New Delhi: A study by researchers at Department of Genetics at Delhi University South Campus has indicated that it was possible to restrict the progression of Huntington’s disease by increasing insulin signaling in the brain neuronal cells.

The study conducted in fruit flies (Drosophila) has found that increasing the level of insulin signaling enriched the cellular pool of proteins that are essential for cellular functioning and survival and this, in turn, restored the cellular transcription machinery, which collapses due to the disease, and thus stopped the disease from progressing”.

Dr. Surajit Sarkar, who led the study, told India Science Wire that “the study was a follow up to investigations which had revealed that insulin signaling pathway, which is a critical controller of cellular metabolism and energy homeostasis, was severely compromised in Huntington’s and other polyglutamine disorders like SCA3.”

Huntington’s presently has no treatment or cure. The afflicted individuals lose their ability to walk, talk, think, and reason. This disease begins between the age 30 and 45, and every individual with the gene for the disease will eventually develop the disease. It is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder which means that if one parent carriers the defective Huntington’s gene, the offspring have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the disease.

Seoul: South Korean and US officials confirmed the suspension of scheduled joint military drills on Tuesday, making good on a pledge by President Donald Trump during his summit with North Korea's leader.

Seoul, which has a large number of US troops on its soil to help protect it from its hostile northern neighbour, said the suspension would affect the large-scale Ulchi-Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August.

"South Korea and the US plan to continue discussions for further measures," said the South's defense ministry in a statement, adding that "no decisions have been reached for other ensuing drills."

ICICI Bank Ltd.’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Chanda Kochhar will go on leave till an independent probe into allegations of impropriety against her is completed.

The private lender named Sandeep Bakhshi as its chief operating officer for five years, according to a bank statement filed with the stock exchanges after a day-long board meeting. Bakhshi, currently COO designate, will take over as COO on June 19 or on receiving regulatory and other approvals, whichever is later.

He will be responsible for handling all the businesses and corporate centre functions at the bank, said the statement. All executive directors on the board of ICICI Bank and the executive management will report to him. While he will report to Kochhar, during her leave Bakhshi will report to the board, the bank said.

Seoul: South Korea on Monday said that sanctions against North Korea could be eased once it takes "substantive steps towards denuclearisation", seemingly setting the bar lower than Washington for such a move.

Last week's Singapore summit between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un produced only a vague statement in which Kim "reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula".

Amid fears that the summit would weaken the international coalition against North Korea's nuclear programme, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed after the meeting that sanctions would remain in place until North Korea's complete denuclearisation.

But his South Korean counterpart suggested on Monday that they could be eased sooner.

Dhaka [Bangladesh], June 18 : The World Bank has approved $700 million to help Bangladesh achieve its education for all vision by improving the primary education sector.

The Quality Learning for All Program (QLEAP) will cover more than 18 million children studying in pre-primary level to grade 5.

It will also finance implementation of the government's Fourth Primary Education Development Program (PEDP4), Dhaka Tribune reported.

The World Bank praised Bangladesh's progress in improving access to education.

"Today almost every child steps into a classroom and eight out of 10 children completes primary education," Dhaka Tribune quoted Qimiao Fan, the World Bank country director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal as saying.

Colombia has chosen Iván Duque, a conservative neophyte, to be its next president after a long and divisive campaign that often centred on a controversial peace process with leftist rebels the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).

Duque, who opposes the peace deal, won in a second round runoff election on Sunday with 53.9% of the vote. His vanquished opponent, Bogotá’s former mayor Gustavo Petro – once a leftist militant himself – defends the peace process.

Despite being the first leftist in the conservative country’s history to come so close to the presidency, he lost on the night, taking 41.8% of the vote.

Many now worry about the fate of the fragile peace deal signed with the Farc in 2016, which formally ended 52 years of civil war that left 220,000 dead and seven million displaced.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia will sign an accord on Sunday to change the name of the former Yugoslav republic, the Greek government’s press ministry said on Friday as the governments of both countries faced mounting opposition at home over the deal.