10 healthy benefits of tomatoes!

Wouldn’t it be nice if we women could get a magical potion to turn us into a diva with lustrous hair, perfect figure and beautiful skin? Well we would all love to, but then with so many beauty secrets and hacks on the internet, it gets difficult to choose the right one. But the solution is easier than you thought. Give it to good ‘ol tomatoes. Other than making our food total yum, tomatoes also secretly work on your skin. So, scroll ahead and unlock the secrets to the most gorgeous skin. 

#1. Raw and juicy tomatoes for skin
The most cost-effective way of making your skin radiate is by eating tomatoes. Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, the substance associated with the deep red colour of tomatoes. And it is this substance which is used in most facial cleansers available in the market. So, when it is naturally available, why burn a hole in your pockets? Besides, tomatoes are rich in beta-carotene and vitamins A and C, which protect your skin against sun damage and keep signs of ageing at bay. 

#2. For more antioxidants
Antioxidants keep a check on the formation of free radicals in the bloodstream and neutralise their harmful effects. So, eating tomatoes adds beta-carotene and vitamins to your system that work as antioxidants and thwart the working of free radicals.

#3. For weight loss benefits
Tomatoes are not only great for your health but beneficial for weight loss as well. They are low calorie foods that are high in energy and dense with essential nutrients. Also, since tomatoes are high in water content, they help you to curb your untimely hunger pangs. They also help to balance your blood sugar levels. 

#4. For beautiful hair
Did you know that the vitamins in tomatoes can help you get long and strong locks? Yes, indeed! Eat more tomatoes to get the essential vitamin A that would leave you not only with strong hair but shiny strands as well.

#5. For a healthy heart
Tomatoes are rich in folate, potassium, vitamin B and niacin that are known to reduce cholesterol levels. Along with this, they also help in lowering blood pressure. This leaves you with a healthier and stronger heart. Including tomatoes in your daily diet would lower the risks of heart attacks and other heart related ailments.

#6. For pregnant women
During pregnancy, a woman’s body requires more than the usual source of essential nutrients and vitamins. Tomatoes are a rich source of vitamins A and C that are very beneficial for the expecting mother and her child. Also, since our body does not retain large amount of water-soluble vitamins, so tomatoes must be eaten as they are rich in folate (water-soluble vitamin). Folates are important for the body as it helps in foetal development. Along with this, even the lycopene in tomatoes are great for lactating mothers. 

#7. For cancer prevention
Cancer occurs when there is a chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Tomatoes provide human body with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant support. Tomatoes display cancer-protective properties. Lycopene, the natural antioxidant in tomatoes, is quite effective in slowing down the growth of cancerous cells in the body. Also, alpha-tomatine, a phytonutrient present in tomato kills already formed prostate cancer cells in men. Besides, tomatoes also reduce risk of breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

#8. For better eye sight
Vitamin A and beta-carotene in tomatoes are very helpful in improving your vision. Also, eating raw tomatoes helps to prevent development of night blindness.

#9. For stronger bones
In 180 grams of tomato, you will find approximately 17.7 per cent of vitamin K which is an important nutrient required to strengthen bones, repair bone tissues, and constantly form new bone material. Besides, lycopene too stimulates osteoblasts, an important bone-building cell to synthesise and deposit bone matrix.

#10. Other benefits

Here are some other benefits of eating tomatoes:

• Tomatoes eaten without seeds reduce the risk of kidney stones.
• Magnesium present in tomato helps the formation of bone and regeneration of new cells.
• Fibre in tomatoes also help to prevent asthma. 

So, jet off to your vegetable market and stock these red beauties in your fridge, now!

SRK and Akshay in list of highest paid actors by Forbes!

10. Brad Pitt and Akshay Kumar: $31.5 million

Pitt not only produced and acted in ‘The Big Short’, the movie also won an Oscar and made $133.3 million worldwide. He is also the part of the upcoming ‘War Machine’, which Netflix reportedly paid $60 million to acquire. While Bollywood’s one of the busiest khiladi is one of the most bankable actors with scoring three hits at the box office in the year.

9. Robert Downey Jr: $33 million

He is one of the most popular and loved actors, thanks to the Iron Man series, following it up with Avengers and ‘Captain America: Civil War’ which made him the highest paid actor last year.

8. Shah Rukh Khan: $33 million

SRK still rules the box office in Bollywood. His last hit ‘Dilwale’ earned him in multi-millions and he even got the cut from the back-end for his extra efforts. The actor also cashes in with numerous endorsement deals.

7. Vin Diesel: $35 million 

The actor makes it on the list again, thanks to ‘Furious 8′ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ sequel.

6. Ben Affleck: $43 million

It’s safe to say that ‘Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice’ landed Ben his biggest box office hit, which the critics may have dissed it. The movie grossed a whopping $870 million world wide.

5. Johnny Depp: $48 million

Jack Sparrow pocketed an eight figure fat fee for the latest ‘Pirate of the Caribbean’ installment  and ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’.

4. Tom Cruise: $53 million

At 53, he still is the most popular and sorted after actor in Hollywood. The Scientologist banked a big backend paycheck for ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’, plus upfront fees for the Jack Reacher sequel and ‘Mena’.

3. Matt Damon: $55 million

This should come as no surprise as ‘The Martian’ grossed over $630.1 million over a $108 million budget! His return to Jason Bourne series landed him huge bucks, with his co-produced ‘The Great Wall’.

2. Jackie Chan: $61 million

There’s a reason why Jackie Chan is a favourite with everyone in the world. He starred in the ‘Monkey King’ franchise and many of his Chinese movies are at the post-production right now.

1. Dwayne Johnson: $64 million

His Rock-solid performances and hits at the box office are what lands him on the first spot. From the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise to leading last year’s ‘San Andreas’ to a $473 million worldwide, the actor today has become the go-to star for action in Hollywood. His next release is ‘Baywatch’, which also stars Priyanka Chopra.

Indian civilian flights ready to permit in-flight Wi-Fi!

For years, air travelers in India have complained about the unavailability of internet connectivity on flights. But those days will soon be behind them. 

The Indian government is all set to announce a set of reforms which will let airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi on all flights over Indian airspace. 

Civilian flights in India will soon offer Wi-Fi services to their passengers, aviation secretary R. N. Choubey said. The home, telecommunications and aviation ministries are also in favor of allowing flights coming in and out of the country to continue their Wi-Fi services without any interruption, he added.

Wi-Fi services haven’t been permitted on domestic flights in India out of security concerns. In addition, flights that were crossing India’s airspace were also required to turn off internet services to passengers while they were in Indian airspace, a move that has upset airlines for years. The change of heart comes as Indian agencies devise ways to intercept mid-air calls and data when they need to, Choubey added.

The government of India became wary of internet services on planes after the hijacking of an Indian airlines plane on its way to Delhi from Kathmandu on December 24, 1999, according to a senior ministry official. 

Delicious salads with no lettuce!

There are a few who don’t like the leafy vegetables like lettuce that mark their presence in numerous salads. Rejoice. There is more to salad that tossing in a few leafy greens with smart fats like olive oil & nuts.

Lets take a look at a few lettuce free salads that are tasty & filling. 

Rajma (Red Kidney Bean) Salad:

Rich in iron, complex carbohydrates & nutrients, red kidney beans are loaded with fiber. To make this salad, soak 1 cup rajma overnight & pressure cook till soft to touch & nicely done. Drain & transfer to a mixing bowl. Add chopped onions tomatoes & cucumbers. Mix 3 tsp juice of lemon with salt (as per taste) & pinch of pepper & add to the salad mix. Drizzle a little extra virgin oil & garnish with chopped coriander.

Mixed Sprouts Salad:

Lentils have been an important part of the Indian diet since ages. Lentils, when sprouted, offer a world of goodness. Sprouts are rich in proteins, dietary fibers, Vitamins A, C, K, folate and minerals such as iron, calcium, manganese, copper, zinc, and magnesium. Though this recipe may be little time consuming as you have to sprout the various lentils and boil them, the health benefits they offer is worth the effort. To make this salad, boil the sprouts of your choice, such as Moong, Rajma, Kabuli Chana & more. Next, add grated radish & chopped tomatoes. Make the dressing by whisking 1 cup yogurt with chopped fresh mint & some salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with pomegranate pearls and serve.

Home-style Carrot Salad:

Also called “koshimbir” across Maharashtrian homes, this carrot salad is a great side dish. Take 1 cup grated carrot in a bowl. Add 2 tsp crushed peanuts & mix well. Head 2 tsp oil with little cumin & 1 medium green chili slit in the middle, allow the cumin seeds to crackle. Pour over grated carrot, add salt & sugar to taste & mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Chickpea salad:

Chickpeas are a good source of protein. To make this salad, pressure cook 1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight) till they are soft but firm. Add 1 boiled & cubed potato, 1 chopped tomato & onion to the chickpeas. Finely chop one green chili & add to the mix. Make a dressing with 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, chaat masala, pinch of pepper powder, 1 tsp lemon juice & salt to taste. Mix into the salad & serve immediately or refrigerate for sometime. 

Greek Salad:

Every bite of this refreshing Mediterranean salad is a treat to the taste buds. This low-calorie, high nutrient salad provides the much needed Vitamins A and C to your body along with potassium, iron and other minerals. The secret of the classic Greek salad lies in its ingredients. To make this salad you will need crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, creamy feta cheese, tangy black olives and some good quality extra virgin olive oil. You can also include onions and capsicum to make it healthier. Toss the cut veggies in a big bowl and season with grated cheese, salt, red wine vinegar and extra virgin oil. You can serve this classic Greek salad with a slice of feta cheese on top.

Russian billionaire plans to reach nearby planet that might nurture life!

Back in April, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner pledged $100 million toward a crazy plan to visit another star system.

The mission — Breakthrough Starshot — aims to get this done by propelling teeny, tiny spaceships to 20% the speed of light with powerful lasers.

Milner and famed physicist Stephen Hawking initially said their destination would be Alpha Centauri: the second-closest star system to Earth, located some 4.37 light-years (25.7 trillion miles) away.

But as far as anyone knows, Alpha Centauri is bereft of habitable worlds.

This is precisely why the recent and groundbreaking discovery of a nearby planet could switch things up for Starshot.

Astronomers on Wednesday announced they'd discovered an Earth-like and potentially habitable world, called Proxima b, circling Proxima Centauri — a red dwarf star that's closer than Alpha Centauri by about 1 trillion miles.

"The discovery ... provides an obvious target for a flyby mission," Avi Loeb, a physicist at Harvard University and a Starshot mission advisory committee chair, wrote in an email to Business Insider.

"A spacecraft equipped with a camera and various filters could take color images of the planet and infer whether it is green (harboring life as we know it), blue (with water oceans on its surface) or just brown (dry rock)," Loeb wrote.

The team hopes to "achieve a launch in 2-3 decades," says Loeb, and reach Proxima Centauri about 20 years later.

The photos, meanwhile, would take at least 4.24 years — the distance in light-years from here to the star — to get back to Earth.

Adding up that timeline, Starshot thinks it could take photos of Proxima b (plus whatever else its nanocraft encounter there) by the year 2060.

How to sail to a star

Milner said in April that Starshot will start out as a $100 million engineering proof-of-concept to design, build, launch, and propel a small fleet of iPhone-size "nanocraft" to Alpha Centauri in about 25 years' time.

Each nanocraft will contain a tiny spacecraft and a laser-light sail for propulsion. "This is the Silicon valley approach to spaceflight," Milner said.

The hypothetical spacecraft, called StarChip, will be built out of a "gram-scale" silicon wafer that's "carrying cameras, photon thrusters, power supply, navigation and communication equipment, and constituting a fully functional space probe."

Moving each StarChip along will be a Lightsail propulsion unit.

An array of powerful lasers called a "beamer" will take aim at the Lightsails, accelerating each nanocraft to more than 134 million mph.

'A sense of urgency' to reach Proxima b

At this point Starshot already has a prototype for the StarChip (pictured in Milner's hand at the top of this post).

It's smaller than an iPhone, and it will be backed with cameras, photon thrusters, power supply, navigation, and communication equipment.

But Loeb said the next 5 to 10 years of the project — and most of the $100 million — will be focused on proving the laser propulsion idea actually works.

From there they'll work on perfecting the tiny ships, Loeb said, noting that a beamer "could potentially launch hundreds of cheap, gram-scale spacecrafts per year."

"This will allow us to send a fleet of probes towards Proxima that could relay the images taken back to Earth more easily (from one spacecraft to the next along the line of sight to Proxima)," he said.

Noting that exisiting telescopes can't photograph the new planet, at least in a conventional sense, Loeb added: "The curiosity to know more about the planet (most importantly whether it hosts life) will give the Starshot initiative a sense of urgency."

Even if Proxima b doesn't support life, Loeb says it's still important to explore the not-so-distant world.

"The lifetime of Proxima is several trillion years, almost a thousand times longer than the remaining lifetime of the Sun," he said.

"Hence, a habitable rocky planet around Proxima would be the most natural location to where our civilization could aspire to move after the Sun will die, five billions years from now." (At least one sci-fi author thinks this is a horrible idea, though.)

A wealthy fan of space exploration

Milner's fascination with space and science runs deep.

The first man in space was cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin — who Milner has said he was named after.

Milner has also spent big money on science initiatives before, saying he wants to celebrate"intellectual achievement" in the same way we celebrate artistic and athletic prowess.

The Russian billionaire philanthropist has collaborated with Hawking in the past, too. In July 2015, the two announced a $100 million plan, called "Breakthrough Listen," to search the stars for intelligent extraterrestrial life.

Milner was even working on a PhD in physics before becoming a Silicon Valley investor, where he earned his fortune investing in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and Groupon.

Today he funds some of the biggest science prizes out there, including the Breakthrough Prize, which Mark Zuckerberg also supports.

Kevin Loria and Lauren Friedman contributed to this post.

Test can help cancer patients to avoid chemotherapy!

For patients facing a diagnosis of early stage breast cancer, the traditional course of treatment is typically surgery, followed by an often difficult course of chemotherapy to try to make sure the cancer doesn't recur.

But, a new study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that about 46% of women who were at high risk of breast cancer recurrence after surgery might not actually need chemotherapy — which often comes with debilitating side effects like profound fatigue, nausea, hair loss, and a weakened immune system.

This was the result of a five-year-long clinical trial of about 6,700 women who had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. It was run by Agendia, a company that makes a diagnostics test called "MammaPrint" that screens breast cancer tumors for the activity in 70 genes. The results of the test are designed to give cancer doctors an idea of whether someone is at a low or high genetic risk for recurrence.

Laura Van t’ Veer, one of the lead authors of the study and chief research officer at Agendia, likened the genetics of the tumor to an engine, while age or other measures of risk of recurrence were more like the body of a car. You could have a fancy car with a bad engine, which means you might overlook someone who would benefit from chemotherapy. Or, you could have an old car with a fantastic engine, which means the chemotherapy might not be needed.

"It's only when you look under the tumor, you see what the aggressiveness of the tumor is," she told Business Insider. That's what the MammaPrint test aims to do.

(After three operations and four rounds of chemotherapy at Georgetown University Hospital, cancer patient Deborah Charles shows off her breast cancer survivor bracelet.Thomson Reuters) The researchers looked at the group of patients that might have a shabby looking car but a solid engine (those with high clinical risk but low genetic risk, as determined by the MammaPrint test). They found that 1,550 people in the group fit that criteria, and randomly assigned them to either get chemotherapy or not.

By the end of the five-year study, they found that the overall survival was only 1.5% better for those who had chemotherapy over those who didn't, which Van t’ Veer said the group found "not statistically significant."

In an accompanying editorial, the American Society of Clinical Oncology agreed that the MammaPrint test seemed to be a good tool for helping patients steer clear of chemotherapy when it might be unnecessary. But they cautioned against dismissing that 1.5% increase in the survival rate of the chemotherapy group.

"These findings provide evidence that the genomic test can reassign some classically high-risk patients with early-stage breast cancer to a lower-risk cohort in whom any plausible chemotherapy benefit would be modest," they wrote. "However, a difference of 1.5 percentage points, if real, might mean more to one patient than to another. Thus, the stated difference does not precisely exclude a benefit that clinicians and patients might find meaningful."

Agendia isn't the only test that helps doctors determine whether a breast cancer patient needs chemotherapy — Onocotype DX, made by GenomicHealth, is another similar test that's been widely used and studied. Van t’ Veer said the main difference between the two competing tests was that Oncotype DX focuses on who would benefit from chemotherapy, while MammaPrint takes the opposite approach by trying to pinpoint who should definitely not get chemotherapy.

Dr. Harold Burstein, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Insititute who wasn't involved in the research, told Business Insider that the trial wasn't enough to convince him to switch him over from Oncotype DX. That 1.5% benefit that patients who received chemotherapy got after showing a low genetic risk was one of the main sticking points for him. And patients must be followed for more than five years to see the long-term results.

But overall, the trial was good news. 

"It supports the general idea that genomic information can add to traditional pathology," he said.

Different tips to make the phone battery last longer!

How long a phone should last once its battery has been charged fully? Different people will give a different answer to this question. The upper ceiling of the battery life in a modern smartphone, even is many wish for it to be true, would be something like what the old Nokia's used to provide. Once charged, they would last days. But that is not possible with smartphone. A smartphone does so many things that it just can't last for days, unless you are only using it to make calls. On the other spectrum, we all can agree that a smartphone that is constantly plugged to the charger is no good. In fact, if you are charging your phone more than twice in a day, it is safe to say that it has a poor battery life.

The ideal battery of smartphone nowadays is somewhere in between these two extremes. And most smartphones do manage to meet this ideal line. But just in case, it is not enough for you the user, there are ways to prolong the battery life of your phone. These steps, ideally, shouldn't be required. But in case you need more battery life you can try them.

Switch off GPS

On an Android phone, or even on an iPhone, the GPS, or "Location" as it is identified in the phone, is one of the biggest battery hogs. If you want more battery from your phone, turning it off is a good idea. When you need it again, for example while using a phone-based taxi app like Ola or Uber, you can manually turn it on. Just turning off the GPS, especially on an Android phone, will net you something like 2-3 hours of more battery life.

Use Wi-Fi

Another big battery guzzler in the phone is the telecom network, particular in India where the network is always poor and the phone has to work extra hard to keep the signals nice and proper. The solution? Use Wi-Fi whenever you can. This means when you are at your home or office, ensure that your phone automatically switches to Wi-Fi from 3G or 4G.

Keep the screen on auto

It is tempting to switch of the auto brightness in a phone. On some occasions, the phone's screen is just too dull and you wish for more brightness. On these occasions, even if you manually turn the brightness up, don't forget to put it back on the auto once you have finished reading that big article. The screen is one component that uses the maximum amount of battery. If you keep it on the manual brightness mode, it's battery use will shoot up exponentially.

Check for Rogue apps

On Android, as well as in the iPhones, on occasions you may end up with poor battery life in the phone due to a rogue app. This could be a poorly-coded app or it could be just temporary glitch in some app. If you are seeing abnormal battery drain in your phone go to Settings > Battery and then see the list of apps using battery. Of these some heavy battery users like Screen, Android OS etc are fairly normal. But if you see other apps using more than 10 per cent battery life, there could be some problem with that app. One way to fix this is by restarting the phone. This would get rid of the temporary issues. If it doesn't, you can opt to disable that particular app by going to Settings > Apps.

Tame Facebook

Studies after studies have shown that Facebook app loves to sip battery. Considering it is also one of the most highly used app, Facebook app can have a significant effect on the battery life of a phone. Now, ideally you will not like to tinker with Facebook, especially if you love the service. But if you value the battery life more, you can try turning off notifications in the Facebook app. You can also uninstall it and use Facebook Lite, which is less feature-rich but is frugal with data and battery use. Finally, if you can, you can also try uninstalling or the disabling the app.

Use battery saver mode (in emergency)

Almost all phones nowadays come with the battery saver mode. When applied, some of these modes reduce the phone's performance and switch off some non-critical functionality. A few go even beyond that, apply a monochrome -- black and white user interface -- and turn off everything except critical functionality like calls. It is worth using these modes when you absolutely have more battery life, even if it means reduced functionality. In most phone, you can toggle battery saver mode by going to Settings > Battery.