Beware space travel: Venturing too far from Earth could speed up ageing February 3, 2015 Those looking to prolong their lives as much as possible might want to think twice about jumping aboard a Virgin Galactic and racing to the stars – in space, immune systems can age quicker than on Earth. In an attempt to determine the long-term consequences of living in low or no-gravity conditions, such as those [...]
London is home to Europe’s hottest FinTech startups as 24 of the FinTech50 come from the capital February 2, 2015 London once again dominates in a new list of the hottest European FinTech startups as the capital continues to put its backing behind the sector’s growth. Businesses from the capital represent almost half of those chosen as the FinTech companies to watch in 2015 by a panel of senior executives from across the world of finance, [...]
A British healthcare worker is being monitored for Ebola January 31, 2015 A UK military healthcare worker is being monitored for Ebola after suffering a needle injury in Sierra Leone. The person has been returned to the UK as a precaution as the risk of infection from a needle is high as Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids. At present, the wprker is showing no symptoms and [...]
Ebola is mutating and could become more contagious, say scientists January 29, 2015 The Ebola virus is mutating and could potentially become more contagious if given enough time to evolve, according to scientists at the Parisian research centre Institut Pasteu. By sequencing the genes of viruses contained in blood samples of 20 Guinean Ebola patients, they tracked changes over time and revealed that some alterations in genetic make-up [...]
Ebola cure call lifts final quarter tallies for Irn-Bru drinks-maker AG Barr January 28, 2015 The maker of Scotland’s “other national drink” Irn-Bru reported five per cent sales growth in its final quarter of its financial year. In the three months to 25 January the producer AG Barr said trading performance is expected to have been well ahead of total soft drinks market. Full year revenue is expected to be [...]
Will robots take over the world? Science fiction explores the rise of the machines January 28, 2015 Get ready to bow down before your new mechanical overlords – everyone from Stephen Hawking to Elon Musk are warning of the dangers of intelligent machines. We look to science fiction for the likely outcome. ROBOCOP (1987) Sanctimonious, violent but ultimately just, at least we know a future run by Robocop would be fair. [...]
Scientists have unboiled an egg, and it could save the world £105bn January 28, 2015 Have we got a cracking story for you. Scientists claim they have learned how to unboil an egg. No yolk. You might think they were a little fried to tamper with such a delicious breakfast, but unboiling an egg could save the global biotechnology industry £105bn. Which, we think you'll agree, is eggstremely good news. [...]
TransferWise hits $1bn milestone as London FinTech startups attract more cash January 26, 2015 Confidence in London’s financial technology (FinTech) startup community, and indeed its wider startup sector, was understandably at an all time high yesterday as another of the City’s rising tech stars completed a funding round reaching a $1bn (£663m) valuation. Raising growth-stage capital is often cited as a challenge for tech businesses with global ambitions in [...]
Transferwise attracts $58m in new funding: Money transfer startup backed by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz January 26, 2015 US tech magnates Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have become the latest high profile names to throw their weight behind London money transfer startup Transferwise after leading a $58m (£38.7m) round of funding. Transferwise was set up three years ago by early employees of Skype with the aim of disrupting the transfer market by cutting [...]
GSK takes over in the Ebola race: Experimental vaccine Sent to Liberia for main tests January 23, 2015 Trials of GSK's experimental vaccine to prevent Ebola are about to begin in west Africa. Some 300 doses will be transported to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, and the intention is to inject the first subject within the next few weeks. Ultimately, researchers plan to inoculate 30,000 volunteers, including health-workers. The vaccine was created [...]