A toxic smog has shrouded London: Here’s how it could affect our health March 19, 2015 A thick smog has covered London and many other parts of the UK today, causing Britain to be placed on health alert. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), it is formed from a combination of home-grown smog and European air pollution. Areas affected include the south west, London, the south [...]
One in three Twitter users have changed their vote because of a tweet March 19, 2015 Social media could prove essential in the general election, with research showing that a third of Twitter users aged 18-34 have changed their vote because of something they have seen on Twitter. Some 83 per cent of Twitter users said they were going to vote – dropping to 74 per cent among users aged 18-34. This is significantly higher [...]
Investing in data software businesses: It’s risky, but Europe is warming to it says Tableau chief executive March 18, 2015 In 2003, Silicon Valley data cruncher Christian Chabot founded a company in his bedroom. He wanted to develop a data visualisation software for the masses. This led to the creation of Tableau – now a multinational company worth billions of pounds, of which Chabot is chief executive. It has taken off in a big way [...]
JP Morgan joins forces with pharma giants to lead $100m dementia fund March 17, 2015 JP Morgan has partnered with the UK government to launch a new multimillion pound fund to encourage research into treatment for dementia. The New York-based investment bank said it had been working with the government to structure the Dementia Discovery Fund in such a way that it would make a profit for investors while funding research [...]
Dementia: The war on this illness will not be won in isolation March 17, 2015 “If our brains were simple enough to be understood, we wouldn’t be smart enough to understand them.” The truth of this well-worn adage can be debated. But it certainly goes some way to explaining the enormous challenge we’re facing in our search for new medicines to fight dementia. We are lucky enough to live in [...]
Facebook now lets you send money to friends via Messenger app March 17, 2015 Facebook is making a move into the ever growing mobile payment and money transfer space by letting users send money to friends via its Facebook Messenger app. Facebook users simply need to register a Visa or Mastercard debit card the first time they use the service, and then create a pin for added security or use [...]
Microsoft is killing off Internet Explorer for new browser codenamed Project Spartan on Windows 10 March 17, 2015 Microsoft is killing off Internet Explorer. Sort of. It’s unlikely anyone will shed too many tears over the demise of the browser which is hated by many for a number of reasons, from its slowness down to its market dominance and lack of support. After nearly 20 years, Microsoft has realised Internet Explorer has become [...]
UK information requests from Facebook rise 16pc to 4,416 March 16, 2015 Whitehall is making more requests for citizens’ personal information, Facebook reported yesterday. The social media giant’s Global Government Requests Report for the second half of 2014 said: “The vast majority of these requests relate to criminal cases, such as robberies or kidnappings.” Requested data ranged from “basic subscriber information, such as name and length of [...]
Uber’s finance chief Brent Callinicos is leaving the taxi startup March 16, 2015 Uber’s finance chief Brent Callinicos is driving off into the sunset and leaving one of the most highly valued tech startups in the world in the rear-view mirror. The former Google executive who has been with Uber for less than two years will stay on as an advisor, chief executive Travis Kalanick told investors. “Almost [...]
No sunglasses, selfies or staring: How to look at the solar eclipse on March 20 without getting a “solar burn” March 16, 2015 You might be tempted to line up a solar eclipse selfie this week – but experts have warned that doing so could put you at risk of causing serious damage to your eyes. On the morning of March 20, we will see a near total eclipse – the best places to see it in the [...]