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Facebook content moderation is an ugly business. Here’s who does it

March 2, 2019 Loknath Das

Some of the workers saw video of a man being stabbed to death. Others viewed acts of bestiality. Suicides and beheadings popped up too. The reason for watching the gruesome content: to determine whether it should be pulled from Facebook before more members of the world’s largest social network could see it. Content moderators protect Facebook’s 2.3 billion users from exposure to humanity’s darkest impulses. Swarming through posts that’ve been flagged by other members of the social network or by the Silicon Valley giant’s artificial intelligence tools, they quickly decide what stays up…

Here’s the biggest news you missed this weekend

February 25, 2019 Loknath Das

Male-only military draft is unconstitutional, judge rules A federal judge in Texas has declared that the all-male military draft is unconstitutional, ruling that “the time has passed” for a debate on whether women belong in the military. The decision deals the biggest legal blow to the Selective Service System since the Supreme Court upheld the draft in 1981. In Rostker v. Goldberg, the court ruled that the male-only draft was “fully justified” because women were ineligible for combat roles. But U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ruled late Friday that while historical restrictions on women serving in combat “may have…

Meghan Markle broke royal protocol with an ‘absolute no-no’ — here’s why

December 16, 2018 Loknath Das

Meghan Markle, aka, the Duchess of Sussex, is something of a trailblazer as a royal. She has bucked royal traditions on everything from her choice of wedding cake to hugging members of the public. And her most recent act of rebellion is subtle, yet significant: She wore a dark mani. On Monday, Markle made a surprise appearance as a presenter at the British Fashion Awards, wearing a one-shoulder, black Givenchy gown (she was presenting an award to Givenchy dessigner Clare Waight Keller). But it was her dark nail polish that…

Meghan Markle broke royal protocol with an ‘absolute no-no’ — here’s why

December 14, 2018 Loknath Das

Binge drinking affects male and female brains differently, here’s why

September 14, 2018 Loknath Das

While binge drinking affects the health of both males and females, the effect of gene expression in an area of the brain linked to addiction was found to be different, finds a new study. Repeated binge drinking was found to significantly alter molecular pathways in the nucleus accumbens — a region of the brain linked to addiction. But, in females, the genes linked to hormone signalling and immune function are altered, whereas in males genes related to nerve signalling are affected. The study has significant implications for the treatment of alcohol use…

Insulin can boost your immune system, here’s how

September 5, 2018 Loknath Das

Insulin, a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets, boosts immune health, according to a new study. Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI) scientists have identified a specific insulin signalling pathway that, when activated, revs up the response of T cells in the immune system to divide rapidly and secrete cytokines, chemical messenger proteins that activate the rest of the immune system. A fast and effective immune response protects us against disease and life-threatening infections by destroying infected cells or microbes, while a wrong or inefficient one can…

Here’s how heart diseases affect men and women differently. Find out if you’re at risk

August 20, 2018 Loknath Das

Heart diseases have emerged as the leading cause for fatalities in men and women world over and also in India. The risk of heart diseases to both sexes is grave, but heart diseases affect men and women differently. Over one crore annual deaths are reported in India and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) cause 20.3% deaths in men and 16.9 percent deaths in women. Despite having a lower mortality rate than men, reports have often suggested that women are more at risk of CVD related deaths. Another Indian study reports that the incidence…

Cancer rarely affects elephants, here’s the real reason behind it

August 18, 2018 Loknath Das

Researchers have identified a “zombie” gene that protects elephants from cancer, a finding that may pave the way for a new treatment for humans. Globally, nearly 1 in 6 human deaths occur due to cancer, whereas less than 5% of captive elephants — who also live for about 70 years, and have about 100 times as many potentially cancerous cells as humans — die of the disease. Humans and elephants have one copy of the master tumour suppressor gene p53, which recognises unrepaired DNA damage — a precursor of cancer and…

Why Do We Crave Alcohol? Here’s The Answer

August 14, 2018 Loknath Das

Most people like occasional drinking or what’s called as social drinking, while some like binge-drinking on a daily basis. Some people are able to enjoy alcohol in moderation; others can’t seem to get enough of it. If you are in that stage when you need a drink or two to end your day with, it may mean that you crave alcohol. However, if you struggle to stop after one or two drinks, chances are you may be dealing with intense alcohol cravings. Why do we crave alcohol? What are the…

Chronotherapy Could Make Cancer Treatments More Effective, Here’s How

August 5, 2018 Loknath Das

Chi Van Dang generally declines to discuss the science that made him famous. A leading authority on cancer metabolism, he routinely is asked to speak about how tumors reprogram biochemical pathways to help them slurp up nutrients and how disrupting these noxious adaptations could be a powerful approach to treating cancer. Instead of doing so, Dang uses his soapbox at every research meeting, lecture and blue-ribbon panel to advocate for something else: a simple yet radical tweak to how oncologists administer cancer drugs. The approach, known as chronotherapy, involves timing…