Month: July 2019
Computer models to match patients with ‘digital twins’
Advanced computer models could improve diagnosis and treatment of common diseases by linking patients with 'digital twins', a study suggests. The technology could be used to better tailor medicines to individual sufferers by computationally testing thousands of drugs across different cell types before actual treatment takes place. Currently, medication can be ineffective in many patients…
Facebook urged to share data to tackle fake news
Facebook has been asked to share more data with third-party fact checkers in a bid to tackle ongoing spread of potentially harmful misinformation across social media. Full Fact, the fact-checking charity which started rating UK posts suspected of containing false information in January, says that the initiative should be fully extended to Instagram, amid concerns…
Capital One applications targeted in bank data breach
A hacker has gained access to personal information from more than 100 million Capital One credit applications in the US, the bank said as US federal authorities arrested a suspect in the case. Paige A Thompson – who also goes by the name “erratic” -was charged with a single count of computer fraud and abuse…
Google Face Unlock is coming to Pixel 4
Google has continued to take the unusual step of revealing more details about its next Pixel smartphone ahead of launch, this time announcing the arrival of face unlocking. The tech giant published a video of the feature in action on YouTube. It will allow users to scan their own face instead of using a password,…
Astronomers uncover 3 ‘exoplanets’ 73 light years away
Scientists say they have discovered three new 'exoplanets' outside our solar system which orbit a star situated 73 light years away from Earth. The trio are among the smallest and nearest exoplanets known to date, discovered using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which was sent into space in 2018 with the aim of finding…
YouTube and Netflix coming to Tesla
Tesla owners will soon be able to watch YouTube and Netflix from the comfort of the driver’s seat – but only when the car is stationary, founder Elon Musk has said. The feature will eventually allow users to stream content on the move, once full self-driving has been approved by regulators, the entrepreneur teased on…
British teenager scoops almost £1m at Fortnite World Cup
A British teenager who won almost £1 million at Fortnite World Cup said he is happy to have shown his mother that he was not just wasting time in his bedroom. Jaden Ashman, from Essex, will split $2.25 million (£1.8 million) with his Dutch partner after the pair came second in the first Fortnite World…
Leaving EU without deal a ‘threat to UK science sector’
Leaving the EU without a deal is a threat to the UK’s “thriving” science sector, a leading charity and medical research institute has warned. Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, chairwoman of the Wellcome Trust, has written to new Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on him to make a significant statement on science as soon as possible. In the letter,…
Lightsail 2 spacecraft’s solar sail deploys
Photos transmitted from The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft orbiting Earth confirm that it has successfully deployed its solar sail. The spacecraft was launched from Florida last month and images from this week’s deployment sequence were downlinked from the orbiter by flight controllers at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. One image shows…
NHS cyber attack ‘hero’ thankful after avoiding jail in US on malware charges
The British computer expert who helped shut down the WannaCry cyber attack on the NHS said he is “incredibly thankful” after being spared jail in the US for creating malware. Marcus Hutchins was hailed as a hero in May 2017 when he found a “kill-switch” that slowed the effects of the WannaCry virus affecting more…
