Science

Microsoft’s bid to take over TikTok’s US operations has been rejected by Chinese owner ByteDance putting Oracle in pole position for a deal with the popular video sharing app. The move comes a week before Donald Trump’s threatened ban on the app – claiming national security risks – is due to come into force. Mr

Professor Sir Martin Hairer from Imperial College London has been awarded $3m (£2.3m) from Mark Zuckerberg’s science foundation for developing equations related to stirring a cup of tea. Professor Hairer, who is a dual British-Austrian national, won the 2021 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. The 44-year-old will receive his money and a trophy at a live

Celebrity video game streamer Ninja has returned to Twitch, the platform owned by Amazon, little more than a year after his high-profile move to Microsoft’s rival service Mixer. Ninja, also known as Tyler Blevins, had signed an exclusivity deal with Mixer last year after amassing more than 14.5 million followers on Twitch – but Microsoft

Huawei has announced six new products – two laptops, two watches, and two earbud devices – although questions about its ability to continue to source US computer chips loomed over the launch. American restrictions on Huawei, stated to be based on security grounds, will prohibit US technology companies from providing components such as computer chips

Staff at Newcastle University are warning the institution is “completely crippled” and said they have “no idea how we are going to welcome students in three weeks’ time” due to the double impact of the coronavirus pandemic and a cyber attack. For new starters, term is due to begin on 28 September with continuing students

Apple is set to announce new gadgets on 15 September, but there are rumours the next-generation iPhone will be kept back until October. Here’s what to expect – and what not to expect. Image: Tim Cook will reportedly not unveil new iPhones until October Due to the coronavirus, the event is being held online –

An online gaming firm co-owned by David Beckham has announced plans to raise £20m in a London stock market listing. Guild Esports, of which the former England and Manchester United footballer is a founding shareholder, will become the first franchise of its kind on the London Stock Exchange if its placing plans go ahead this

Huawei is making 20 of the roles within its UK enterprise business group redundant following a business review conducted to keep the company running despite US sanctions. American restrictions on Huawei, stated to be based on security grounds, will prohibit US technology companies from providing components such as computer chips to the company. The impact

Mutant mice sent to the International Space Station (ISS) on a SpaceX rocket returned to Earth maintaining their significant muscle mass thanks to an experimental drug, scientists have revealed. The research offers hope for astronauts who usually lose a significant amount of bone and muscle mass while in zero-gravity environments, as well as people on

Britons could soon see their Amazon parcels delivered by a small self-driven vehicle.  The online giant is hiring a team of engineers to develop its Amazon Scout vehicles for use in the UK following the growth in online shopping. The Scout rolls along the pavement at walking pace before delivering to a customer’s door. It

Researchers monitoring woodpeckers using radio tags have made the startling discovery that the birds are going to war with each other. According to direct observations and, crucially, data collated from these radio tags, the birds fight battles which last for days at a time over new territory, with individual engagements sometimes lasting for ten hours.

The tests used to find out if someone is COVID positive could be finding traces of the virus that are no longer active, some scientists are saying. A study by members of the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-based Medicine (CEBM) and the University of the West of England found that there was a risk

The discovery of at least 200 mammoth skeletons near Mexico City may help explain why the species became extinct, archaeologists have said. The elephant-like beast, which had tusks and, in some cases, a covering of long hair, lived from about five million years ago before disappearing in the last 4,000 years. Experts have been discovering

The mayor of London has called on the government to publish data on the effectiveness of its new contact tracing app, saying he is “frustrated” by the “lack of information”. Speaking to Sky News in Newham, where the app is currently being trialled, Sadiq Khan said neither he nor officials at the London borough were

Scientists have discovered rust on the moon and say oxygen from Earth is partially responsible. The finding comes after analysis of data from the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter. Light reflecting off surfaces at both poles was found to have the spectral signature for the mineral hematite – more commonly known as rust. Hematite,

Scientists have test-fired a new rocket booster intended to fly American astronauts back to the moon in 2024. Known as the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), it fired for two minutes while secured to the ground as engineers from NASA and Northrop Grumman watched on in Utah. The booster is the largest solid propellant rocket ever