Mumbai: Fox Star Studios, one of India's leading movies studios, on Friday introduced a new visual identity and announced that the company has rebranded to Star Studios.With this brand refresh, Star Studios plans to present universal story themes with iconic characters and new-age cinematic spectacles backed by cutting-edge technology for theatrical releases as well as direct-to-digital, the company said in a release. The studio said the aim is to bring genre-agnostic stories to global audiences starting with "Brahmastra Part One: Shiva", "Babli Bouncer", "Gulmohar" and a remake of Malayalam film "Hridayam". "With Star Studios, we aim to harbour the best creative minds and bring unique stories to audiences with an expanding entertainment palate. We are creating a diverse range of stories across genres from grand visual spectacles to family dramas and everything in between. "We are delighted to create a collaborative studio environment at Star Studios, that helps create cinematic experiences across theatrical and direct-to-digital films. We have already announced a few of these films, and in weeks and months we will be announcing many more films," Bikram Duggal, Head of Studios, Disney Star said in a statement. Under the name Fox Star Studios the banner has previously backed blockbuster films like "M.S. Dhoni The Untold Story", "Sanju", "Neerja" and "Chhichhore".—PTI

 Fox Star Studios, one of India's leading movies studios, on Friday introduced a new visual identity and announced that the company has rebranded to Star Studios.

Fox Star Studios rebrands to Star Studios

New Delhi: &nbsp;A visually challenged woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in southwest Delhi's Dabri, police said on Thursday. The information regarding the incident was received from DDU hospital. Police said the incident took place around two to three days ago. The victim told police that she was sexually assaulted by an unidentified man.A case was registered under section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code at Dabri police station, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Shankar Choudhary said.During investigation, on technical evidence, the accused was nabbed and sent to judicial custody, the DCP said. The police refused to divulge further details.The incident came to light when Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal tweeted about the same."On May 25, a blind girl mistakenly got down at another bus stop. A man took her to the street on the pretext of helping her cross the road, but raped her. Police have arrested the man. I met the girl and we are completely helping her. But really -- is there no limit to the animalistic mentality!" she said on Twitter in Hindi.—PTI

A visually challenged woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in southwest Delhi's Dabri, police said on Thursday.

Visually challenged woman sexually assaulted in Delhi

A visually challenged woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in southwest Delhi's Dabri, police said on Thursday.



Toronto (Canada): Tadpoles have a good underwater vision, but what happens when they develop into frogs and spend most of their time on land? In quest of the solution, scientists from York University and a number of other institutions discovered that tadpoles' eyes go through an unexpectedly large number of modifications.The findings of the research were published in the journal 'BMC Biology'. It's already known that tadpoles go through a physical metamorphosis on their way to becoming a frog, but what wasn't known is how their vision adapts at a molecular level across the life stages to a strikingly different environment.York University Assistant Professor Ryan Schott, who studies the visual system of vertebrates in the Faculty of Science, along with an international team of researchers, examined the eyes of southern leopard frogs to find out if and how they changed."Seeing underwater is not the same as seeing on land. The light underwater can have more of a reddish cast, especially in ponds where many frogs live, while the light on land is bluer. The amount of light is also different underwater versus on land. Animals that see well in one environment will likely not see clearly in the other. We were interested in finding out what changes occur that allow an animal to go from seeing underwater to seeing on land," said Schott, who led the study and is the corresponding author. "The adaptive decoupling hypothesis proposes that animals that have distinct life stages separated by metamorphosis, like caterpillars to butterflies or tadpoles to frogs, might be more able to adapt to their different environments."The researchers explored changes in gene expression in the eyes of leopard frog tadpoles and juvenile frogs using RNA sequencing, allowing them to see the levels of gene expression, or which genes were turned on in the eyes. They also used microspectrophotometry to measure whether the photoreceptor cells in the eyes were more sensitive to the redder or bluer parts of the light spectrum at different life stages. These photoreceptor cells send light signals through the retina to the brain and are what allow animals, including humans, to see.What they found surprised them. "The difference in the gene expression levels that we found in their eyes across the life stages was much higher than expected and a high proportion of them are genes that are directly involved in vision, which was an exciting result," said Schott.They found that 42 per cent of genes in the eyes of tadpoles changed, and were differentially expressed, and they metamorphosized into a frog. The team, including researchers from the Smithsonian Institution, Cornell University, The Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom, the California Academy of Sciences, and the University of Texas at Arlington, also found the genes that control visual function and development, including spectral sensitivity and lens composition, changed the most.The eyes of tadpoles had shifted and adapted to see better in a bluer light environment as they changed to a juvenile leopard frog - living and seeing on land - compared to the redder light environment of the freshwater habitat they live in as tadpoles.&nbsp;—ANI

Tadpoles have a good underwater vision, but what happens when they develop into frogs and spend most of their time on land? In quest of the solution, scientists from York University and a number of other institutions discovered that tadpoles' eyes go through an unexpectedly large number of modifications.

Research Reveals Tadpoles Develop Into Frogs, Experience Remarkable Amount Of Visual Alterations

Hyderabad : The makers of Nagarjuna's next film 'The Ghost' vow to release a spine-chilling first trailer soon. The 'FIRST VISUAL,' which will be released on July 9, is likely to heighten the excitement surrounding Praveen Sattaru's directorial debut.&nbsp;'The Ghost' producers revealed the release date of the first episode of the action-packed suspense drama on their social media accounts. They also released a poster of Nagarjuna.The image, which depicts Nagarjuna holding a weapon, was labeled "Unleashing The Killing Machine." The poster's background appears to be a fort or a massive European structure, with the blood moon in the backdrop.Gearing up for its release soon. 'The Ghost' completed its entire shooting part, except for an action sequence. This action block will be canned soon and with that, it will be a wrap for the production part.In this high-octane action entertainer, Nagarjuna plays an Interpol officer for the first time. With 'The Ghost', Praveen Sattaru is on a mission to provide the audience with a never-before-seen experience.Sonal Chauhan is the female lead opposite Nagarjuna in the movie that also stars Gul Panag and Anikha Surendran in important roles.Suniel Narang, along with Puskur Ram Mohan Rao, and Sharrath Marar is producing the film on Sree Venkateshwara Cinemas LLP and Northstar Entertainment Banners.--IANS

The makers of Nagarjuna's next film 'The Ghost' vow to release a spine-chilling first trailer soon. The 'FIRST VISUAL,' which will be released on July 9, is likely to heighten the excitement surrounding Praveen Sattaru's directorial debut. 

 'The Ghost' makers announce release date for first visual

Washington: Neuroscientists have revealed the precise connections between sensory neurons inside the retina and the superior colliculus, a structure in the midbrain. Neuropixels probes are a relatively recent development, representing the next generation of electrodes. Densely packed with recording points, Neuropixels probes are used to record the activity of nerve cells, and have facilitated these recent insights into neuronal circuits. The researchers describe a fundamental principle which is common to the visual systems of mammals and birds.
Two brain structures are crucial to the processing of visual stimuli: the visual cortex in the primary cerebral cortex and the superior colliculus, a structure in the midbrain. Vision and the processing of visual information involve highly complex processes. In simplified terms, the visual cortex is responsible for general visual perception, whereas the structures of the evolutionarily older midbrain are responsible for visually guided reflexive behaviors. The mechanisms and principles involved in visual processing within the visual cortex are well known. Work conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Jens Kremkow has contributed to our knowledge in this field and, in 2017, culminated in the establishment of an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group at Charite's Neuroscience Research Center (NWFZ). The primary aim of the Research Group, which is funded by the Germany Research Foundation (DFG), is to further improve our understanding of nerve cells involved in the visual system. Many unanswered questions remain, including details of the way in which visual information is processed in the midbrain's superior colliculi.
Retinal ganglion cells, sensory cells found inside the eye's retina, respond to external visual stimuli and send the information received to the brain. Direct signaling pathways ensure that visual information received by the retinal nerve cells also reaches the midbrain. "What had remained largely unknown until now is the way in which nerve cells in the retina and nerve cells in the midbrain are linked on a functional level. The dearth of knowledge regarding the way in which neurons in the superior colliculi process synaptic inputs was similarly pronounced," says study lead Dr. Kremkow. "This information is crucial to understanding the mechanisms involved in midbrain processing." Until now, it had been impossible to measure the activity of synaptically connected retinal and midbrain neurons in living organisms. For their most recent research, the research team developed a method which was based on measurements obtained with innovative, high-density electrodes known as Neuropixels probes. Precisely speaking, Neuropixels probes are tiny, linear electrode arrays featuring approximately one thousand recording sites along a narrow shank. Comprising 384 electrodes for the simultaneous recording of electric activity of neurons in the brain, these devices have become game-changers within the field of neuroscience.
Researchers working at Charite and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence have now used this new technology to determine the relevant midbrain structures in mice (superior colliculi) and birds (optic tectum). Both brain structures have a common evolutionary origin and play an important role in the visual processing of retinal input signals in both groups of animals. Their work led the researchers to a surprising discovery: "Usually, this type of electrophysiological recording measures electrical signals from action potentials which originate in the soma, the neuron's cell body," explains Dr. Kremkow. "In our recordings, however, we noticed signals whose appearance differed from that of normal action potentials. We went on to investigate the cause of this phenomenon, and found that input signals in the midbrain were caused by action potentials propagated within the 'axonal arbors' (branches) of the retinal ganglion cells. Our findings suggest that the new electron array technology can be used to record the electrical signals emanating from axons, the nerve cell projections which transmit neuronal signals. This is a brand-new finding." In a global first, Dr. Kremkow's team was able to simultaneously capture the activity of nerve cells in the retina and their synaptically connected target neurons in the midbrain.
Until now, the functional wiring between the eye and midbrain had remained an unknown quantity. The researchers were able to show at the single-cell level that the spatial organization of the inputs from retinal ganglion cells in the midbrain constitutes a very precise representation of the original retinal input. "The structures of the midbrain effectively provide an almost one-to-one copy of the retinal structure," says Dr. Kremkow. He continues: "Another new finding for us was that the neurons in the midbrain receive a very strong and specific synaptic input from retinal ganglion cells, but only from a small number of these sensory neurons. These neural pathways enable a very structured and functional connection between the eye's retina and the corresponding regions of the midbrain." Among other things, this new insight will enhance our understanding of the phenomenon known as blindsight, which can be observed in individuals who have sustained damage to the visual cortex due to trauma or tumor. Incapable of conscious perception, these individuals retain a residual ability to process visual information, which results in an intuitive perception of stimuli, contours, movement and even colors that appears to be linked to the midbrain.
To test whether the principles initially observed in the mouse model could also apply to other vertebrates -- and hence whether they could be more general in nature -- Dr. Kremkow and his team worked alongside a team from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, where a Lise Meitner Research Group led by Dr. Daniele Vallentin focuses on neuronal circuits responsible for the coordination of precise movements in birds. "Using the same types of measurements, we were able to show that, in zebra finches, the spatial organization of the nerve tracts connecting the retina and midbrain follow a similar principle," says Dr. Vallentin. She adds: "This finding was surprising, given that birds have significantly higher visual acuity and the evolutionary distance between birds and mammals is considerable." The researchers' observations suggest that the retinal ganglion cells in both the optical tectum and the superior colliculi show similar spatial organization and functional wiring. Their findings led the researchers to conclude that the principles discovered must be crucial to visual processing in the mammalian midbrain. These principles may even be general in nature, applying to all vertebrate brains, including those of humans.
Regarding the researchers' future plans, Dr. Kremkow says: "Now that we understand the functional, mosaic-like connections between retinal ganglion cells and neurons within the superior colliculi, we will further explore the way in which sensory signals are processed in the vision system, specifically in the regions of the midbrain, and how they contribute to visually-guided reflexive behavior." The team also want to establish whether the new method might be used in other structures and whether it could be used to measure axonal activity elsewhere in the brain. Should this prove possible, it would open up a wealth of new opportunities to explore the brain's underlying mechanisms. —ANI

Neuroscientists have revealed the precise connections between sensory neurons inside the retina and the superior colliculus, a structure in the midbrain. Neuropixels probes are a relatively recent development, representing the next generation of electrodes.

Researchers Reveal How Visual Information Travels From Retina To Midbrain

RSS Chief To Attend Seminar in Ahmedabad todayResearchers Reveal How Visual Information Travels From Retina To Midbrain

The Hawk: Journalism is an exciting occupation that allows the person to meet different kinds of people, communities and also gives in a chance to travel to new and exciting places. Journalism can be defined as the activity or product of journalists or other professional engaged in the preparation of written, visual, or audio material intended for telecasted to be viewed by general public through public media like newspaper, magazine, news channel or online news etc. with reference to factual, ongoing events of public concern. These events may be some events of political concern or some sports tournaments etc. Journalism is intended to inform society about itself and to make public, things that would otherwise be private or things that would not come to the knowledge of the people. Journalism or media helps to explain the events that impact the lives of the common man and is developed in a number of forms and styles. Each journalistic form and style uses different techniques of investigation and publishing and writes for different purposes and audiences keeping in mind the relevance and language to be used.  For a journalist to do justice to his work he needs to possess some basic qualities of discovering, collecting the information, assembling, analyzing and presenting information in an attractive way. To do this effectively, journalists require highly developed skills in language, a good understanding of the media and local languages, an interest in current affairs and a broad general knowledge. A journalist can only perform well if he is able to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately and quickly, and have an inquiring nature and well-developed people skills. A lot of media houses is entering into the market every day and hence competition is rising day by day. To stand out from the crowd, successful journalists need to enhance their all-round competence skills with personal enterprise, innovation, imagination and creativity. Only those who have skills and passion towards the job and are willing to take a calculative amount of risks can perform well in this field.
<h2>Modern Society and Journalism</h2>
A journalist is a professional who collects, writes, and distributes news and other information to be processed and finally telecast through one medium or the other. A journalist's work towards collecting information and adding some relevant views and facts is referred to as journalism. Journalism is directed at the consumers of media products, who may comprise nonspecific general audiences or narrower market segments. In modern society, news media have become the chief purveyor of information and opinion about public affairs and important events from the fields of sports, politics, entertainment and world, but the role and status of journalism, along with other forms of mass media, are undergoing some rapid changes resulting from the Internet.  Internet these days is playing a major role in giving a tough competition to media and information sector. There was already a tough ongoing competition among print media and electronic media, but with the internet becoming so popular these days, the competition has even increased. As a result of rapid technological growth, the technology these days has become really affordable and this has resulted in a shift toward reading on I-pads, e-journals, e-readers, smartphones, and other electronic devices rather than print media and has faced news organizations with the ongoing problem of monetizing digital news. These days there are a lot of internet-based applications available for media which is giving a new dimension to reporting and publishing. Within seconds of some major events, we can have full information about the event. This has made the process of journalism even more challenging.
<h2>Role of a Journalist</h2>
In this modernized and sophisticated age of information, every individual wants to be aware of what is happening around them in the world. Everyone wants to have information related to every genre of human life. It is the media that is the source of all that information. Dimensions of media these days are spreading day by day, be it print media like the newspapers and magazines; electronic media like the Internet or Audio/Visual Media like TV, Radio everyone is working hard day and night out to keep us updated with every single event of importance around us. And it is the ‘journalists’ who are the ones actually responsible for all that information. Journalists hold the power to influence the crowds with the first-hand information that they possess. However, there can be some just sitting in their office and collecting some random stuff for the internet and publishing out in their columns, which is something that a real journalist would never do.  Journalism is a highly responsible job, and highly thrilling at the same time. There are times when one needs to be fearless and present the truth in front of the public, no matter how harsh the truth is. Sometimes it becomes difficult due to the involvement of some prominent people in some scandal or a crime, a true journalist is one who without any fear carries on his investigation and brings out the truth in front of the public. If someone is looking for a career in journalism, they should have a presentable and confident personality, along with the ability to write and present information accurately and concisely without any fear or external pressure.
<h3>Other essential requirements that highlight a good Journalist: </h3>
An inquisitive bent of mind, good writing and communication skills in the local as well as national language, strong ability to differentiate effectively between fact and fiction, tact to collect information and take some calculative risks, high intelligence level, awareness towards the general issues and facts, interest in current affairs and happenings around the world. One of the most important qualities needed is the capability of handling the unforeseen situations efficiently. Journalists may expose themselves to danger to cover in all aspects of information about a particular event, particularly when reporting in areas of armed conflict or in states that do not respect the freedom of the press. There can be some cases of corruption or bribery where some high-rank officials are involved, hence in these situations, journalists do risk in themselves to get the truth out. Organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders publish reports on press freedom and advocate for journalistic freedom.  Different fields of life including politics, art, economics, business, history, sports, entertainment and many other areas are covered by journalists and provide you with news about the latest happenings in these fields. If you are talented and hard-working, a bright career in journalism is awaiting you, which can take you to a good salary package and perhaps even fame and recognition. With the growing importance of media today, the opportunities in the field are numerous and the job is also demanding and exhilarating at the same time.
<h2>Different Types of Journalism</h2>
Thinking about pursuing journalism as a career, you have a wide range of principles of journalism to choose into from. The best foundation begins with an undergraduate liberal arts education that exposes you to a wide range of disciplines of study and helps you supplement your native curiosity with a habit of critical thinking. Whatever course of study you follow be sure to include a strong foundation in ethics. After that, once you have made up your mind for journalism, and then consider study at a university that offers a graduate degree in journalism. Each journalistic form and style needs some different techniques for collecting information and writes for different purposes and audiences. There are four principal types of journalism namely investigative, news, reviews and columns. 
<h3>News: </h3>
Most widespread form requiring journalism approach is the news coverage. News journalism is often to the point and does not contain any kind of added personal views or any kind of manipulation. It is often referred to as straightforward journalism. Facts are relayed as it is without any change or interpretation. Typical news must be relayed as it is without any tampering with the facts and figures. A normal news story often constitutes a headline with just enough explanation to give an idea of the rest of the article to the reader. News stories relay facts, events and information to society in a straightforward, accurate and unbiased manner. Any deviation from the original facts can at times lead to some serious consequences. Investigative Journalism: The most important and famous form, investigative journalism aims at uncovering the true facts about a particular subject, person, or event of public interest. The investigative journalism is based on the basic principle underlying all journalism-verification and accurate presentation of the facts. It is advised that investigative reporters must work with uncooperative or recalcitrant sources that would maintain the confidentiality of the information and would never divulge or manipulate the information. The investigative journalist should always be aware of their responsibility and should always bring the truth to light. They should also keep in mind that honesty with their work is very important as it can lead to some major public unrest also if something wrong is published. Hence reporters need to be well aware of the fact.
<h2>Columns Writers:</h2>
There is an important place for column writers in all the dailies and weekly publishing’s as well. There can be a wide variety of topics for these columns which can be for a newspaper, magazine or an online media and these are based primarily on the personality of the author. Column writers usually write about subjects or topics in a personal style and usually are associated with one field only which is either related to entertainment, sports, art or culture etc. It is possible that column writers can take a humorous approach, or specialize in a particular subject area or topic. Column writers are usually noticed by their constant focus on a single topic and it's important for columnists to develop their own voice that is recognizable by their readership. Columnist particularly writes their views about some ongoing important event, or some interesting extract or journey from their lives, some important historical event or some new technology. Usually, these articles by the writers are published weekly in a specific fixed column, or these may find a place in a magazine too. Reviews Writer: Reviews can be stated as partly opinion and partly fact-based. Along with news, there can be views from some prominent people that may create a greater interest of the people in the news. These reviews can be about an ongoing event. For example, there can be reviews about an ongoing match by some ex-players from the same field. This creates an added interest of the general public and makes news item even more gripping. The review serves to accomplish the following two functions: 
Precisely describe or identify the subject being reviewed.
To provide an intelligent and informed opinion of the subject based on research and experience.
The review can be provided by prominent people on various topics owing to their experience in the same field, which gives a clear picture of the event and also creates in an understanding of the topic quite well. 
<h2>Career Options</h2>
For those who are interested in this thrilling field of journalism, they can do a course in journalism right after passing the senior secondary examination i.e., 12th standard. One another available option is the option of doing a professional degree in journalism, right after completion of an undergraduate course in any subject. Generally, a background in arts/humanities is preferred. For a student opting for journalism, it is very important to possess a good command over his language and communication skills. Knowledge of regional languages is an extra advantage as one do not know where exactly in future an important event is about to happen, and knowledge of regional language gives in the ability to interact well with the locals about the situation and the event. The courses of journalism are offered in English, Hindi and regional languages. Candidates can go for a graduation in journalism (Bachelor of Journalism) or can even go for a post-graduation in journalism (Masters in Journalism). -- Vijay GarG&nbsp;

A brief information about the scope of journalism in todays world. 

Journalism- A Thrilling Career

Dubai: The Emirati Genome Programme (EGP), one of the largest population genomic initiatives in the world, announced that it is enhancing its presence nationwide under a new visual identity. Overseen by the Emirates Genome Council, the EGP is a significant project under the National Genome Strategy, and will support the transformation of healthcare services in the UAE by providing high-quality data that allows researchers, physicians and scientists to identify the causes of genetic diseases, understand the type of genetic mutations, anticipate susceptibility to some diseases, and develop effective healthcare plans. The programme is implemented in collaboration with G42 Healthcare, an M42 company, and is coordinated with healthcare regulators including the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), Emirates Health Services Establishment, the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Health Authority and Dubai Academic Health Corporation, as well as academic, medical and other institutions extending their support to the programme. To date, the EGP has analysed data of more than 440,000 citizens, using the latest whole sequencing and artificial intelligence technologies. The programme targets one million genetic samples from UAE citizens. The EGP continues to invite Emiratis to participate in the programme, by simply visiting one of the over 100 sample collection sites in the UAE with their Emirates ID, and contributing an 8-millilitre blood sample for adults, or two swabs from the inside of the cheek for children. No prior appointments are necessary to participate in the programme. —ANI

The Emirati Genome Programme (EGP), one of the largest population genomic initiatives in the world

Emirati Genome Programme Launches New Visual Identity

Prayagraj: To boost tourism in the area, a regular helicopter service will soon begin connecting Lucknow with Kapilvastu and Prayagraj.
The two destinations -- Kapilvastu and Prayagraj -- are significant in the context of religious tourism.
To this purpose, specialised heliports would be set up to accommodate passengers and crew with facilities such as waiting areas, lounges, cafeterias, crew quarters, restrooms, and formal reception desks.
Private sector engagement on lease and development basis has previously been sought by the UP Directorate of Tourism for the development, operation, and maintenance of heliports at Lucknow, Kapilvastu (near Gorakhpur), and Prayagraj.
A senior UP Tourism department official stated that a pre-bid meeting will be conducted on Monday. The deadline for submitting bids is August 7, and the technical bids will be opened on August 8.
"The primary objective of the proposed heliports is to provide a facility for helicopter operations in these regions, primarily to facilitate the movement of passengers between these three cities. The developers, however, will also be allowed to use the land for development of airstrip and its operation/maintenance for aero-sports, running aviation academy, or any other aviation-related activity as well," the official added.
"The heliports would be developed as Visual Flight Rules (VFR) compliant facility," he said.—Inputs from Agencies

To boost tourism in the area, a regular helicopter service will soon begin connecting Lucknow with Kapilvastu and Prayagraj

Chopper service to connect Lucknow to Prayagraj, Kapilvastu

New Delhi: With roots in Uttar Pradesh, both these Delhi-based artists come from families whose values can be traced back to the Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb. Growing up during the 1990s, visual artist Taha Ahmad and theatre practitioner Wamiq Zia carry a nostalgia where a composite culture that was celebrated across the length and breadth of the country, where cultural identity was always stronger than the religious one.  The ‘Urdu Poetry Project’ is a manifestation of the belonging of the two individuals who come from a world where individuals were identified on the basis of the language they spoke, and not their places of worship.  An ode to Urdu poetry, the common passion shared by the two artists, the project sheds light on how the language is looked upon today, under the pretext of the current socio-political context in India.  Fifteen Urdu poets have been chosen ranging from Amir Khusro to Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and they intend to follow this project with more multi-arts projects based on the other forms of literature.  Essentially, the idea for this project came from the evening conversations, the two artists would have, with most of them being focused on literature and specifically around Urdu poetry.  Being the practitioners of their own arts, all these discussions were full of ideas around the different ghazals and nazms and how the two artists looked at them from the perspective of the art forms that they practiced.  “We have tried to visually represent the journey of Urdu poetry across the ages, in a free-flowing manner creating a historical timeline. The fusion of the different art forms is visible in the way these art pieces are being designed. Through carefully curated photographs, the project tries to visually represent 15 couplets by the 15 greats of Urdu poetry chosen for the project. The photographs are a modern interpretation as well as a representation of the couplets chosen set in today’s timeline amidst the current socio-political state of the language,” Zia, who has actively been doing theatre for the past 15 years and writes for OTT and films tells IANS.  The photographs when put together as a series will take the form of a personal letter written by a father to his daughter, the father will be a metaphor for the composite culture that the society has been a witness to, whereas, the daughter will be one for the new world.  The letters will present the father’s wish to share his legacy with his daughter. Its parts will be written by different calligraphers on each of the photographs.  Considering Urdu calligraphy and script have witnessed a massive decline over the past decades, this will be an ode to the two arts by the creators of this project.  Every photograph will have a part of the letter that talks about that era, the story of the language, and the legacy of the couplet, hence, an attempt is being made to narrate a complete story through each of these photographs.  Ahmad, the first Indian to receive The Documentary Project Fund/Award (2017) and Toto-Tasveer Award for Photography (2018) says art has always been an effective tool of resistance and highlighting issues.  “There is always a purpose behind creating an art piece that addresses certain political and social issues. Or reinterpret different social structures of the society offering alternate understandings of certain events and dimensions. All of this put together becomes a force of political and social change. The potency of an art piece lies in its capacity to transcend cultural, and linguistic barriers. Let us not forget art has a purpose — to comment on society, and what is going on around us. Raise awareness about different horrors. Interventions like these are a statement and commentary on societal issues,” adds the visual artist.  Stressing that artistic interventions have become important in the face of contemporary socio-political trends, the theatre artist also feels they are non-accusatory in nature and non-confrontational. “I am talking to the audience in a language that we both speak in and that is why poems and songs and art pieces become a rallying point in social movements. Art has always been a rallying point for the common man and some of the best art pieces have been written then and instead of fighting, we should put up a mirror and take a call for what we want to do.”  In times when languages are being interlinked with religions, the artists say it must be remembered that language is a representative of culture, and culture and language are two very different things.  “Krishna has been narrated in Urdu more than any other language and it is important to see things in perspective, that’s the point of a project like this and we want to keep hitting the nail and communicating that and I don’t know how much of an impact will it make but if we can get people to talk about it then I consider us successful,” Zia smiles.  Both artists have known each other since 2015 and worked on many ideas together including film scripts. “In between different ideas is how ‘The Urdu Project’ was born. And it is not only about us, but also our team Niharika, Ashi, Azad, Shariq, and KD. Well, the project has been a roller coaster and we have plans of massive projects and with bigger casts as well,” they add.  Even as artists are breaking silos and increasing collaboration across genres, like in their case, Zia says the same ensures diverse ideas, perspectives, and approaches to the table. “This cross-pollination of ideas, creativity mediums, and processes leads to fresh interpretations and novel techniques. I am seeing unconventional artistic solutions to problems in society. While this is not something very new, but offers immense possibilities nevertheless.”
—IANS

With roots in Uttar Pradesh, both these Delhi-based artists come from families whose values can be traced back to the Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb. Growing up during the 1990s, visual artist Taha Ahmad and theatre practitioner Wamiq Zia carry a nostalgia where a composite culture that was celebrated across the length and breadth of the country, where cultural identity was always stronger than the religious one.

'The Urdu Poetry Project' and the semantics of composite culture

New Delhi: An initiative inspired by India's G20 presidency theme -- One Earth. One Family. One Future -- was announced and discussed at a curtain-raiser event and panel discussion held on Saturday.
'Planet India', a first-of-its-kind powerful visual storytelling campaign, celebrating India's solutions to the climate and nature crisis, will premiere at Bikaner House, New Delhi on September 5, 2023.
In partnership with multi-award winning filmmakers Studio Silverback, the makers behind Sir David Attenborough's A Life on Our Planet and India's leading creator economy platform PlucTV, 'Planet India' will showcase the human-driven stories from every angle across the country.
The storytelling campaign will launch onto multiple social platforms ahead of the G20 summit, and a film featuring veteran actor Jackie Shroff will premiere on JioCinema later this year.  G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, who participated in the event, said, “In India we have made our G20 presidency the people's presidency. We have taken it to over 60 cities of India, and have involved each state and union territory in G20 activities. We have seen action from remarkable programmes like these who represent the enduring Indian spirit in the face of a challenge like this.”
—IANS

An initiative inspired by India's G20 presidency theme -- One Earth. One Family. One Future -- was announced and discussed at a curtain-raiser event and panel discussion held on Saturday.

G-20 theme inspired visual campaign launched; it represents Indian spirit, says Amitabh Kant

Lucknow: As many as 400 blind children associated with the 'National Association for the Blind' on eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday took out a march here on Saturday, carrying in hand a 1.25 km long congratulatory card that comprises praiseworthy works done by the Prime Minister during the last nine years. It took two months of hard work to prepare this card.
On the occasion, Rajesh Singh Dayal, President, National Association for the Blind, said that it is the love and affection of the children towards the Prime Minister that on occasion of his birthday, the visually impaired children presented him a 1.25 km long congratulatory message.
A song dedicated to the Prime Minister, presented by these specially-abled children in the programme, was captivating.
The children's presentation mesmerized everyone. Even the weather and rain could not stop the spirits of these children.
The programme started with the unveiling of the congratulatory card made by hundreds of visually-disabled children and began from Dayal chauraha located in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.
Subhash Bhalla, Founder Award Trust Council of India Lucknow and Divyang Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Chief Guest Dollarbhai Kotecha, President National Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank Federation (Gujarat) were among those present during the programme.
—IANS

As many as 400 blind children associated with the 'National Association for the Blind' on eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday

PM Modi's b'day: Specially-abled children take out march with 1.25-km long congratulatory card

Lucknow: To mark the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on Sunday, visually impaired children here have prepared a 1.25 km long congratulatory letter which will also find a place in a world record.Around 400 visually impaired children of the National Association for the Blind put in two months of hard work and celebrated the nine years of praiseworthy work done by the Prime Minister in a congratulatory letter.

Rajesh Singh Dayal, president, National Association for the Blind, said that it was the love and affection of the children towards the prime minister that on the auspicious day of his birthday, the visually impaired children made the 1.25 km long congratulatory letter to extend best wishes to him.
—IANS

To mark the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on Sunday, visually impaired children here have prepared a 1.25 km long congratulatory letter

Visually impaired children make 1.25 km long card for PM Modi

New Delhi [India]: Demonstrating true military spirit, the Army Hospital Research and Referral (AHRR) has scripted many tales of successful corneal transplantations, saving many lives. The scourge of visual impairment in the country has, to a significant extent, been eliminated through the efforts of ophthalmologists, with the government pitching in with necessary support.&nbsp;
However, the issue of corneal blindness still exists, accounting for close to 300,000 cases of preventable visual impairment in the country, according to an official release. The key to a successful corneal transplant, according to the release, is the availability of good-quality tissue.
Army Hospital Research &amp; Referral (AHRR), Delhi Cantt, has been at the forefront of organ donations and has achieved the milestone of performing more than 150 corneal transplantations in the previous year, the release stated. The effort in this direction received wholehearted support from the DGAFMS, Lt Gen Daljit Singh, AVSM, VSM, PHS and the Commandant of AHRR, Lt Gen Ajith Nilakantan, it added. Further, according to the release, the eye team led by Brig Sanjay Kumar Mishra, AVSM, SM*, VSM*, HOD, Department of Ophthalmology, undertook corneal extraction from the Late Sarita Jit, an 88-year-old veteran’s wife at Kailash Hospital and Heart Institute in Noida. "Her supreme sacrifice will likely bring light to two lives and brighten the future of two families," the release stated. It called for greater public involvement to support many such endeavours to root out corneal blindness from the country.
—ANI

Demonstrating true military spirit, the Army Hospital Research and Referral (AHRR) has scripted many tales of successful corneal transplantations

Delhi: Army hospital takes lead in corneal transplantations

Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) [India]: Visuals of workers trapped inside Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel for the past 10 days emerged on Tuesday morning, has given new hope for worried relatives, some of whom are camping outside the site of the collapsed structure. Earlier today, rescuers managed to insert an endoscopy camera into the tunnel and first visuals captured showed the 41 workers had ample space had light inside the tunnel for them to move about.

<div style="text-align:left;"><img src="https://thehawk.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/u1.webp" alt="Visual from Sikyara Tunnel Incident" style="height: auto;width: auto"/></div>

The endoscopic flexi camera visuals showed the workers speaking to rescue teams and informing them that they were healthy and sound. Rescuers have begun the process of laying a pipeline inside the tunnel to bring all the workers out. Various agencies, including tunnelling experts from overseas, have been roped in on war footing. The wife of one of the trapped workers told ANI that the visuals showing their family members safe has given her hope that they will get out soon. "I could not see my husband in the video...Whenever I get to see my husband, then only I can say he is safe. But yes, hopes are high that they will be rescued soon. Ummeed jagi he," she said.

<div style="text-align:left;"><img src="https://thehawk.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/u2.webp" alt="worried relatives of trapped workers" style="height: auto;width: auto"/></div>


<div style="text-align:left;"><img src="https://thehawk.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/u3.webp" alt="worried relatives of trapped workers" style="height: auto;width: auto"/></div>


<div style="text-align:left;"><img src="https://thehawk.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/u4.webp" alt="worried relatives of trapped workers" style="height: auto;width: auto"/></div>

On Monday a six-inch-wide pipeline was pushed in through the debris of the collapsed portion into the tunnel to create an alternative lifeline for the stranded workers. For the first time since the collapse incident on November 12, hot Khichdi was supplied to the workers through this pipeline. Till now they were surviving on dry fruits, puffed rice and chana. Workers will also be later provided with mobiles and chargers that will be sent inside the tunnel through the 6-inch lifeline, rescue operation in-charge Colonel Deepak Patil had ealier said. The under construction tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot, collapsed within a 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel. Various government agencies have been involved in the rescue operation and have been assigned specific tasks. Five options were decided on and five different agencies were detailed to carry out these options. Rescuers reached the tunnel with a vertical drilling machine from the upper part of the hill above the tunnel. The workers are believed to be trapped in a 2 km-built tunnel portion, which is complete with concrete work that provides safety to the workers. This portion of the tunnel has access to electricity and water, and food items and medicines are being provided through a 4-inch compressor pipeline.
—ANI

Visuals of workers trapped inside Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel for the past 10 days emerged on Tuesday morning, has given new hope for worried relatives

"Umeed jagi hain": Hope burns brighter now for Uttarkashi trapped workers' families

Sea Life: Roaming around dark ocean crevices, an octopus searches for flickers of light underwater that might indicate its next meal. It looks out for small fish darting across its visual field and crabs crawling along the ocean floor.
Meanwhile the octopus is wary of a shadow gliding above—perhaps it’s a sperm whale, a common predator of the octopus and its prey.  Finding food and staying safe as a soft, flexible cephalopod requires a different set of visual sensitivities and skills than the ones we humans use when we’re walking through a fluorescently lit food court to search for our next meal.
Octopuses, cuttlefish and squid—the coleoid, or soft-bodied, cephalopods—are similar to humans in that they rely heavily on their visual system to guide their everyday activities. But their brain has developed an entirely different way of seeing their surroundings to help them with their aquatic endeavors. Scientists are still trying to figure out how these animals’ brain enables their unique way of seeing.  “They have eyes like ours, and they have large brains, but the brain is organized completely differently because they evolved differently,” says University of Oregon visual neuroscientist Cris Niell. “And the fact that so little is known about it—as a visual neuroscientist, I was just captivated.”  Vision is so critical for cephalopods that they use more than two thirds of their central brain for visual processing, slightly more than the comparable measure for the human brain. Their visual system is different than that of humans, although both cephalopods and our species have somewhat unusual cameralike eyes that receive light through an aperture and focus it with a lens.  Unlike humans, cephalopods are extra sensitive to dark large things and light small things. Neill discovered this when he brought octopuses into his laboratory. There he found that they had more neural activity, measured using calcium imaging of the animals’ optic lobe, when seeing small light circles and large dark circles on a screen. This may be because the octopuses’ small prey tend to appear bright when set against a large dark background, whereas large looming objects above, such as predators, likely appear dark against a light background.  Other experiments show that octopuses also tend to detect horizontal and vertical stimuli more than diagonal visual inputs. The first findings of this date back to 1957. This “rectilinear” bias likely helps octopuses pick out prey swimming in a horizontal direction or predators moving downward.  While many other underwater creatures adapted to see a wider section of the color spectrum than humans, cephalopod adaptation took a different turn. Remarkably the animals appear to be colorblind, with the exception of a few deep-sea species. “It kind of blows our minds because almost everything sees color,” says Sönke Johnsen, a visual ecologist at Duke University.  Unlike our retinas’ photoreceptors, such as cones that help us see color, cephalopods’ photoreceptors can perceive polarized light from different directions. Their photoreceptor cells cover the retina at the back of their eyes in a pattern of alternating horizontal and vertical orientations, which allows them to detect polarized light arriving from different angles. Many other aquatic animals can sense polarized light but not with the detail that cephalopods can.  Because humans are not sensitive to polarized light, it’s hard to imagine what this would be like. Polarization vision allows animals to see clearly through water without having an object distorted by reflections, similar to how polarized sunglasses help us avoid seeing glare.  Underwater, polarized images are more reliable than color for gaining an accurate picture of a surrounding seascape because water can filter out certain wavelengths of light on the color spectrum but does not affect perception of polarized light at a distance. So polarized light reaching the eye of a cephalopod can provide helpful cues for seeing objects at all depths. Scientists are still attempting to understand how cephalopods use these polarized images, however.  Although polarized vision helps cephalopods see, scientists remain perplexed about how octopuses camouflage in the absence of color vision. How do the animals camouflage based on color if they can’t see it? Cephalopods, especially cuttlefish and octopuses, instantaneously change the patterns and texture of their skin to blend with their surroundings and avoid being seen. Sometimes they even pretend to be other things such as algae or rocks.  Researchers have two main theories about how this might be possible, explains Tessa Montague, a neuroscientist at Columbia University. The first is an intriguing idea that the shapes of the cephalopod pupils might help separate wavelengths of light and allow animals that would otherwise be colorblind to detect color. Of course, this would not happen with just any pupil. Cephalopods tend to have a pupil shape that allows different wavelengths to come into focus at varying distances from the lens, just behind the pupil. More experiments are needed to clarify whether the animals actually use these signals to categorize wavelengths of light into colors.  A second and less startling idea is that perhaps that seawater’s dark green-blue tint acts as a filter that cuts down on the range of colors that cephalopods need to display. The deeper the animal goes underwater, the more water filters out red and orange wavelengths. In agreement with this view, Johnsen says that colorblind camouflage is “not the puzzle everyone thinks it is.”  Some cephalopods use color not only to camouflage but for interspecies communication. “There is this whole visual vocabulary that they use for social communication,” Montague explains.  For example, many cuttlefish use a dramatic black-and-white-striped pattern to show aggression toward others of their species. They also sometimes create a spotted or wavelike pattern on their skin. “Our [lab’s] species will often look out of the tank, and when they’re looking at us and watching us, they start creating the waves,” Montague says. “So I think it’s some form of attention—like they’re attending to their surroundings and are alert.” But the meanings of many of these patterns in cuttlefish are still a mystery.  Larger questions still remain about how camouflage and colorblindness vary across species. “I think it would be good to do camouflage [studies] with octopus and at the same time do behavioral experiments on color vision with cuttlefish,” says Frederike Hanke, a zoologist at the University of Rostock in Germany. The latest genetic, neuroimaging and behavioral analysis techniques might make such studies possible.  Importantly, different cephalopods live at different depths, and they use their vision for activities such as hunting and camouflaging, so it is a dramatic simplification to refer to a single cephalopod visual system. Scientists such as Hanke and Montague are particularly interested in how these visual abilities and systems vary between octopuses and cuttlefish.  “The thing that I'm always trying to convey is how mysterious this is—not just mysterious in the sense that octopuses are weird creatures ... but the fact that this is a brain that is designed completely differently than ours that does these remarkable things,” Niell says. “I find it amazing that there’s this whole unexplored territory.”
—Reuters

Roaming around dark ocean crevices, an octopus searches for flickers of light underwater that might indicate its next meal.

Octopuses are Colorblind. Here's how they see the world

Mumbai (Maharashtra): Financial market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed that companies desirous of raising capital through public issues may be required to file disclosures made in the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in an audio-visual format. The disclosures are made for investors so that they can make informed decisions while investing in the company's public issue.
DRHP is a document that consists of the company's financial details, future prospects, and other key aspects regarding the business and is being filed to the regulator to raise money essentially via public offerings of its shares. In its draft put up on its website on Tuesday, the regulator proposed that the audio visual on the public issues will be in bilingual version -- English and Hindi and made available in the public domain. SEBI said it is expected that the audiovisual will provide ease in understanding the salient features and also provide reference to various disclosures of the proposed public issue.
Comments and suggestions are sought from the public and they must be submitted by April 9, 2024. In case of any technical issue in submitting the comments through the web-based public comments form, one may write to the regulator. The duration of each bilingual version of the audiovisual shall be a maximum of 8 minutes.
"The total duration of the AV shall be equitably distributed among the material disclosures made under various sections of the public issue offer document viz. risk factors, capital structure, objects of the offer, business of the issuer, financial information, litigations and material developments etc," SEBI said. "The AV shall be published by Issuer/Lead Manager within 5 working days both at the stage of submission and resubmission of DRHP. It shall be made available in digital/social media platforms of the Issuer and Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI)." Lead Manager(s) to the public issue shall be jointly responsible for the content and information made available in the audio-visual.
—ANI

SEBI proposes audio-visual disclosures for public issues to enhance investor transparency and understanding. Submit comments by April 9, 2024.

Regulator SEBI proposes need for audiovisual details of IPO disclosures

Washington [US]: Tim McGovern, a seasoned visual effects veteran who won a Special Achievement Oscar for his work on the visual effects in the 1990 science fiction classic 'Total Recall', passed away, his wife Reena NeGandhi said on social media. He was 68, reported Variety. Based on Philip K. Dick's "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, has the VFX pioneer serving as CGI director. The creative effects employed while Schwarzenegger's Quaid and others go through a kind of X-ray security check exposing their bones were part of McGovern's work on the movie.
"We were saddened and shocked by the sudden news of Tim's untimely passing," said Kim Davidson, Visual Effects Society board chair, in a statement. "Tim and I have been VES members and colleagues for many years and his passion and loyalty to the Society were exemplary. Tim's insights, expertise and volunteer leadership have been key to our global expansion and he will be missed by us all. Our thoughts are with Tim's friends and family and all who knew him."
McGovern began his career in the early days of digital, computer-based visual effects, including work on the groundbreaking 1982 film 'Tron' while at the old Robert Abel and Associates. He later joined Sony Pictures Imageworks as a founding member, where he served as senior VFX supervisor and senior vice president of creative and technical affairs. His work at Imageworks included films such as 'Last Action Hero' and 'The Ghost and the Darkness'. Most recently, he was working at DNEG studio, earning credits on movies including 'Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation', 'The Huntsman: Winter's War', 'Dunkirk' 'Ant-Man at the Wasp', 'First Man', 'Men in Black: International' and 'Jungle Cruise' In recent years he lived in Mumbai, where DNEG has a base, and additionally served as chief creative officer of animation development at the production company Whisper Pictures.
McGovern received the Visual Effects Society Founders Award and was awarded a VES Fellowship and Lifetime Membership. He was a founding member of the Society and a board member for nearly 20 years, including a stint as vice chair. For VES, he also served as founding co-chair of the VES Awards, which were presented for the 22nd time in February, reported Variety.
—ANI

Tim McGovern, renowned VFX artist known for 'Total Recall', passes away at 68. His legacy in film and visual effects industry mourned globally.

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Fox Star Studios rebrands to Star Studios

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