Long before the existence of the Internet and going viral was a thing, reggae singer Jacob Miller, back in the ‘70s, coined a term that went viral – under heavy manners. Ian Lewis of Inner Circle band, the Bad Boys of Reggae, recalled that his...

LOCAL MUSICIAN Janine JKUHL’s two-month-long immersive creative residency programme in Bali, Indonesia, has been extended indefinitely, or at least until the world has the COVID-19 spread under control and international airports open up to...

BEFORE MILLIE Small became the ‘lollipop girl’, she was a ‘sugar plum’. Not only is it a term of endearment, it is also the title of her first song – a duet as it was called back in 1960 – with singer Owen Gray. This collab was born out of the time...

Despite its best efforts, COVID-19 will not be allowed to steal the joy of Mother’s Day this year. An array of the island’s top singers and musicians have pledged to infuse the accustomed specialness into the day dedicated to mothers with a concert...

The face of entertainment is changing, and the creative industry is finding new and innovative ways to reach audiences and showcase their talent, and Sunday Live is one such innovation that is creating waves online. The brainchild of entrepreneur...

Since this week would have been carnival week in Jamaica, we are taking you back to the mecca, Trinidad and Tobago, where just a few months ago, before the pandemic, the region’s local designers, musicians and the revellers were on show. The...

In a time like this, families are being offered time to bond. We eat, laugh, cry and even share a frame together to be added to our reservoir of memories. Here’s a family of familiar faces who did a photo shoot in true Easter-loving style.

While many in the heat of this COVID-19 pandemic are staying inside, Jodian Duhaney, her fiancé and a team of friends are out in the communities of St James giving care packages to those in need. For Flashback Friday, Something Extra brings you...

As the Jamaica and the rest of the world continue to feel the impact of COVID-19, corporate companies are stepping up in a big way, providing support and assistance to communities, individuals and other organisations that are directly or indirectly...

The fourth in the series of the musical showcase Sunday Live, powered by Sagicor, was held on Sunday, April 19 at Pier One on the Waterfront and featured some of Jamaica’s top up-and-coming talents. The series, which is the brainchild of...

It’s #ThrowBackThursday, and we are looking back to the days when dressing up meant more than just going from room to room. Extra went down memory lane with these hotties who are just counting down the days to go back out and slay.

Jamaican cultural ambassador Latonya Style is known for taking her passion and promoting dancehall across the world. Something Extra celebrates Flashback Friday by bringing you behind the scenes of this globetrotter’s dance workshop and tour in...

Dominique Roache, a Jamaican medical student living and studying in Belize, has found a new hobby since San Pedro went under complete lockdown – self-portraits. “I’ve been inside for so long, I decided to start taking pictures of myself, using...

Sunday Live continues to showcase the musical prowess of some of Jamaica’s finest talent, and this past Sunday, April 26, the event featured songstress Shuga and reggae bands Earth Kry and TennShann Invasion. Now, with five episodes under its belt...

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were virtually set ablaze last Sunday when Koffee, Wayne Marshall, and Naomi Cowan took to the stage for the final instalment of Jamaica’s most viewed online entertainment event — the D’Music-powered ‘Digicel...

On Wednesday, the world celebrated International Dance Day. So let’s join in the festivities, bringing to the stage highlights of PAH Deaf Dance Company performance showcase during Kingston Creative’s Art Walk, held earlier this year at Water Lane...

Before COVID-19, media personality Sapphire was bringing the heat with her birthday celebration ‘Fuego’. It’s throwback Tuesday, so let’s rewind with a ‘fêting’ dose of Something Extra.

The Sunday Live stage continues to showcase some of Jamaica’s talented musicians, and on Sunday, May 3, up-and-coming singer Yeza; and singer, drummer and percussionist Roots Percussionist took centre stage and delivered powerful performances to...

Our favourite Instagram feed this week is by Antiguan native Jaycie Lewis. From head to toe, @aurajae_ has been serving us looks, melanin and style all in one go, and we are 100 per cent loving it. “To be honest, I haven’t been ‘doing looks’. I’ve...

Rate those who rate you. Yung Rolaz had this mantra in the streets, providing patrons with the ultimate party experience. Since outside is no longer a festive option, let’s celebrate flashback Friday with hot highlights from the local and...

This is one of the very most fascinating web sites I have ever before observed. This is quite exciting because of its distinct subject matter as well as remarkable write-ups.

Reality hit home last week when Jamaican bars and their best friends in psychology class, churches, were ordered to radically scale down their activities. Bars, one of the mainstays of our women most socially and economically deprived, were ordered...

When I tell people that I do not remember learning how to read, they laugh. But I really do not recall learning to read. Reading was an activity that excited my family, and so it was no surprise that I would love reading. The love of books and...

A recent Washington Post article reminds us of this frightening statistic: the first 100,000 cases of COVID-19 occupied all of three months to reach that milestone. It also stated that the second 100,000 cases sprinted to that number in 12 days....

Government, having said bye, bye to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), declared quite boldly that it was ready to take charge and defend, on its own, the country’s economic independence. For the Government to swallow its pride and say, “Please...

On Tuesday, April 14, the International Monetary Fund downgraded Jamaica’s growth prospects to -5.6 per cent. This is a severe contraction warranting substantial Government intervention. However, at times, the Government waits too late to respond...

Four companies involved in one of America’s “largest price-fixing cases” are now behind the anti-malaria drug touted by Donald ‘The Great Impeached’ Trump as a snake-oil, cure-all treatment for COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus. Several...

A few weeks ago while I was hosting a Friday slot of Cliff Hughes Online, a caller engaged me in a brief discussion about a matter that was never at the forefront on my mind. According to him, the inclusion of another major player in the national...

Michelle Thomas has joined the ranks of society’s young movers and shakers in her capacity as a lawyer. The work truly began after she was crowned Miss Kingston and St Andrew Festival Queen in 2015. Since then, she has been pushing for more female...

From formalising her father’s business and taking it to higher and more profitable heights to sitting on the board of EXIM Bank and lecturing in the field of business development, Lacey-Ann Bartley has earned her stripes as the Distinguished Woman...

With passion, motivation and determination to go against what is deemed as conventional in today’s society, Flow hosted a staff summit ahead of the International Womens’ Day under the theme ‘Passion for Action’, which supports a collective will to...

At age 13, Nadeen Matthews Blair, chief executive officer of the NCB Foundation, challenged the tide to prove to a guidance counsellor at her United States-based school, that black girls can overcome all odds to become powerful leaders. Matthews...

Women with endometriosis have significantly higher rates of depression than women in the general population. That’s according to psychiatrist Dr Kristen Robinson-Barrett. It’s the end of endometriosis month, so Flair spoke to the expert to explore...

Active maintenance of β-cell identity through fine-tuned regulation of key transcription factors ensures β-cell function. Tacrolimus, a widely used immunosuppressant, accelerates onset of diabetes after organ transplantation, but underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here we show that tacrolimus induces loss of human β-cell maturity and β-cell failure through activation of the BMP/SMAD signaling pathway when administered under mild metabolic stress conditions. Tacrolimus-induced phosphorylated SMAD1/5 acts in synergy with metabolic stress–activated FOXO1 through formation of a complex. This interaction is associated with reduced expression of the key β-cell transcription factor MAFA and abolished insulin secretion, both in vitro in primary human islets and in vivo in human islets transplanted into high-fat diet–fed mice. Pharmacological inhibition of BMP signaling protects human β-cells from tacrolimus-induced β-cell dysfunction in vitro. Furthermore, we confirm that BMP/SMAD signaling is activated in protocol pancreas allograft biopsies from recipients on tacrolimus. To conclude, we propose a novel mechanism underlying the diabetogenicity of tacrolimus in primary human β-cells. This insight could lead to new treatment strategies for new-onset diabetes and may have implications for other forms of diabetes.

The Braves made it clear that, individually, each of their prospects was available in exchange for J.T. Realmuto. But they were not willing to provide the volume of prospects or the MLB-experienced asset sought by the Marlins, who ended an offseason-long saga by dealing the All-Star catcher to the Phillies on Thursday.

To those of a certain age, Frank Robinson was the definition of greatness, leadership and toughness. Well into his 70's and 80's, he carried himself with the confidence and unmistakable gait of a great athlete.

For Brandon Hyde, the days and weeks leading up to Tuesday were filled with phone calls to friends, to former colleagues, to mentors he's made across more than two decades in the game. A constant theme emerged from the ensuing chats: What, exactly, should Hyde expect from his first Spring Training as a big league manager?

A year ago, Danny Farquhar was not going to be in the middle of a spring storyline. That's going to change this spring as he tries to win a spot in the Yankees' bullpen

The ability to switch fuels for oxidation in response to changes in macronutrient composition of diet (metabolic flexibility) may be informative of individuals’ susceptibility to weight gain. Seventy-nine healthy, weight-stable participants underwent 24-h assessments of energy expenditure and respiratory quotient (RQ) in a whole-room calorimeter during energy balance (EBL) (50% carbohydrate, 30% fat) and then during 24-h fasting and three 200% overfeeding diets in a crossover design. Metabolic flexibility was defined as the change in 24-h RQ from EBL during fasting and standard overfeeding (STOF) (50% carbohydrate, 30% fat), high-fat overfeeding (HFOF) (60% fat, 20% carbohydrate), and high-carbohydrate overfeeding (HCOF) (75% carbohydrate, 5% fat) diets. Free-living weight change was assessed after 6 and 12 months. Compared with EBL, RQ decreased on average by 9% during fasting and by 4% during HFOF but increased by 4% during STOF and by 8% during HCOF. A smaller decrease in RQ, reflecting a smaller increase in lipid oxidation rate, during HFOF but not during the other diets predicted greater weight gain at both 6 and 12 months. An impaired metabolic flexibility to acute HFOF can identify individuals prone to weight gain, indicating that an individual’s capacity to oxidize dietary fat is a metabolic determinant of weight change.

By winning his arbitration case against the Astros, pitcher Gerrit Cole stands to make $2,075,000 more this season than if he'd lost. That's a significant victory for Cole, who will double his salary this year and make $13.5 million, and a significant victory for other players to come, the veteran pitcher said.

The first Hall of Famer to join the Astros at Spring Training is Craig Biggio, who was in uniform for morning workouts on Tuesday and will remain with the team throughout the week.

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) — A Pennsylvania inmate whose dreadlocks violated a jail’s haircut policy has been released from solitary confinement after more than a year, although his federal lawsuit is still pending. A federal...

Dozens of United States children have been hospitalised with a serious inflammatory condition possibly linked with the coronavirus and first seen in Europe. New York authorities announced Wednesday that 64 potential cases had been reported to...

COVID-19-ravaged regional economies, including Jamaica, will need the united strength of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) to help revive their micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sectors, many of which have been decimated. That...

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A virtual meeting of South African lawmakers has been disrupted by hackers who flooded the video call with pornographic images. In the incident on Thursday, the hackers also hurled racial and sexual insults at the meeting...

Western Bureau: A number of swimming officials in western Jamaica say that the region’s struggles with underdevelopment will continue even if the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. They say this is because they still lack proper pools to...

Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited, operators of Caymanas Track, has announced the re-opening of the main track, effective tomorrow. The company said in a press release on Thursday evening that the track will be opened for two days...

Former national footballer Arthur Lattimore has died. Lattimore, who represented Jamaica in the 1970s, lost his battle with throat cancer at his home in Florida on Thursday. Lattimore, who was known as one of Jamaica's most skilful left-sided...

BERLIN, Germany (AP): THE BUNDESLIGA football season will resume on May 16 in empty stadiums, picking up right where it left off two months ago amid the coronavirus pandemic. Yesterday’s announcement comes one day after clubs were told the season...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC): Former Windies fast bowler Kenny Benjamin says that cricket in the Caribbean is suffering from players’ lack of loyalty and commitment and that intervention is required to save the sport. The Antiguan called for coaches...