Technology

Five planets will be visible in the sky tonight as they line up near the moon. Stargazers will have the opportunity to spot Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars on the horizon. The planets will be visible in the west from around half an hour after sunset, according to Jake Foster, an astronomer at the

Microchip pioneer and Intel Corp co-founder Gordon Moore has died at the age of 94. Co-creator of the American tech company Intel in 1968, Moore was one of the engineers to put “Intel Inside” processors in more than 80% of the world’s personal computers. The company announced on Friday that he had died surrounded by

Britain’s competition watchdog has provisionally dropped concerns that Microsoft’s proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard would damage the UK console gaming market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month warned the £56.7bn deal could result in higher prices, fewer choices or less innovation for UK gamers. However, it said its latest findings have now indicated

Many verified Twitter users are set to lose their blue ticks at the beginning of next month. The social media platform has said that on 1 April it will start removing its “legacy” verified checkmarks. These cover most blue-tick accounts that are not government officials or organisations – meaning many musicians, actors, journalists, authors, among

TikTok’s chief executive has sought to reassure US Congress that the Chinese-owned video app is not “an agent” of Beijing and poses no risk to national security. Shou Zi Chew faced hours of tough questioning by deputies in the House of Representatives convinced that the popular app is a “tool” of the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok will be blocked from parliament’s devices and network in the latest ban imposed on the Chinese-owned social media app. The commissions of the House of Commons and House of Lords have announced they will follow the move taken by the government on official devices, citing the need for cyber security. A parliament spokesman said

A new technique to select a baby’s sex appears to be safe and about 80% effective, a study suggests. Researchers used a technique to separate sperm on whether they had an X chromosome (making female offspring) or a Y one (male offspring). Sperm with an X chromosome are slightly heavier than those with a Y,

Women may face an increased breast cancer risk from taking any kind of hormonal contraceptive, a new study has found. Scientists say using progestogen-only hormonal contraceptives, including the oral ‘mini pill’, implant, injectable and intra-uterine device, is associated with a 20%-30% higher chance of developing the disease. Earlier research found that taking the combined contraceptive

A drug-resistant and potentially deadly fungus is spreading rapidly through US health facilities, according to a government study. Researchers from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the fungus, a type of yeast called Candida auris or C. auris, can cause severe illness in people with weakened immune systems. The number of people

Virgin Orbit has begun drawing up detailed contingency plans for its insolvency days after halting its operations and furloughing its workforce. Sky News has learnt that the commercial space satellite venture founded by Sir Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group is working with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) and Ducera, two restructuring firms, on fallback plans in the

In a controversial move, the United Nations chief is today calling on polluting developed countries like the UK to “fast forward” net zero targets by a decade to 2040, warning the “climate time bomb is ticking”. It comes as the most comprehensive review yet of the state of climate change delivers a bleak picture of

Scientists hoping to bury nuclear waste deep underground have vowed that plans will not go ahead without local support. Highly radioactive material equivalent in size to 6,500 double-decker buses is currently stored above ground at 20 sites around the UK. Some silos are beginning to deteriorate with age. Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), a government agency,

Giving babies smooth peanut butter between the age of 4 and 6 months could cause peanut allergies to plummet, scientists say.  Researchers found there was a clear “window of opportunity” to expose babies to peanuts and reduce the risk of them developing an allergy. It needs to be done by the time they are six

Rolls-Royce has received funding to build a nuclear reactor for a base on the moon. It might sound like the setup of a James Bond film, but is in fact part of a very real-world project that aims to see humans living and working on the lunar surface. The UK Space Agency has given Rolls-Royce

In the interests of “good cyber hygiene”, said minister Oliver Dowden, the UK government has now decided to ban TikTok from government devices. It should come as no real surprise. The US and the European Commission have already instituted similar bans of the Chinese social media app. Some cybersecurity analysts have suggested TikTok works harder

A new spacesuit designed for astronauts hoping to land on the moon has been demonstrated in Texas. NASA awarded Axiom Space, a company based in Houston, a $228.5m contract to provide the outfits for the first moon landing in more than 50 years. The space agency is targeting late 2025 at the earliest to land