Technology

Hackney Council says it has been hit by a “serious cyber attack”, which is affecting many of its services and IT systems. The council says it is working with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Ministry of Housing to investigate and understand the impact of the incident. It is not yet clear

Receiving an unexpected knock on the front door in the early hours of the morning does not usually bring good news – but it is how one man found out he had won a Nobel Prize.  Economist Paul Milgrom won the prize for economics alongside his colleague Robert Wilson for their work benefitting sellers, buyers

The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on surfaces including mobile phones and banknotes for up to four weeks, according to new research. Australia’s national science agency CSIRO found that Sars-CoV-2 was “extremely robust” at 20C (68F), or room temperature. The study also found that the virus survived longer at lower temperatures. Live updates on

A tuberculosis (TB) vaccine given to more than 100 million babies each year could help adults fight coronavirus, health experts have said, after trials showed it stimulates the immune system. Some 10,000 people in the UK will be recruited to investigate whether the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine could help people battle coronavirus until more effective

Facebook was responsible for 94% of the 69 million child sex abuse images reported by US technology companies last year. The figures emerged as seven countries, including the UK, published a statement on Sunday warning of the impact of end-to-end encryption on public safety online. Facebook has previously announced plans to fully encrypt communications in

Pakistan has banned the TikTok app for failing to filter out “immoral and indecent” content, regulators have said. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said the ban was due to “complaints from different segments of the society against immoral and indecent content on the video-sharing application”. TikTok reportedly has 20 million monthly active users in the

A widely-circulated open letter calling on governments to pursue herd immunity is counting homeopaths, therapists and fake names among its “medical” signatories, leading to accusations that it falsely represents scientific support for the controversial position. The Great Barrington Declaration, a letter organised by prominent advocates of herd immunity, claims to have been signed by more

More people are being born without wisdom teeth and an extra artery in their arm as a result of a human “microevolution” in recent years, a study has found. Babies now have shorter faces, smaller jaws and extra bones in their legs and feet, a study in the Journal of Anatomy found. Australian researchers who

More than 600 reports of romance scams per month were made to Action Fraud during June, July and August, with criminals exploiting victims’ desire for human contact during the lockdown. Police forces and other organisations are running a campaign throughout October to raise awareness of romance fraud, following a 26% increase in reports to Action

Parliament’s Defence Committee says there is “clear evidence of collusion” between Huawei and the Chinese state in a new report on 5G security. It cites claims which have previously been made about Huawei’s ownership model and receipt of state subsidies, but does not include new evidence. In response a Huawei spokesperson said: “This report lacks

Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier and Professor Jennifer Doudna have won the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work developing a method for genome editing. The award takes the number of women who have ever won the Nobel Prize in chemistry from five to seven. Both scientists will equally share 10 million Swedish kronor (£866,000) for

Apple has announced a special event on 13 October at which it is expected to launch the iPhone 12 and a handful of other products. The company unveiled a range of new products including Apple Watches and iPads in its September event last month, but for the first time in years it did not released

Facebook is banning all QAnon conspiracy theory groups after classifying them as dangerous due to a surge of online misinformation. QAnon – a far-right conspiracy theory – alleges that President Donald Trump is a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and government officials. No part of the theory is based on

A British scientist has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics. Sir Roger Penrose, alongside German Reinhard Genzel and American Andrea Ghez, won the prize for discoveries relating to black holes. One half of the 10 million Swedish kronor prize (£866,000) has been given to Sir Roger, and the other half is jointly shared

A Briton is among three scientists who have been co-awarded a Nobel prize for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Michael Houghton, along with Americans Harvey Alter and Charles Rice, will receive a gold medal and prize money of $1.1m (£780,000) for their work which identified the virus in 1989. The discovery was “a

Dozens of animal species that are in regular contact with humans could be vulnerable to infection with the strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, according to new research. Domestic cats and dogs could be affected, as could mink, lions, and tigers – all of which have had reported cases – and ferrets and macaques, which