Paine pulls up a ‘bit sore’ after first training session following surgery

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Paine pulls up a ‘bit sore’ after first training session following surgery

Australia’s Test skipper Tim Paine said on Friday that he had his first “decent” training session in months on Thursday and though he had “pulled up a bit sore” he would be ready when the Ashes series commences at The Gabba on December 8.

Paine had undergone an invasive neck surgery in mid-September to set right a bulging disc that had been causing discomfort to the wicketkeeper-batsman in his left arm and neck. The bulging disc was pressing on the nerve canal, causing pain on the left side of the body.

“I had a decent keep (wicket-keeping) yesterday, (I went) pretty good. I had a bit of a dive around yesterday, so I’m a little bit stiff,” said Paine to SEN Hobart on Friday.

“I was going to have a catch with the great Tim Coyle, the former Tasmanian coach coming down with the Greater Northern Raiders, so I was going to have a catch with him but I had to pull the pin on that just to give myself a bit of time to rest up, I don’t want to be doing too much back to back days.”

However, Paine said that there was nothing to worry about and his rehabilitation was progressing in the right direction.

“It’s nothing to worry about, just a bit of stiffness after a few months off. I’ve pulled up a bit sore, but yesterday was as I would train normally, so it’s a really good sign that I got through that and I’m looking forward to playing a game of cricket in the coming weeks.”

It is a race against time for Paine to be fit for the gruelling Ashes as he has missed training for more than three months due to the surgery. The skipper is hopeful he would be able to squeeze in two games of cricket before the Ashes.

“I’d love to get a club game in, followed by either a second XI game or a Shield game, just depending on the dates of those games and just depending on how I pulled up from the club game,” Paine said.

“There’s talk of us having an intra-squad game like we did last Ashes over in England, so potentially I’m getting two, three or four games of cricket in before that first Test.”

T20 World Cup: Would love to keep fate in our control, says Finch ahead of WI clash

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T20 World Cup: Would love to keep fate in our control, says Finch ahead of WI clash

Ahead of the important clash against West Indies, Australia captain Aaron Finch on Friday said that his team would love to keep their fate in their control, adding that it’s important to stick to their good enough process in the ongoing T20 Men’s T20 World Cup.

Australia and South Africa both have six points each in Group 1 and the Aussies will aim to win against the West Indies and won’t rely on the result of the Proteas’ game against England to qualify for the semi-final of the mega event.

“Yeah, you’d love to keep it (fate) in our control. That’s all you can focus on. I think as soon as you start helping other teams win or other teams lose, it just clouds your judgment and your vision. It’s really important that we just go and stick to our guns, stick to our process because we know that that’s good enough when we get it right. So that’s important,” said Finch at the pre-match conference.

“West Indies is such a dangerous side. We saw that when we played them. Obviously with them being out of the competition now, they’ve got nothing to lose, which can also be a really dangerous spot,” he added.

In the Caribbean a couple of months ago Hayden Walsh Jr had some pretty good success against Australia. However, Finch feels his side is now better equipped to deal with the spinner.

“He (Walsh) had a sensational series against us over there. I do think we’re better equipped to deal with that at the moment. Obviously having played him before in a five-game series there’s been a lot more information sharing amongst the boys and chat about that,” said the Australian skipper.

“It just comes down to being able to perform your best game on the day. That sounds pretty basic, but that’s what it comes down to, and as long as we can keep our intent, keep our energy, I think that goes a long way to giving ourselves the best chance of winning,” he added.

The attacking opener Finch has batted well in the last few matches and his footwork has been also good.

Talking about his batting, Finch said, “Yeah, it was nice to get a few in the middle. I think the first couple of balls I was trying to swing a bit too hard and wasn’t watching the ball as close as I should have been.

“But yeah, I feel as though my footwork patterns have been pretty good. It’s something I’ve been working at. Obviously, when you’re coming off an injury or you’re coming back of any kind of layoff, it can take a little bit of time to get back up to speed, but I feel like I’m playing reasonably well, yeah.”

‘The Big Picture’: Saif recalls shooting of ‘Ole Ole’ song

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‘The Big Picture’: Saif recalls shooting of ‘Ole Ole’ song

Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji will be seen on the quiz show ‘The Big Picture’ hosted by Ranveer Singh. They are coming to promote their movie ‘Bunty Aur Babli 2’.

During the show while asking questions to both the guests, Ranveer also revealed that he has a dream to dance with Saif on his popular track, ‘Ole Ole’ from the movie ‘Yeh Dillagi’. Thus, Saif will be shaking legs with Ranveer on this song.

After their performance, Ranveer shared: I have danced on ‘Jumma Chumma’ with Bachchan Ji, ‘Dhina Dhin Dha’ with Anil Kapoor Ji, ‘Mai Toh Raste Se Jaa Raha tha’ with Govinda Ji, and today have also performed on ‘Ole Ole’ with Saif Ji. My dream has come true.”

Saif Ali Khan recalled shooting of this track: “I was such a bad dancer. Late Saroj Khan ji has made me practice so much on this song, the steps used to come in my dreams.”

‘The Big Picture’ airs on Colors.

Twitter nows allows joining Spaces via direct links

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Twitter nows allows joining Spaces via direct links

Micro-blogging site Twitter is rolling out the ability for users to share direct links to their Spaces to let others tune into a live audio session via the web without being logged into the platform.

The social media giant said the new functionality is aimed at Spaces users who have friends that are not on Twitter but would still want to listen in on a Space.

The expansion opens up Twitter Spaces to even more people and gives the social media giant a better chance of reaching new outside of its platform, reports TechCrunch.

The new functionality also gives Twitter Spaces an edge over rivals like Clubhouse and Facebook’s Live Audio Rooms.

Twitter has been introducing several features over the past few months to streamline Spaces and garner more users.

Last week, the company launched a Spaces Recording feature to testers on iOS, with a global launch to follow. The feature gives hosts the ability to select a new “Record Space” setting before starting a live audio session.

Once the session concludes, the recorded Space can be shared across Twitter, allowing listeners to play it back at any time or re-share it themselves, the report said.

Twitter also recently launched a Spaces test that brings the dedicated Spaces Tab to Android users along with an update that brings easier DM invites. Twitter will also now feature popular Spaces in the Explore tab on iOS to increase their visibility.

Ravi Teja’s ‘Ravanasura’ blood-stained first-look is out

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Ravi Teja’s ‘Ravanasura’ blood-stained first-look is out

‘Mass Maharaja’ Ravi Teja and director Sudheer Varma are collaborating on the star’s 70th film, a Telugu action thriller till now known only by its working title #RT70.

With the release of its first look on Friday, November 5, it was revealed that the film will be called ‘Ravanasura’ and its story will revolve around the 10 different shades of the demon king who appears in Valmiki’s ‘Ramayana’.

Produced by Abhishek Nama under the Abhishek Pictures banner and RT Teamworks, the film’s first-look poster shows Ravi Teja, dressed as a lawyer appearing in a courtroom, seated on a chair designed as a mask with a judge’s gavel in hand and blood dripping from it.

Behind him are representations of the 10 heads, or the ‘dashavatara’, of Ravana. Ravi Teja’s character wears unusual black rings splattered with blood stains, which show up on his hands and the mask as well.

We can also see law files, books and a paintbrush in front of Ravi Teja, and guns are seen behind him. The poster carries the popular line: “Heroes don’t exist.”

The film’s writer, Srikanth Vissa, is believed to have penned a powerful and first-of-its-kind story for the movie. Known for his exceptional filmmaking, Sudheer Varma, the director, will cast Ravi Teja in a distinctive role that audiences haven’t seen him playing before.

Big B on ‘eerie’ Diwali at ‘Jalsa’: ‘Room full of family, each lost in their own world’

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Big B on ‘eerie’ Diwali at ‘Jalsa’: ‘Room full of family, each lost in their own world’

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan revealed that this year Diwali was much quieter as he gave a glimpse of the night at his home ‘Jalsa’.

Amitabh celebrated Diwali with his wife Jaya Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, son Abhishek Bachchan, daughter Shweta Nanda and grandchildren Aaradhya Bachchan and Agastya Nanda.

The icon seemed missing the fun and frolic of Diwali, going by his post on his blog.

He wrote: “The gaiety, the fun and frolic of the past…the celebration of this festive day…friends and well wishers at Jalsa and the night of light and brightness…in the diyas of hope and prosperity.”

“It has been deafeningly silent for a Diwali night .. no or hardly any sound of fire crackers…perhaps a GOI ruling against it, but even so an eerie silence about…and a room full of family and each in his or her own world of the mobile,” he added.

“What has the rapid communication done to us…destroyed memory, remembering…an answer to all on the net and a depletion of the mind and the brain to face up to the challenges, for public consumption and beyond…”

Talking about the impact of the pandemic on normal life, Amitabh added: “So much has changed in these past two years…destruction yes but invention too…and the ingenuity of the human species…much has been said and written about it…a reprieve then…’tis not so sweet now as it was before.”

On the work front, Amitabh will next be seen in ‘Jhund’ , ‘Uunchai’, ‘Brahmastra’, ‘Mayday’, and ‘Good Bye’.

‘Tenu Lehenga’ song from ‘Satyamev Jayate 2’ set for wedding season

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‘Tenu Lehenga’ song from ‘Satyamev Jayate 2’ set for wedding season

As Rohit Shetty’s high-octane actioner ‘Sooryavanshi’ lights up cinemas, another thorough entertainer headlined by John Abraham in a triple role is waiting to release in a few weeks. ‘Satyamev Jayate 2’ which also stars Divya Khosla Kumar has already got the audience excited. The makers of the film have released a new song titled ‘Tenu Lehenga’.

John took to his Instagram to announce the release of the song, he posted the snippets from the song as he captioned the video, “This Diwali, be a pataka and sizzle on the dance floor #TenuLehenga out now: Link In Bio #SatyamevaJayate2 in cinemas on Thursday, 25th November.”

The song set against the backdrop of a wedding features John in a double role shaking a leg with Divya. It is a remake of a hugely popular track of the same name, composed and penned by Jass Manak which came out 2 years back. The original track amassed a whooping 1.4 billion views on YouTube making it one of the most loved Punjabi tracks. The new version has been recreated by Tanishk Bagchi in association with Jass Manak, with the latter making an appearance in the song as well. Tanishk also doubles as a lyricist for the song having penned the additional lyrics.

‘Satyamev Jayate 2’ directed by Milan Milap Zaveri is a sequel to the 2018 vigilante action film ‘Satyamev Jayate’ and stars John Abraham in his fight against systematic corruption. The film is all set to release on November 25.

Google’s parent company launches AI-driven drug discovery start-up

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Google’s parent company launches AI-driven drug discovery start-up

Google’s parent company Alphabet has launched a new company that aims to use artificial intelligence for drug discovery.

The new company, called Isomorphic Laboratories, will leverage the success of DeepMind, another Alphabet subsidiary that used AI to predict the 3D structure of a protein directly from its amino acid sequence.

“I’m thrilled to announce the creation of a new Alphabet company — Isomorphic Labs — a commercial venture with the mission to reimagine the entire drug discovery process from the ground up with an AI-first approach and, ultimately, to model and understand some of the fundamental mechanisms of life,” DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis wrote in a blogpost.

Hassabis will also serve as the CEO for Isomorphic during the initial phase, but the two companies will stay separate and collaborate where relevant.

The London-based Isomorphic Labs will work on the most important applications of AI — in the field of biological and medical research.

“…there may be a common underlying structure between biology and information science — an isomorphic mapping between the two — hence the name of the company,” Hassabis said.

The company aims to use AI to accelerate drug discovery, and ultimately, find cures for some of humanity’s most devastating diseases.

“The pandemic has brought to the fore the vital work that brilliant scientists and clinicians do every day to understand and combat disease. We believe that the foundational use of cutting edge computational and AI methods can help scientists take their work to the next level, and massively accelerate the drug discovery process,” Hassabis said.

“As pioneers in the emerging field of ‘digital biology’, we look forward to helping usher in an amazingly productive new age of biomedical breakthroughs,” Hassabis noted.

The new venture also plans to partner with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies, using artificial intelligence to discover new medicinal advancements.

FB is adding monetisation features to groups

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FB is adding monetisation features to groups

Tech giant Facebook is bringing monetisation features into yet another part of its service — groups.

The social network is testing new tools that allow group admins to make money, with new shopping, fundraising and subscription features, reports Engadget.

The company announced the updates at its annual Communities Summit event, where it said the new features will help people who run groups “sustain” the communities they have built.

With the changes, Facebook is adding group admins three ways to monetise their communities. The first two, community shops and fundraisers, mirror features elsewhere on the platform.

Community shops is an extension of Facebook’s existing features and allows group admins to sell themed merchandise or other goods. Likewise, fundraisers will enable admins to crowdfund specific projects or otherwise “offset the costs of running the group”.

But the third feature is entirely new — paid subgroups. Subgroups are essentially smaller groups-within-a-group where members pay a monthly fee to participate.

While Facebook is also allowing group admins to set up free subgroups, the paid version of the feature is the company’s latest effort to create subscription-based products, the report said.

Elsewhere, Facebook has been hyping subscriptions as a way for creators to make money, either via newsletters or fan subscriptions for streamers. In the context of groups, subscriptions are meant to enable access to exclusive or specialised content like “coaching or networking or deeper conversations”.

In addition to the new monetisation features, Facebook announced several other updates for groups, including — new customisation features that allow admins to change background colours, font styles and other aspects of the way groups look.

Community chats to make it easier for admins and group moderators to reach each other. A new “featured” section so group admins can pin content that stays at the top of the group

Facebook also plans to start testing a new set of features that will streamline the groups and Pages experience for admins who manage both a group and a corresponding page.

Alpha Covid variant detected in dogs, cats with severe myocarditis

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Alpha Covid variant detected in dogs, cats with severe myocarditis

While domestic pets are known to contract Covid-19, UK scientists have for the first time reported of infection from the Alpha variant in cats and dogs.

The study, published in the Veterinary Record journal, described the first identification of the SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant in domestic pets; two cats and one dog were positive on PCR test, while two additional cats and one dog displayed antibodies two to six weeks after they developed signs of cardiac disease.

Many owners of these pets had developed respiratory symptoms several weeks before their pets became ill and had also tested positive for Covid-19.

All of these pets had an acute onset of cardiac disease, including severe myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).

“Our study reports the first cases of cats and dogs affected by the Covid-19 alpha variant and highlights, more than ever, the risk that companion animals can become infected with SARS-CoV-2,” said lead author Luca Ferasin, of The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, in the UK.

“We also reported the typical clinical manifestations characterised by severe heart abnormalities, which is a well-recognised complication in people affected by Covid-19 but has never been described in pets before,” Ferasin added.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports of animals infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been documented around the world.

Most of these animals became infected after contact with people with Covid-19, including owners, caretakers, or others who were in close contact. Animals reported infected include pet cats, dogs, and ferrets; animals in zoos and sanctuaries, including several types of big cats, otters, and non-human primates; Mink; wild white-tailed deer in several US states.

Recent experimental research shows that many mammals like cats, ferrets, fruit bats, hamsters, racoon dogs, and white-tailed deer, besides being infected with the virus, can also spread the infection to other animals of the same species in laboratory settings. However, the risk of animals spreading Covid-19 to people is considered to be low.

“However, Covid-19 infection in pets remains a relatively rare condition and, based on our observations, it seems that the transmission occurs from humans to pets, rather than vice versa,” Ferasin said.

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