Bethan Young, Correspondent (Science) SACRAMENTO — There is a private Google-backed company in the USA that allows members of the public to test themselves for various genetic ‘health risks’. They offer $99 saliva-collection kits, which are then sent back to the company for genetic testing. The company claims to test for inheritable disease, responsiveness to drug treatment and susceptibility to illnesses, such as breast cancer. The USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) however, has ordered […]
David Snowdon, Correspondent (Science) A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology this week has discovered that women who take oral contraceptives face twice the risk of developing the eye condition glaucoma. Glaucoma occurs when the trabecular meshwork – the drainage tubes within the eye – become blocked, preventing the fluid of the aqueous humour from draining properly. This leads to a build-up of pressure in the eye, causing […]
Karan Balkar, Correspondent (Tech) Along with the growing smartphone market, developers are now also engaged in building applications that suit the tablet environment. Recently, Google revamped the Play Store with noticeable changes as a move to give tablet-optimised applications more prominence. The new update has started rolling out and users accessing the Play Store on a tablet will see the “Designed for tablets” section as the default view. This enables tablet owners to identify applications, […]
Randi Karangizi, Correspondent (Tech) The Bitcoin is the world’s largest virtual currency. Introduced by the fictional character Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, this currency is controlled with software by designated ‘miners’ through code-breaking computers. The money defies traditional economic customs as it runs independently from banks and governments. For maintenance purposes, there is a finite production of the currency, and the limit of 21 million Bitcoins will be reached by 2040. This unique limitation has […]
Bethan Young Correspondent (Science) OHIO – The United States of America and its relationship with capital punishment has always been a controversial talking point. Many of America’s most notorious and ruthless mass-murderers have been put to death for their crimes, mostly by electric chair or lethal injection. The lethal injection (although the latest method to be developed) is nothing new – three components including an anaesthetic (e.g. sodium thiopental) , paralytic agent (e.g. pancuronium […]
Karan Balkar, Correspondent (Technology) Sony has now made an official announcement regarding the upgrade roll map for its devices running the Android platform. Google recently unveiled Android 4.4 (codename ‘KitKat’) to be shipped with the Google Nexus 5, which will slowly move onto other popular devices. Sony, on the other hand, has announced that these updates will be made available to a list of Xperia devices. Although no specific time frame has been mentioned, one […]
Miles McCormack, Editor (Technology) A disappointing week for the tech industry mostly buffeted by negative news, including more bad news for Elon Musk’s Tesla as an industrial accident injures three workers. Here’s the week in Tech. Snapchat offered $3bn in surprise buyout: The Wall Street Journal this week published a story claiming Facebook recently attempted to publish the fledgling firm for the staggering sum of $3BN US. Considering Snapchat makes next to no […]
Miles McCormack, Editor (Technology) No huge news from another week in technology, but Twitter’s successful launch on the New York Stock Exchange shows that Social Media is here to stay a little while longer. Blackberry cancels public sale, appoints new CEO. The ailing Blackberry, formerly RIM, announced this week that it’s planned sale would no longer go ahead. Instead the company has let go of CEO Thorstein Heins and appointed John Chen as interim […]
Anissa Katti, Correspondent (Technology) Being a student itself comes with a handful of worries including rent, bills and university work… all without the added hassle of taking a semester or year abroad to study. At first, the exciting prospect of studying abroad for a semester, being on a placement, receiving an internship, or perhaps even taking a deferral year may turn into yet another source of stress. Students often decide to sign contracts to […]
David Snowdon, Correspondent (Science) Cancer researchers constantly have to grapple with the difficulty of targeting just the affected area without disrupting surrounding tissues and subsequently inflicting nasty side-effects on the patient. Recent research has found a new way to combat this problem; drugs that move stealthily through the body and are only activated in the immediate region – they literally sneak up on the tumour. Antibodies are proteins that are used by the immune […]
