Ebola recovery in Europe: Spanish nurse Teresa Romero tests negative for virus October 19, 2014 The Spanish nurse who fell ill with Ebola earlier this month has recovered, according to the Spanish government. Teresa Romero, 44, contracted the virus at a hospital in Madrid while treating two Spanish missionaries who had been repatriated from west Africa. She was the first person to become infected while outside of west Africa. [...]
How did sex evolve? New discovery shows Scottish fish were first to copulate on Earth October 19, 2014 Bicycles, telephones and bagpipes are just a few of the innovations Scotland has brought us over the years, and now we have another, much older one to add to the list – sex. It turns out that the first creatures to ever copulate on Earth were a pair of primitive bony fish called Microbrachius [...]
Coinfloor to launch bitcoin fund and trade in wider range of currencies because of “very conservative” UK banks October 19, 2014 Coinfloor, the London-based bitcoin exchange, is opening up to a wider range of currencies, according to the FT. It will also raise money from its investors to launch a bitcoin fund next month, taking the company's value up to £8m. Investors are likely to include venture group Passion Capital and Taavet Hinrikus, chief [...]
NHS could save £1bn each year by treating patients at pharmacies instead of hospitals or GP clinics, says professional body October 19, 2014 The NHS could save over £1bn each year if common colds and other everyday illnesses were treated at pharmacies. According to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), “minor ailment centres” would take pressure off the NHS by reducing GP consultations by 18m and A&E visits by 650,000 annually. The centres already operate nationally in [...]
UK immigration: David Cameron looks to reduce number of EU migrants by limiting national insurance numbers October 19, 2014 Prime Minister David Cameron intends to limit the number of EU migrants arriving in the UK by capping national insurance numbers for low-skilled workers, according to The Sunday Times. In order to prevent EU workers from coming to Britain and claiming tax benefits indefinitely, each new arrival would be given a national insurance number [...]
Apple’s chief designer Jony Ive discusses design process in rare video October 19, 2014 Apple's Jony Ive has given some rare insight into the Apple design process. In an interview at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit, which is available on YouTube, Apple's design guru talks about the excitement he feels for the design process. Ive talked about the dangers of allowing a feature to taker precedent over a better [...]
Ministry of Defence expected to sell Defence Support Group, its equipment repair and maintenance arm October 19, 2014 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is expected to sell the Defence Support Group (DSG) next month as part of a move to transfer billions of pounds of work to private companies. The sale, most likely to Babcock, KBR, or General Dynamics, will net between £200m and £300m for the MoD, at a time when its [...]
UK productivity puzzle: Country falls behind the G7 October 19, 2014 The UK is opening a large productivity gap between itself and the other G7 nations – in the wrong direction. According to data released by the Office of National Statistics, output per hour in the UK is 17 percentage points below the G7 average, while on a per-worker basis the UK was 19 points behind. [...]
Sweden hunts for suspected Russian submarine October 19, 2014 Sweden's military is searching for "foreign underwater activity" less than 31 miles from Stockholm. According to Reuters, the mobilisation of troops, ships and helicopters is on a scale not seen since the depths of the cold war. Russia's bellicose actions in Ukraine are making nations in the Baltic and Nordic regions uneasy. Stockholm is just across the [...]
Tesco’s profits overstatement might be less than it thought October 18, 2014 Did Tesco overestimate its overestimate? The supermarket last month claimed to have discovered a profits black hole of £250m, but now it looks like that figure could be less than originally thought. Sources have told Sky News that the grocer is likely to tell the City it had a shortfall of between £200m and £250m [...]