire after stopping just short of calling rival captain Steve Smith a cheat for his infamous DRS 'Brain Fade'. Brushing the criticism aside, Kohli said he hardly cares for what was spoken or written about him Down Under.

"Some people want to create some spice sitting at some part of the world. They don't confront such situations themselves. The easiest thing to do is to just sit at home and write a blog or speak on Mic but to go out there and bowl and bat is different," he said.

Kohli said he was thoroughly enjoying the responsibility of leading a motivated side.

"I like taking responsibility, every game that I play for India is an opportunity to do something special with my skills. I like getting involved in the game. The workload is something that needs to be kept in mind in future but right now when the body is responding well I am fine," he said.

"It's been unbelievable. This is our best series win so far. The way we bounced back from World No 7 to No. 1 has been outstanding achievement and I am proud as a captain.

"I thought (the series against) England was intense, but the way Australia gave us a fight it was amazing on their part but our guys kept bouncing back. we showed true character and maturity. The guys handled themselves well," he added.

He lauded stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane for the dominating eight-wicket win in the fourth Test, which concluded on the fourth day on Tuesday.

"Ajinkya led the team really well. It was very pleasing to see that from the outside."

Kohli said the fact his team's improved fitness helped in taking the rigours of a long home season, which included series against South Africa, New Zealand and England.

"The changes we made in our fitness regimen have paid off. Guys have been able to sustain the performance throughout the season," he said.

"In the past, we have had sessions where we have given away the game easily. Not this season. It has been a team season. Not one or two individuals who have stood out.

Heaping praise on the pacers, Kohli said: "Unbelievable, the kind of fitness and desire the fast bowlers have shown, it has been game-changing."

Speaking about his recovery from the shoulder niggle, Kohli said he will be back to full fitness in a few weeks.

"It's still a few weeks to go till I can be 100 per cent on the field. You have to take it in your stride and move forward," he said.

Rahane, on the other hand, credited the all-round team effort for the victory.

"Really enjoyed the win. Credit to all the boys. Not only this series, but to whoever has played this season. I am really happy as a captain. I thought our bowlers, batsmen and fielders, they all did well," Rahane said.

An aggressive Rahane was on display on Tuesday as he blasted two consecutive sixes off Pat Cummins even though India was chasing a paltry score of 106.

Asked about the sixes, Rahane said: "In low-scoring games, you just need 30-40 quick runs in the middle. I was thinking of the Galle defeat when we got into our shell."

Adjudged Man of Match and Man of the series, Ravindra Jadeja was on cloud nine.

"It really feels great to be the No. 1 Test bowler and being part of this champion Test side," he said.

"When I batted, I was thinking to take my time and then Matthew Wade chirped from behind. That motivated me. If I can respond to him with runs, it will be great."

Jadeja also credited his coaches and captain for his performance and said he is happy to have answered his critics.

"Coaches and captain have been telling me, I have the skill to bat long. I developed as a player overall. Some time ago people didn't consider me a Test bowler. This season is a good response to them," he said.

Talking about his combination with Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja said: "Ashwin and I maintain pressure from both ends.

The variation of off-spinner and left-arm spinner also works well. It is difficult for any team to play such a combination.

"Hopefully we can continue this outside India too."

Known for his sword-wielding celebration, Jadeja said: "I will try to get to a hundred next time, and celebrate with two bats as swords.

A visiting Namibian parliamentary delegation was on  welcomed in the Rajya Sabha amidst slogan-shouting and ruckus by the opposition MPs over vacant posts in several statutory commissions.

While several Opposition MPs were protesting in the Well relenlessly, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien asked them to stop as he read out a statement welcoming the delegation led by the Speaker of National Assembly of Namibia, Peter H Katjavivi, who were sitting in the special box in the Upper House.

"We hope that during their stay here, they would see and learn more about our Parliamentary system," Kurien said and wished them a fruitful stay.

As they were being welcomed, the Namibian Speaker was seen rising from his seat to acknowledge the greetings.

While some of the protesting members were seen greeting the delegation members, some others, however, had a good laugh on the phrase "learn about our Parliamentary system" as they resumed slogan-shouting soon after Kurien completed his statement.

This forced the Chair to adjourn the House for some time soon thereafter.

Television star Nia Sharma says viewers do not easily accept actors from small screen in bold roles as they are used to watching them in the characters of 'bahu' or 'beti'.

The actress says the digital space gives more space to an artiste to experiment with roles as compared to TV.

“People find it difficult to fit actors in any role as they (actors) have done certain kind of parts on television and that is very degrading, demeaning and regressive. TV isn't a wide medium when it comes to boldness on the small screen because of the audience.

“It reaches out to the audience but keeping the traditions intact. The only medium where people are truly exploring themselves and going out to experiment is the digital space,” Nia told.

Nia rose to fame with the shows like Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai and Jamaai Raja. She is now a part of a web series by Vikram Bhatt, called “Twisted”.

The actress says she was a little apprehensive doing bold scenes in the web series due to the kinds of roles she has done in the small screen.

“People have played roles like these before and done bold scenes on-screen but just because my background is television, people will blow it out of proportion.

“Everything I am doing is normal, but just because I've played a role of 'bahu' and 'beti', people will not take it easily.”

“Twisted” goes on air on March 30.

Telugu artists Jahnavi Dasetty of "Mahathalli" fame and Viva' Harsha will now be seen on video streaming service Viu in two new shows – Munching with Mahathalli and Cinema Pichollo respectively.

Both the shows will be released on March 29 and viewers can stream the shows on www.viu.com or the Viu app.

Munching with Mahathalli will see Jahnavi conduct satirical interviews with stereotypical characters of the Telugu film industry played by her. The show will have special guests from the industry whom Jahnavi will interview and relive some of the most famous scenes of Tollywood cinema with them.

"The characters we see on-screen in our Telugu films are one of a kind. I am sure no other film industry in the world can boast of the melodramatic personalities and action sequences that we have," said Jahnavi.

Produced by Viu and Tamada Media, Munching with Mahathalli will have 26 episodes.

The other show starring 'Viva' Harsha titled Cinema Pichollo celebrates Tollywood cinema and the absolute hysteria that fans experience when they see their cinematic idols making their dramatic entries, delivering 'punch' dialogues, woo heroines, their dance moves or beating villains on screen.

Harsha Chemmudu will be anchoring the show along with Shanmukh 'Shannu' Jaswanth in a 26-episode series on Viu co-produced by Whacked Out! Media.

The Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday arrested five people allegedly involved in the attack on Nigerian students in Greater Noida.

“Police have arrested five persons. FIR registered and action will be taken accordingly,” Daljit Chaudhary, ADG Law and Order said to a news agency.

The fight broke out on Monday when local residents were holding a candlelight march against the death of a class 12 student who died of drug overdose allegedly given by some Africans.  Few of the local residents attacked the African students shopping in the area, alleging that the student, Manish Khari, was drugged by the Nigerians living nearby.

Manish died on Saturday after having a cardiac arrest due to suspected drug overdose.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday regarding the attack after a Nigerian national tweeted, saying living in the area was becoming a “life threatening” issue.

"I have spoken to Yogi Adityanath ji Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh about the attack on African students in Greater Noida. He has assured that there will be a fair and impartial investigation into this unfortunate incident (sic)," Sushma said in a series of tweets.

“As an international student in Noida, you need to act fast as living for us in Noida is becoming a life threatening issue,” Sadiq Bello tweeted on Tuesday morning.

Three Nigerians were injured in the attack and was admitted to a nearby hospital.

“We don't know why we were assaulted, the mob hit us with rods, bricks and knives: Nigerian national who was attacked,” said one of the Nigerian victim.

Spain' Garbiñe Muguruza retired from her fourth-round Miami Open tennis match against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki due to a heat-related illness on Monday.

The 23-year-old Muguruza called for the trainer following a gruelling first-set tie-breaker that she lost 6-7 (1-7) to the Dane at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Key Biscayne, Florida. Tournament doctors checked Muguruza's pulse and temperature, reports Efe.

After Muguruza, the world No. 6, was treated for several minutes, the chair umpire announced that the 2016 French Open champion was retiring due to illness.

Muguruza did not show any visible signs of being sick during her hard-fought first set against the 26-year-old Wozniacki, who is ranked 14th in the world.

The Spanish No.1 once again came up short in Miami, where she also reached the fourth round in 2012, 2013 and 2016.

Muguruza was broken in her first two service games, blowing a 40-0 lead the second time she was on serve.

The Spanish star's struggles were highlighted during her second service game, when she missed an easy overhead smash at the net.

Wozniacki raced to a 3-1 lead and then held on serve before Muguruza rallied, taking the next four games and a 5-4 lead.

Muguruza failed to put away the Dane, who ran away with the tiebreaker.

The Spanish star retired a few minutes later.

Wozniacki, a former world No. 1 and winner of 25 WTA Tour titles, will face the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova in the quarterfinals.

Safarova beat Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in the round of 16 on Monday.

Actress Scarlett Johansson talked about dating again following her split from her husband of more than two years, Romain Dauriac.

During an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show", Johansson was asked about her newly single status following the divorce filing earlier this month, reported AceShowbiz.

"I'm on guard because I have a young daughter," the 32-year-old actress said.

The show's host Howard Stern then jokingly tried to set up the actress with his friends, including David Spade, Louis C K, John Stamos and Orlando Bloom.

"A lot of comedians I know have a dark side though. I don't need any darkness. I think I've got a lot on my plate right now, but I'll let you know," she said.

Johansson then went on admitting to having a thing for chefs as she said, "Honestly, I'm like, somebody, who likes Gordon Ramsay," before revealing she has a celebrity crush on Anthony Bourdain.

"There's a running theme," she joked.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a bunch of pleas, filed by NGO Common Cause, seeking appointment of Lokpal.

Central government told the top court that in the current scenario, the appointment of Lokpal is impossible.

Meanwhile, Advocate General told the top court that the Lokpal can't be appointed since amendments pertaining to the definition of the Leader of Opposition is pending in the Parliament.

The apex court had on November 23, 2016, pulled up the Centre over the pending appointment of the Lokpal. The top court told the government that it must not allow the institution of Lokpal to become a 'dead letter'.

The top court questioned the Centre as to why the appointment has been pending since 2014 and asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi as to why the government dragged its feet when it comes to passing of the amendment which would have speeded up the process of appointment.

The government on Tuesday imposed 10 per cent import duty on wheat and tur dal with immediate effect in a bid to protect farmers' interest, amid projection of a record crop this year.

On December 8, the government had reduced customs duty on wheat to zero from 10 per cent to boost domestic availability and check retail prices. There has been nil duty on tur dal.

Announcing the decision in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said a notification dated March 17, 2012 has further been amended so as to "impose basic customs duty of 10 per cent on wheat and tur, with immediate effect."

The estimated revenue implication of this decision is about Rs.840 crore at the current levels of imports, he said.

The move will help curb sharp fall in the wholesale prices of these two commodities and ensure support price to farmers who are expecting a good crop.

The new wheat crop, has started arriving in mandis in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

As per the government's second estimate, wheat production is estimated at record 96.64 million tonnes in the 2016-17 crop year (July-June) as against 92.29 million tonnes in 2015-16 on the back of a good monsoon.

Similarly, tur dal production is estimated to be 4.23 million tonnes as against 2.56 million tonnes in the said period. Tur dal is grown in summer (kharif) season.

It may be noted that wholesale rate of tur dal has come under pressure due to higher output and in some places farmers are not getting even the minimum support prices.