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Taylor Swift and Nelly joined forces to perform together at Karlie Kloss' birthday party this weekend. While attending Kloss’ joint birthday party with oil industry heir Mike Hess in the Hamptons, the 41 year old rapper pulled 26 year old Swift up onstage to help sing his 2002 hit “Dilemma.” Swift sang and danced her way through Kelly Rowland’s parts while wearing a tiny black top, a black skirt (which, of course, covered her belly button) and white sneakers. This isn't the first time the pair have performed together as last year, Nelly was a guest at Taylor's gig in St. Louis, Missouri, and the two, along with Haim, sang his single 'Hot in Herre'. Karlie turned 24 on August 3, and Taylor marked the occasion by praising her an an "exquisite person" and an inspiration. Wearing her hair with curls for the first time in a while, Swift took us back to her “Tim McGraw” days. Sharing a selfie of them both, she wrote: "I LOVE YOU KARLIE. You're such an exquisite person, always trying to make things better for others. Every day I'm inspired by how giving, loving, and thoughtful you are. Happy 24th Birthday!!! @karliekloss." And though they couldn't spent the day together, the Bad Blood' hitmaker ensured she was able to chat to her friend via FaceTime. The singer caused a bit of a stir online when she kissed birthday boy Hess on the cheek during the performance (see video). Tom Hiddleston need not worry, as it looked like friendly peck on the cheek.

Madonna danced the night away at an upscale private restaurant in Havana on Tuesday, surrounded by family, friends and fans in celebration of her 58th birthday. The US pop star arrived in Cuba on Monday evening and wasted no time in taking in the sights of historic Old Havana and enjoying the Cuban nightlife. Hundreds of fans gathered outside the upmarket Saratoga Hotel, located in the centre of the city, hoping to see the pop music star. Madonna is just the latest in a long list of celebrities who have visited the island since diplomatic relations were restored between the US and Cuba last year. UK rock band the Rolling Stones played a concert to a million Cuban fans earlier this year, and many locals would like Madonna to do the same in the near future.

Gwen Stefani was in the middle of her concert in West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was handed a poster that read, "My son was bullied from first to fifth grade. He would come home every day upset, but he'd go to his room, listen to your music and smile." Stefani was visibly moved and immediately invited the young boy on stage, she shouted out : "Get up here right now, right now" The boy burst into tears as Stefani whispered something into his ear and embraced him with a hug. The Grammy-winner took to Instagram following the concert and said she has "zero tolerance" for bullying. Stefani took to Facebook to share this moment with her faithful fans. She included a message that reads, “About 3 years ago when things were hard in my life I prayed to God everyday [sic] that I could get a chance to use my gift that God gave me and make a difference in some way in this world — last night this little guy was the answer to my prayers ‪#zerotoleranceforbullies” Brandon was also invited back onstage for the band’s final bow, and he and his mom went backstage after the concert where Brandon met Stefani’s sons, who are close in age.

Well, so much for that bit of hip-hop drama. Eminem joined Drake onstage Tuesday night at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena, putting an end to weeks of hyped-up rumors of bad blood. It was a quick but explosive moment that sent an already adrenalized crowd into overdrive inside the packed arena, as the "hometown hero" — Drake's words — rose from below the stage to join on "Forever" toward the end of the 2½-hour show. Eminem's rapid-fire rhyming was drowned out by the continuous broadside of screams, as the hoodie-topped rapper paced the stage in his familiar crouched posture. The 43-year-old rapper - whose real name is Marshall Mathers - has put rumors to bed there is a feud between him and the One Dance star as he joined him for a special hometown appearance on Tuesday. Drake - who bowed down to the Sing For The Moment pioneer - introduced him as he said: "Detroit, make some noise for the greatest rapper that ever got on a motherfucking microphone - he goes by the name of Eminem. Legendary shit tonight." Slim Shady then entered through a trap door for his third appearance in concert in eight months, which saw Drake - whose real name is Aubrey Graham - bow to him several times. Eminem admitted it was an "honor" to be standing next to the star and performing with him as they performed Forever, which they collaborated on in the studio with Kanye West and Lil' Wayne. He said: "It's an honor to share the stage with this man right here." Eminem has since shared a photograph of him alongside Drake on his Instagram, captioning the post: "Views from The Joe. #WelcometoDetroit (sic)." Drake has also posted the same picture to his social media site with the caption on his upload reading: "SHARED THE STAGE WITH THE GOAT FOR DETROIT. DONE THE HYPE. (sic)." It follows speculation of a feud between the pair, but they look to have shut the rumors down in style. Eminem's appearance at Drake's Detroit gig comes days after rumors about a supposed beef between Drake and Eminem surfaced after DJ Ebro told New York City radio station Hot 97 that the “Not Afraid” rapper may be coming for Drake because of the “Hotline Bling” singer’s recent spat with rapper Joe Budden that began a few months ago when Drizzy clapped after Budden, during a podcast appearance, criticized his album “Views.” Later, Ebro took to Twitter to explain his prank, calling it a "joke" that "people ran with." He also said he was only talking in "jest" when he spoke about the supposed beef. After the rumors about the feud heated up, Drake dissed Hot 97 during his show at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 4. Drake’s "Summer Sixteen" tour with Future moves to Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center Wednesday night.

The 26-year-old singer hit the headlines this week when Kim Kardashian shared a video on her Snapchat that showed her husband Kanye West on the phone with Taylor, apparently getting her approval for the lyrics on his track Famous. A radio interview that Taylor Swift had with Dave Berry of British radio station Capital FM back in February 2015, has emerged in which the Shake It Off star revealed she's always had a fear of being secretly recorded.

While be honored in Las Vegas at the weekend, Calvin Harris was at the receiving end of a Taylor Swift pun. When Calvin approached to accept the Future Icon Award at the 50th anniversary gala for Caesars Palace, Howie Mandel (“America’s Got Talent” judge), the evening’s host wasn't going to let him get away without a jocular retort, referring to to his past relationship with the “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” singer. Mandel said, “That’s a nice suit. Who’s your tailor? See what I did there?” Ouch !! (and cringe) DJ Calvin took it in his stride responding : "You got that prepared, you had that one ready. I don't do this thing that often. I don't receive these kind of awards very often either. It's a great honor to be here.” Calvin has been linked to singer Tinashe, she put the rumors to rest before performing at Intrigue nightclub in Las Vegas. She told E! News, "I mean, I'm still definitely single, so that's all that we're at right now."

They've met both sets of parents, kissed in public and double-dated – and now Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have reached another relationship milestone by jetting off on a romantic holiday to Rome. It's safe to say Taylor Swift's romance with Tom Hiddleston shows no signs of slowing down. Just weeks after going public with their relationship, the lovebirds are now taking their public displays of affection to Rome. Taylor and Tom, affectionately known collectively as Hiddleswift, jetted to the Italian capital shortly after meeting each other's parents. On Monday they were spotted smiling happily as they enjoyed a day of sightseeing at the Colosseum together, walking hand-in-hand. After a fun-filled day of soaking up the sights the pair were pictured gazing adoringly at each other as they chowed down on a romantic meal. This weekend Taylor, 26, spent the weekend in the Suffolk countryside meeting Tom's family. credit (1st tune) : Italian Afternoon by Twin Musicom Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

A teenager from Gabon, West Africa, has said he was "overwhelmed" after the Canadian pop star Celine Dion shared a video of him performing one of her hits. The video of the 17 year old boy, Samuel, singing “The Power of Love” and “To Love You More” while sitting on a staircase in the capital, Libreville, has attracted millions of views on Facebook. Dion commented : "Samuel, your talent is as big as your voice. I hope we have the chance to meet one day." The song, originally by Jennifer Rush, was a hit for Dion in 1993. A popular Gabonese blogger, Barack Nyare Mba, first noticed Samuel's talent before Ms Dion reposted the video on her own Facebook page. That gave the video an enormous boost - it's approaching nearly 3m views. Barack is now Samuel's current manager. Celin Dion wrote : "I'm touched my songs have traveled all the way to you and hope we have the chance to meet one day. May all your dreams come true. Keep singing like you do. When music comes from the heart, it knows no borders!" In response to her message. Samuel said that he was "overwhelmed and very surprised. I wasn't expecting that. I haven't got a phone or a Facebook account, it was my brother who told me Celine had shared my video. I just hope that one day I can meet her for real" He already has been approached by producers from TV singing contests in France and Ivory Coast. Samuel continued : "I'm not used to this [success]. I feel good when I sing in the staircase, and now people recognise me in the street." Samuel said that he started singing by himself in break times at school. He told the BBC's Charles Stephane Mavaoungou : "The others could not believe it was me singing. When they entered the classroom, they began to applaud." He now intends to pursue a singing career. With Celine Dion giving this super talented teenager her thumbs up, no doubt he has a great singing career ahead of him. Good luck to him !!

Texan fans went wild on Saturday night when Blake Shelton turned up on stage to help out Gwen Stefani. The two then broke into “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” which is on his If I’m Honest album. Very sweetly, the two looked only at each other as they performed the song, and at times you could see Shelton mouthing to words to Stefani’s parts of the duet. After they were done singing, Shelton and Stefani hugged and shared a brief kiss. The pop singer had started the couple’s duet Go Ahead And Break My Heart for the crowd at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas. But then the 40-year-old country star arrived with his guitar to make it a duet for real. Gwen turned from the audience to sing the song directly to him, as Blake mouthed back her lines, smiling the whole time. Afterwards, Gwen proclaimed in Instagram that Dallas was : “one of my favorite shows of the tour THANKU!!! So blessed” The song is taken from Blake’s latest album If I’m Honest, on which his 46-year-old girlfriend of ten months is a guest vocalist. Despite the pessimistic title of the track, The Voice judge explained during the summer that the lyrics simply reflect their acceptance that a relationship will likely have its share of ups and downs. He told Today : “We were just writing it about … it was hard to kind of let our guards down again, you know what I mean? Just going through some issues, and so that’s what the song was even written about. It’s like, I know something bad is going to happen, because it always does, so let’s just get it over with now.” The country star’s view on Murphy’s Law certainly seemed to be proved this week when Twitter users accused him of posting and then deleting racist, homophobic and otherwise offensive tweets five years ago.

Jean-Claude Van Damme has had enough of being asked ‘boring’ questions by the press. From being annoyed at the cameramen talking during his interview and getting asked the same old questions - the star eventually didn't want to be bored further. The 'Muscles from Brussels' expressed exasperation during a Thursday (28 July 2016) morning interview with Australian morning show Sunrise after being quizzed about his ex, Kylie Minogue. Kylie and Jean-Claude enjoyed a brief romance while filming Streetfighter in 1994. The 55 year old looked genuinely miffed and fed up at what he said were the same old questions being asked over and over again. He said: ”Yeah, I like Kylie, I like everybody, can I please come to Australia and talk to you? Because, yes ... Sorry guys, I cannot do this anymore. You are talking to a guy who’s very rough, you know? Let me talk. It’s good for the people, they can hear that. Let me talk, please. Those questions, the press, they have been asking me the same questions for the last 25 years. ‘Kylie?’ ‘How’s your training?’ ‘How’s your this?’ ‘How’s your that?’ I’m coming to Australia to maybe do something kind of different with the audience.” Van Damme continued talking until he got so fed up that he ripped off his mic and walked out of the interview. In the process he was heard saying : "What the fuck is going on with Australia? What the fuck is going on? I cannot do this, I’m too natural, you can blow this stuff away. What is this?" On the Sunrise facebook page, Australians were in agreement with the martial arts superstar. and chided the media for bringing up his decades-old affair. One commented : “Good onya Van Damme, the media in this country are bloody boring and can’t come up with anything original.” While another echoed his thoughts, saying “Your questions are cheap, thoughtless, irrelevant and repetitive! He didn’t have a meltdown, he was bored with the stupidity.” As for the fling with Kylie, he once told the UK Guardian newspaper : "It would be abnormal not to have had an affair, she’s so beautiful and she was there in front of me every day with a beautiful smile, simpatico, so charming, she wasn’t acting like a big star."

(please note the video has flashing images) At a 'surprise' guest appearance onstage with Drake on Wednesday night in Chicago, Kanye briefly referenced the recent incident, offering his wife his full support. The rapper told an the crowd : "All I gotta say is, I am so glad my wife has Snapchat." As "Famous" started to play through the speakers, he added : "now y'all can know the truth. And can't nobody talk shit about 'Ye no more." The crowd shouted along to the opening lines of "Famous;" after the track faded out, Drake's response was : "legendary shit." Drake and Future’s Summer Sixteen Tour touched down in Chicago this week for a pair of performances. Kanye hit the stage for a rendition of "Pop Style," from Drake's Views album. He followed that with "Famous" and "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1," both of which came out on The Life of Pablo in February.

Kylie Jenner may have just turned 19, but she's already a real estate connoisseur. She has forked out $4.5 million on her third house, just three months after spending $6 million on a plush pad. The 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' star forked out the huge sum on a four-bedroom property in Hidden Hills, California, on Tuesday, which is near to a $6 million plush pad she purchased in May. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star just bought her second home this year in the same exact neighborhood as her mother, Kris Jenner, and her current main home. Kylie's realtor Tomer Fridman stated that the property was purchased for around $4.5 million and it is actually next door to the Hidden Hills home (which is situated where her mother Kris Jenner and half-sister Kim Kardashian West live) she bought in May for $6 million. This latest property is close to the first house she bought which resides in a gated Calabasas community. The mansion sits on 3.9 acres, is roughly 5,000 square feet and offers four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The model is planning to use her new home as a work space for her Kylie Cosmetics company. Should Kylie - who is dating Tyga - be keen to cool off after a hard day at work then she will be in luck with her new pad as it features a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi.

This is the incredibly rare moment a child is born while still inside its amniotic sac. The video shows the baby lying on a hospital table inside the fully-intact clear sac which covers the whole body. This life affirming event occurred in Spain. The video shows the second half of a C-section twin birth, the first twin was being stabilized off camera as the second baby surprised everyone by entering the world "en caul". If you paid attention in your biology classes at school, then you would know an unborn baby grows inside the protective membrane of his or her mother’s amniotic sac. The sac typically bursts on its own, causing the mother’s water to break Everyone has heard of the moment in a woman’s pregnancy when her “water breaks”. Releasing of the amniotic fluid signals the beginning of the birth of the new born. That's how 99.987% of the babies are born - without this being 'housed' in the amniotic sac. However, there is the 1 in 80,000 chance that baby comes into the world with the baby still in the sac that fully in tact. This awe inspiring event is termed an "en-caul" birth when the infant is born inside the entire amniotic sac. The sac balloons out at birth, with the amniotic fluid and child remaining inside the unbroken or sometimes partially broken membrane. Most "en-caul" births are premature. The removal of the membrane is somewhat complex - although in the video it looks pretty simple - it's not, it needs surgical hands. If done correctly, the attending practitioner will place a small incision in the membrane across the nostrils so that the child can breathe. The loops are then carefully un-looped from behind the ears. Then, the remainder of the caul can be either peeled back very carefully from the skin, or gently rubbed with a sheet of paper, which is then peeled away. If removed too quickly, the caul can leave wounds on the infant's flesh at the attachment points, which may leave permanent scars. Some Early Modern European traditions linked caul birth to the ability to defend fertility and the harvest against the forces of evil, particularly witches and sorcerers. Folklore developed suggesting that possession of a baby's caul would give its bearer good luck and protect that person from death by drowning. Cauls were therefore highly prized by sailors. Medieval women often sold these cauls to sailors for large sums of money; a caul was regarded as a valuable talisman. In the Polish language, the idiom w czepku urodzony/a ('born in a bonnet') means a person who is always very lucky. The Russian phrase родился в рубашке ('born in a shirt') refers to caul birth and figuratively means "born lucky". It is often applied to someone who is oblivious to a pending disaster that is avoided only through luck as if the birth caul persists as supernatural armor, and in this sense commonly appears in titles or descriptions of Russian dashcam videos. (Wikipedia)

When it comes to taking hot and attractive photos and selfies, it seems that majority of the time the female of the species take first prize and the males are a very distant second. Well, if you can't compete with them, why not parody them ? Here are a few pictures that just does that - with appropriate back ground music. Enjoy !!

A contestant on America’s Got Talent caused shock across the nation – and along the judging table – as he was hit with a flaming arrow on Tuesday night’s show – and it wasn’t part of the act. The live TV blunder saw stunt performer Ryan Stock accidentally hit in the neck as his assistant AmberLynn Walker attempted to shoot the fiery arrow at a target in his mouth. Nearing the end of their performance, Mr Stock swallowed a large rod with a target fixed on to the end and leaned forward to show Amberlynn and the audience the target now covering half his face. But the flaming arrow never hit the target, hitting Mr Stock's throat instead. Judges Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Mel B and Howie Mandel were left shocked and concerned as Ryan reacted to the mishap, which was filmed in front of a live studio audience and broadcast live to millions of viewers. The arrow didn't pierce Mr Stock though, as he comforted judges and the audience afterwards and reassured them he was fine. "I'm okay, it got my shirt, I'm okay." However, judge Howie Mandel wasn't convinced by the brave front. "I don't think you are...I think what you do is wonderfully horrific but that's the first time you missed. We have to be responsible here, you are hurt...I think what you did is wonderful and I think you deserve votes but the audience just saw what could happen (and) I hate that I saw what could happen." The Canadian performer later took to Twitter to let his fans know he was fine. "I'm okay, it got my shirt, I'm okay," he said.

Kylie is 19 today (Wed 10 Aug), and what a year it has been for her. In a matter for 12 months she's turned herself into a shrewd beauty mogul. From her very own massively popular makeup line (sellout is an understatement), to debuting her "Kendall + Kylie" apparel and shoe line with sister Kendall. She has even been named the face of Puma. Her keen eye for top notch designer brand footwear shone through. She's been snapped wearing shoes by Balenciaga, including a pair of metallic leather silver sneakers and a pair of black-and-white thigh-high boots. Not to forget Gianvito Rossi nude Portofino sandals. As a tribute to the icon, on her 19th birthday, we present a video of Kylie pics - where she is seen looking totally chic in various footwear, throughout the past year.

(we wonder if his blood was "royal blue" ?) Showing how simple it can be, Prince Harry took an HIV test at Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital, London, Thursday morning – and broadcast the event live on Facebook. Just like his mother, he is championing the cause of HIV/AIDS awareness. By broadcasting it live, it is hoped that it will show thousands of people in the UK and millions around the world, who have the virus but don't know it -- that it's as easy as sitting down and getting results just minutes later. Harry took the test to help "de-stigmatize" the issue and to show how easy it is to be checked. All it takes is to get a pin prick and minutes later find out the result. Harry, by the way was Negative. The Prince showed that he is just as human as everyone else by admitting to being "nervous." However, he was talked through it by Robert Palmer, a psycho-sexual counselor to ease his nerves. Harry was heard saying : "Even being the person I am and knowing the type of people I'm around, I'm still nervous. Which is interesting," As he waited for the results to come through – a single blue dot for negative, and two spots for a positive result – he asked Palmer, "What's the biggest fear for people who come in?" Palmer said it was the "not knowing. It's our job to let people know about their help and make sure we keep people well and healthy." When he was told his result was non-reactive, the prince quickly switched gears and said, for the sake of those watching "back home," that he appreciated it as a "life-changing moment." Weirdly, that didn't even hurt. It is amazing how quick it is. So whether you're a man, woman, gay, straight, black or white — even ginger — why wouldn't you come an have a test?" The head of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity that campaigns on AIDS and HIV issues, called Harry's decision to have the test live on Facebook. Chief executive Ian Green said in a statement that it was : "a groundbreaking moment in the fight against HIV. Not only does it show his royal highness' genuine and personal commitment to tackling the HIV epidemic, it will amplify a message to millions all over the world: Testing for HIV is easy, quick and nothing to be feared" HIV rates in the U.K. continue to rise despite years of progress in treating the illness. One of the biggest factors has been that up to 17 percent of HIV positive patients are unaware of their status and so can unintentionally pass on the virus to partners. Around the world there is an estimated 17 million people who are unaware that they have HIV. Late diagnosis also means people not getting early treatment to enable them to lead healthy lives.

'Those talons are huge, he was a very lucky boy,' bystander says A wedge-tailed eagle tried to fly away with a terrified boy at a popular wildlife show in central Australia. A crowd of stunned onlookers watched the enormous bird latch its talons on to the screaming boy's head during a show at Alice Springs Desert Park. Witnesses said the bird attempted to pick him up "like a small animal". The boy - believed to be between six and eight years old - escaped with a "superficial" gash to his face. Christine O'Connell from Horsham in Victoria state was visiting the park with her husband on 6 July when the attack occurred. She told the BBC the eagle flew straight for the boy from about 15m away. The seven-year-old was visiting Alice Springs Desert Park with his family in central Australia when the eagle swooped down, apparently aggravated, and took his hood and head in its talons. He was reportedly pulling the zip on his camouflage jacket up and down repeatedly before the eagle changed course and headed his way in the middle of the show. Christine O'Connelly, who was standing nearby, described the moment she captured on camera at the nature beauty spot in the Northern Territory "At a nature park in Alice Springs we decided to go to a bird show the young boy in the green kept pulling his zipper up and down. For some reason the wedge-tailed eagle did not like [the boy pulling at his zip] and instead of flying over to the log he is meant to, for a photo opportunity, he flew straight at the young boy and attacked him, The show was quickly cancelled and the boy taken off to first aid. Those talons are huge, he was a very lucky boy." Others said it may have been confused by the color of his hoodie. Tourist Keenan Lucas told The Herald Sun: "The bird flew over the crowd and tried to grab on to a young boy's head, It looked as if the bird tried to pick him up like a small animal and take off with him.' Mr Lucas said the boy was screaming and his mother was distraught." The park was unable to confirm what had prompted the attack on Tuesday, telling reporters the incident was 'under investigation'. A Parks and Wildlife spokesman for the NT government said : "On Wednesday, July 6, an incident occurred at the Alice Springs Desert Park where an eagle made contact with an audience member. A thorough investigation regarding the circumstances behind this incident is under way and the eagle will be removed from the show while this investigation is ongoing," They added it was the first time the bird had ever attacked an audience member at one of its shows. The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia's largest bird of prey and is also found in parts of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The birds are known to be adaptable in their search for prey, having been found hunting hare and rabbits as well as driving herds of kangaroo and sheep to identify weaker animals. It is registered as endangered by the Australian government and there are fewer than 200 pairs left in the wild.

Viewers of Indian TV soaps have seen the best of plots, but even more… the worst of plots ! For example, there was a very popular prime time show where the lead character turned into a fly. That’s how Bollywood and Indian TV rolls. Just when fans of the industry had thought that plots couldn’t get worse, another one comes along and shatters that notion. In this latest serial, a woman was shot dead center (apologies for the pun) in her forehead…. as is usual in normal humans, this would mean instant death….. however, what happens here will have you scratching your head if not give you a good chortle. Let the pictures do the talking, no need to try and understand what the “actors” (deliberate quotes) are saying.

The milk crystals of the Pacific beetle cockroach are not only beautiful to look at, but they are filled with super rich nutrients. It all began with curiosity. When Nathan Coussens, a young researcher at Iowa noticed shiny crystals spilling out of a roach’s gut, he was intrigued. He showed the crystals to a fellow researcher who dismissed them as organic salt crystals commonly found in the gut of insects, birds and reptiles. But Coussens thought they were special, and so they turned out to be. The crystals were made of milk protein. Slice open an embryonic roach under a microscope, and the crystals spill out in a shower of nutrient-dense glitter. So what does it taste like ? Well, Subramanian Ramaswamy, a biochemist at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine in Bangalore, India, told The Washington Post as much early Tuesday. As a party dare — he’d lost a drinking competition — one of Ramaswamy’s colleagues once ate a sprinkling of the crystals. Ramaswamy said : “He said it doesn’t taste like anything special.” So what's so special about this particular roach that it actually lactates ? It doesn't lay eggs like most other roaches. It gives birth to live young, keeping its babies by the dozen in fleshy organs called brood sacs. Like humans, mama Pacific beetle cockroaches produce food for their offspring. The embryos feed on a liquid substance packed with fats, sugars and protein. In simple terms, it's cockroach milk. It was while working on a roach species called Diploptera punctata at the University of Iowa, that Coussens first discovered these crystals. D. punctata is a strange insect with a mammal-like quality – it “lactates”, producing milk to feed its brood. The crystals that Coussens had found were actually milk proteins that had crystallised within the guts of roach younglings. Now, nearly 10 years after the initial discovery of the crystallised milk proteins, their structure has been solved by an international team of scientists including those from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bangalore. Ramaswamy S., then a faculty member at the University of Iowa (with Coussens who was his former student) and now a faculty member at inStem, admits, “I just thought they were uric acid crystals. But Nathan was right to have been so persistent. They were protein crystals.” A single crystal is estimated to contain more than three times the energy of an equivalent mass of dairy (buffalo) milk, according to the study by inStem's Ramaswamy group. Sanchari Banerjee, one of the main authors of the paper published in July in the journal from the International Union of Crystallography. states : "The crystals are like a complete food -- they have proteins, fats and sugars. If you look into the protein sequences, they have all the essential amino acids" Now, armed with the gene sequences for these milk proteins, Ramaswamy and colleagues plan to use a yeast system to produce these crystals en masse. Furthermore, their crystalline nature offers a unique advantage. As the protein in the solution is used up, by being digested, the crystal releases protein at an equivalent rate. Ramaswamy enthused : "They're very stable. They can be a fantastic protein supplement. It's time-released food, if you need food that is calorifically high, that is time released and food that is complete. This is it." Besides their utility as supplemental food, the scaffolding in the milk protein crystals show fascinating characteristics – ones that could be used to design nanoparticles for drug delivery. Ramaswamy states : “But this work was a huge technical challenge.” The team had to try a variety of methods to solve the milk protein’s structure and the data were painstakingly collected. However, given the potential uses of these crystals, the efforts seem well worth the costs of a study driven simply by the desire to explore a strange phenomenon. Ramaswamy adds : “There is tremendous value for curiosity driven science that makes non-incremental progress in scientific discoveries and progress. And none of this would have been possible if it were not for curiosity.” For the boffins out there, you can read the paper here : Structure of a heterogeneous, glycosylated, lipid-bound, in vivo-grown protein crystal at atomic resolution from the viviparous cockroach Diploptera punctata ( http://journals.iucr.org/m/issues/2016/04/00/jt5013/index.html )

There are plenty of ways for Olympic athletes to get injured but which of the sports is considered the most dangerous ? Judo ? Fencing ? Weightlifting ? Cycling ? Diving ? Equestrian Eventing ? Boxing ? and so on. One can list the obvious ones that are inherently dangerous to any athlete. But what about Pole Vaulting ? Eh ? You ask yourself. Well, one Pole Vaulter, Hiroki Ogita of Japan, failed to move past the qualifying round of the 2016 Rio Olympics pole vaulting competition on Saturday. Why ? Just like many a broken marriage, he can, in part blame his penis, which tragically for him, knocked the pole down and left him in agony (see first part of video) First his leg knocks the bar.. Next his phallus slams into it, leaving the bar tumbling down and him in out of the competition and a very sore pecker. A similar injury occurred in the 2000 Sydney Olympics during the same event (second half of video). That one involved the Olympian's manhood but compared to Mr Ogita, it looks like it was much more severe. Watch the video, men will feel for the blokes - the pain is almost palpable. It's a shame the athletes own personal 'poles' did not score for them when it really mattered.

Two Olympian brothers are having the time of their lives out in Rio. Paul (22) and Gary O'Donovan (23), from Lisheen in West Cork, have taken Twitter by storm after claiming Ireland's first ever rowing medals. Ireland’s only medallists of the 2016 Rio Olympics have rowed their way to silver in the men’s lightweight double sculls. However, it is not their talent that has captured the imagination of fans worldwide, but their desire to say whatever they want in every interview they give along with drifting away on tangents while live on television, all the while giving the impression they are having the time of their lives. The brothers started to gain attention when they featured on the BBC after they won their heat (see second half of video), but it was a good-humored conversation with Irish channel RTE that has really caused a stir (first half of above video) ) and led to such reactions as “just magnificent” and “heroes”. Footage of the brothers openly chatting to Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE about their urine tests, “podium pants” and how they plan to celebrate their achievement has quickly gone viral. Their television appearance begins with them asking the station’s anchors, via a live satellite feed from Brazil, “How are tings?” and “What’s the craic?” Gary jokes : “We’re in Rio, the background might look superimposed but it’s very real” Then his brother Paul interjects and goes into 'TMI' mode giving away a little bit too much detail about his doping test. They then go on to detailing all of the other tasks that they had to complete after the race that had left them “a bit tired”, adding “the legs are like jelly”. When they arrived in the rowing mixed zone where Sir Steve Redgrave and John Inverdale were waiting for a BBC interview, Gary quickly quipped “we’ll have to be careful what we say to these lads”, with all four laughing throughout the conversation (see second half of the above video). The brothers’ performances, on and off the water, has set social media alight, with some Twitter users hailing them as “Ireland’s gift to the world”, and praising the brothers for their humor in their interviews. Their silver in the lightweight double sculls is Ireland’s first ever Olympic medal for rowing, and the country’s first medal of the Rio Games.

Actor performed the Penguins' "Earth Angel," Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" after request from Chris Martin's son Chris Martin saw his "dream come true" Sunday in New Jersey, when actor Michael J. Fox joined Coldplay onstage to cover the Penguins' "Earth Angel" and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" – two tracks Fox's classic character Marty McFly performed at the "Under the Sea" dance in Back to the Future. In a video projection, Martin's son Moses asked his dad to play something from "both of our favorite movie, Back to the Future." Coldplay complied, easing into the silky doo-wop classic "Earth Angel," as Martin crooned and strummed an acoustic guitar. Fox walked onstage midway through the track and played a brief, tentative guitar solo – but the actor looked more comfortable with the rock classic "Johnny B. Goode," nailing Berry's bluesy tone. "That's our dream come true. Thank you, Michael," Martin said after the performance. "What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful man."

Going through the twitter account of Leslie Jones - https://twitter.com/Lesdoggg - (of Ghostbusters fame), one sees the shocking reality of the level racism and bigotry still ingrained in so many people. The shock is multiplied many more times, because such prejudice is alive and kicking in a country that prides itself as a beacon of tolerance and an example for the rest of the world. We have collated all the nasty racist tweets and put them in a slide show - but at the same time included two of Dr Martin Luther King's memorable speeches. Viewers are asked (including those that posted those degrading comments) to ask themselves, which human being they'd rather be in company with and aspire to ? In the background audio (2nd part), in the video above, Dr Martin Luther King explains how he had to answer his daughter's persistent questioning of why her father couldn't take her to the "Fun Town" amusement park. What we would like to ask those that tweeted the vile comments towards Leslie Jones, is how they would explain the tweets to their young children ? One would like to think humanity has developed far enough to become averse to any sort of prejudice towards any group or individual, just because of their color, faith, sexuality, appearance or disability. It is a crying shame, that even politicians are now overtly expressing bigotry towards sections of the community just to attract those voters that previously were 'closeted' bigots, but now have a license to express their bigotry in the more vilest way possible because of the bigoted vitriol now being displayed on our screen. We are also puzzled by the lack of reaction from the celebrities who use social media as a platform to maintain their 'fame' among their fans. These same 'stars' are happy to wade into feuds which are at the end of the day, playground arguments. Yet, on such important issues as racism and bigotry - as in the case of Leslie Jones - their silence is deafening. A personal message to Leslie Jones (and anyone else who has to experience such filth and bigotry) - Dr. Martin Luther King's spirit still lives in you, those that desecrate his memory through their hate speech defile everything that he stood for and what America stands for.

Ariana Grande is having a happy birthday. The Dangerous Woman singer turns 23 on June 26. Wishing her very happy birthday, and as a tribute on her special day, we've created "Ariana's Moments of Perfect Pouts" of her past year. Hope she likes !!