Is there life on other planets? Kepler 438b identified as most Earth-like planet beyond our Solar System January 7, 2015 Far, far away in a distant star constellation, there is a planet remarkably similar to Earth – except it is more spacious, warmer, and always has brilliant red sunsets. Kepler 438b is one of eight new "exoplanets" discovered in the Lyra constellation, and according to astronomers it is the “most Earth-like alien world”. [...]
Silicon Valley was right to invest in DNA: Facebook and Google-backed personal genetics business strikes $10m deal with Genentech January 7, 2015 Facebook and Google will be pleased about their decision to invest in personal genetics business 23andMe. The firm, which sells DNA testing kits to individual customers for $99 (£65) each, has secured a major deal with Genentech – a subsidiary of Roche. According to Forbes, 23andMe is receiving an upfront payment from Genentech [...]
What happened to the AirAsia flight QZ8501? Indonesian search mission comes closer to answer with discovery of plane tail in Java Sea January 7, 2015 The tail of the AirAsia plane that went missing on 28 December has been found in the Java Sea. Flight QZ8501 was making its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore when a storm seemingly caused it to come down. Before take-off, the pilot of the Airbus A30-200 had asked to fly at a [...]
Johnson & Johnson catches up with GSK in race to develop Ebola vaccine – human safety trials begin in Oxford January 6, 2015 Johnson & Johnson has started human trials of its new Ebola vaccine, which is intended to stop the spread of the epidemic that has already killed thousands of people in west Africa. Trials are taking place on 72 people at Oxford University, and similar tests will soon get going in the US and three [...]
Islamic State’s $2bn budget is much smaller than thsoe of the countries it is trying to take over January 6, 2015 Two billion dollars (£1.31bn) sounds like a lot of money, but in the context of state budgets it's small. It's 500 times smaller than the US national budget, and 50 times smaller than Iraq's. Yet this amount has sent shivers down the media's collective spine since yesterday, when the first annual budget for terrorist [...]
“One small step for WeBank, one giant step for financial reform”: China opens its first private bank under pilot scheme to help small businesses grow January 6, 2015 Yesterday, China opened its first web-only private bank, with the intention of helping small and micro-sized enterprises secure loans that commercial lenders are often unwilling to give them, due to a higher perceived risk compared to larger companies. Chinese investment company Tencent owns 50 per cent of the new bank, dubbed WeBank (see what [...]
SpaceX Falcon 9 mission to International Space Station is put on hold until Friday January 6, 2015 SpaceX's plan to send a rocket up into space and then land it safely back on Earth has been aborted until Friday. The mission, which involves sending a cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard rocket Falcon X, was almost ready to go this morning when a technical issue meant it had to [...]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket landing: Here’s what you need to know about Friday’s International Space Station mission January 6, 2015 On Friday, SpaceX will attempt to return a rocket to Earth for the first time ever. The Falcon 9 vessel will be launched into space, from where it will release its Dragon cargo spacecraft towards the International Space Station (ISS). It will then change direction and come back down towards Earth. The attempted landing [...]
What will happen to the world in 2015? Here are eight great changes that will take place this year January 2, 2015 The last 12 months have left behind a big pile of problems for the world to deal with in 2015. The militant group Islamic State has taken over large swathes of the Middle East and now poses a greater threat to the West than any power since the Soviet Union, while the deadly Ebola virus [...]
Keeping chocolate prices down: A huge greenhouse in Reading could save the world’s cocoa supply through new genetic material January 2, 2015 With demand for chocolate outstripping supply at an unprecedented rate, its price is set to soar in 2015. But a giant greenhouse in Reading has come to the rescue, and could stop chocolate from becoming the preserve of the very wealthy. The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre has been in operation for one month and [...]
