Half of Liberia jobless over Ebola fears, but World Bank cuts own estimate of total economic impact by a 10th November 19, 2014 Ebola is having a “substantial” impact on Liberia's employment, with nearly half of those who were working when the disease first surfaced jobless by the start of November 2014. A new report by the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Liberian Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services and the Gallup Organization and conducted [...]
How we can turn London’s thriving tech startups into billion dollar digital giants November 16, 2014 Just four years after the Prime Minister and the mayor of London launched the Tech City initiative, London now has one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the world. Visitors to any of its tech hubs will be struck by the industry and dynamism of the capital’s entrepreneurs and startups, driving innovation and change. [...]
Where has Ebola spread to? Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says country no longer in state of emergency November 13, 2014 The west African country Liberia has is no longer in a “state of emergency” over Ebola. The epidemic, which has already killed over 5,000 people since it began in December last year, is the worst on record. But the rigorous implementation of control measures in Liberia has resulted in a slowdown in the spread [...]
GSK to start Ebola vaccine trials in west Africa next month November 13, 2014 GSK says its Ebola vaccine will begin trials in west Africa next month. Safety clinical trials will take place in Mali at a treatment centre run by the charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which has been at the forefront of tackling the virus since the epidemic started in December last year. It is hoped [...]
Quotas on immigration would be a disaster for London’s tech startups November 12, 2014 Political debates over the benefits and drawbacks of immigration will no doubt rage on for years to come. But while the opposing sides pick apart the evidence over the impact of migrants on the public purse, one thing is clear: London’s tech ecosystem faces a very significant skills shortage. Government should be doing all it [...]
The rise of Spotify (minus Taylor Swift): From Radiohead’s “dying corpse” dig to 200m weekly streams November 12, 2014 The irrepressible rise of Spotify, the streaming service that Taylor Swift left last week OCT 2008 Spotify goes live Spotify is founded in 2006 by CEO Daniel Ek, but it isn’t until two years later that it’s launched for public access. The same year, the Swedish company announces that it has negotiated licensing [...]
Do ghosts exist? Scientists “create” a ghost in a lab and find its all in the imagination November 7, 2014 If you think there's a ghost haunting your house, it's almost certainly a figment of your imagination. For the first time, scientists in Switzerland have worked out what causes us to feel a “ghost-like” presence, and it's all to do with the regions of the brain responsible for self-awareness and perception of location. [...]
Styluses for iPads: Take your tablet experience to the next level November 5, 2014 Apple doesn’t believe in styluses. Avoiding reliance on a digital pen was part of Steve Jobs’ masterplan when engineering the first iPad and the Cupertino company has stuck to its guns ever since. There are a handful of third party devices on Apple’s online store but you won’t catch it manufacturing its own. [...]
The science of scariness: Who should you be most afraid of this Halloween? October 30, 2014 Steer clear of all evil clowns on Friday – if pitted against six other scary characters in a Halloween battle, these villainous individuals would win, hands down. Or at least, that's according to mathematician Thomas E Woolley from the University of Oxford, who has devised an empirical formula to calculate which of the seven [...]
Penny for your thoughts? Scientists develop mind-reading “brain decoder” that reveals our inner thoughts using sound waves October 30, 2014 Mind reading has become possible for the first time ever, thanks to a brain decoder developed by a team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley. In an interview with the New Scientist, the team explained that the decoder works by translating the signals fired off in your brain while you think into [...]