A real flying saucer could soon deliver us to Mars, thanks to Nasa April 2, 2015 Flying saucers could soon jump from the realms of science fiction to reality, thanks to an invention by Nasa's jet propulsion laboratory. With its inflatable heat shield and circular shape, the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) looks just like something you might see in Star Trek, except it is real and could one day take us [...]
Airbnb Cuba: Now you can book a rental in Havana for the first time after lifting of 50-year trade embargo April 2, 2015 Airbnb is the latest company to benefit from the end of a 50-year trade embargo between Cuba and the US. The San Francisco rental startup, which is valued at $10bn, has added Cuban rental properties to its website for the first time. It will add more than 1,000 properties across the Caribbean island to its [...]
EE offers free phone charging on the go with portable power bars April 2, 2015 EE is keeping smartphone addicts sweet with a new scheme that offers free phone charging. Putting an end to one of the biggest scourges of modern-life – limited battery life – and the panic felt by anyone whose mobile flashes the five per cent warning, the mobile network will rolling out its new EE Power service [...]
Investment in London’s tech startups hit record levels of $682m in 2015 April 2, 2015 Investment in London’s technology sector has hit a record high, once again proving the city’s attractiveness to investors as firms in the capital gained more than half-a-billion dollars in backing in 2015. In the first quarter of the year, in which established tech startups such as World Remit, Transferwise and Shazam received multi-million pound funding [...]
Novartis accused of losing money for the NHS by blocking competitor drug trial April 2, 2015 Novartis has come under fire for trying to derail trials of an eye treatment drug that would save money for the NHS – an allegation the pharmaceutical company denies. Avastin, officially a cancer drug, is highly effective at treating wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that affects around 26,00 people in the UK each [...]
HP’s claims against Autonomy management and Mike Lynch just made us even more confused: Here’s who’s suing who April 1, 2015 After years of HP and the former management of Autonomy merrily hurling various threats at one another, yesterday HP finally made the first move, filing a lawsuit in the High Court alleging "fraudulent activity" by former Autonomy executives Mike Lynch and Sushovan Hussain. The move came after nearly three years of to-ing and fro-ing between [...]
Iran nuclear talks: What’s Iran doing to make everyone think it’s trying to build a weapon? April 1, 2015 Today, world leaders are hoping to finally come to an agreement over Iran's nuclear programme. Representatives for the UK, US, China, Russia and Germany have met with Iran in Lausanne, Switzerland, to try and persuade it to curb its nuclear enrichment programme in return for an easing of economic sanctions. Iran has been accused [...]
When it’s April Fools’ Day, science has no limit: Here are the most ridiculous discoveries ever made up April 1, 2015 Who said scientists don't have a sense of humour? Here are some of the most ridiculous April Fools' Day discoveries ever made up in the field of science. The Loch Ness monster really does exist – but it's now dead In 1972, a team of eight scientists from Yorkshire's Flamingo Park Zoo made a finding [...]
April Fools’ Day 2015: Google Maps lets you play Pacman on London streets April 1, 2015 Google has brought some classic '80s arcade fun to the streets of London for April Fools' Day. Anyone using Google Maps to navigate their way to a meeting might want to add some extra time to the journey – there are some ghosts to avoid on London’s most famous streets with this new maps option. [...]
RBS sees better-than-expected price for its Aldgate office block March 31, 2015 Bids for one of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s office buildings in Aldgate have entered a second round, with the taxpayer-owned lender set to gain a better-than-expected payout. The bank appointed advisory firm DTZ at the end of last year to sell Aldgate Union on Whitechapel High Street, with a guide price of around £85m. [...]