Tech News Update

British scientists are close to a ‘potential cure’ for most breast cancer cases. They have developed a way to stop tumours growing and spreading, which could save millions of lives every year. Researchers say the new technique could be used to produce a drug to tackle the disease in as little as two years. Breast cancer kills 12,000 British women every year, more than a quarter of those diagnosed with it. Scientists have previously focused on how to prevent tumours from forming, but the new research has found key molecules called microRNAs which the cancer manipulates to spread around the body. Breast cancer cells ’switch off’ these molecules, allowing the cancer to spread unchecked to other parts of the body. This spread is responsible for 90 per cent of deaths from breast cancer and the team which made the breakthrough is working on a drug to stop this fatal process. One of the scientists, Dr Justin Stebbing, senior lecturer and consultant medical oncologist at Imperial College, London, said: ‘This is a potential cure for breast cancer.

British scientists are close to a ‘potential cure’ for most breast cancer cases. They have developed a way to stop tumours growing and spreading, which could save millions of lives every year. Researchers say the new technique could be used to produce a drug to tackle the disease in as little as two years. Breast cancer kills 12,000 British women every year, more than a quarter of those diagnosed with it. Scientists have previously focused on how to prevent tumours from forming, but the new research has found key molecules called microRNAs which the cancer manipulates to spread around the body. Breast cancer cells ’switch off’ these molecules, allowing the cancer to spread unchecked to other parts of the body. This spread is responsible for 90 per cent of deaths from breast cancer and the team which made the breakthrough is working on a drug to stop this fatal process. One of the scientists, Dr Justin Stebbing, senior lecturer and consultant medical oncologist at Imperial College, London, said: ‘This is a potential cure for breast cancer.

Digital multi-tasking could be bad for the brain, scientists say. A study showed that those who browse the internet while texting friends and listening to music do worse in simple mental tests. They are more easily distracted and, ironically, find it harder to switch between tasks than people who concentrate on one thing at a time, the researchers say.Those who browse the internet while texting friends and listening to music do worse in simple mental tests, a study found The findings add to evidence that ‘ digital overload’ is interfering with the way people think and behave. Some neuroscientists argue that the brain is geared to handle one thing at a time.

Internet users who illegally download films and music will have their broadband connection cut off under Government proposals due to be announced today. The decision means internet users who share copyrighted materials with others will get warning letters, before having their connection stopped if they persist. Government departments are taking over the power to deal with these offenders from the current regulators, Ofcom.Those illegally downloading films and music will receive warning letters, and then have their internet cut off under new Government proposalsThis approach was originally ruled out by the Government in its own Digital Britain report released in June, in which it labelled the move as a step too far. The decision will reignite speculation that Lord Mandelson made a secret deal with Hollywood mogul David Geffen earlier this month on the protection of the film and music industries. The Business Secretary met with Mr Geffen, a co-founder of the Dreamworks production company, at Nat Rothschild’s villa in Corfu. Following this, he ordered civil servants at the Department of Business , Innovation and Skills to toughen up the proposals on illegal file-sharers. The Government’s draft plan states: ‘The previous proposals, whilst robust, would take an unacceptable amount of time to complete in a situation that calls for urgent action.’ The then communications minister Lord Carter said in June that illegal downloaders should be sent warning letters and then considered for prosecution if they persist. He said if that measure failed to reduce digital piracy by 70 per cent, Ofcom could then approach telecoms company BT to apply ‘technical measures’ to reduce connection speeds. But today the Government will propose much stricter rules halfway through its consultation on Digital Britain, it was reported in the Guardian. Illegal file-sharers will still get warning letters, but if they continue to swap copyrighted material they could have their internet connection cut off temporarily. A similar law in France, which threatened persistent offenders with disconnection for a year, was kicked out by its highest court as being ‘unconstitutional’. Illegal downloaders could claim the British law is a breach of the Human Rights Act. Last night, a Department for Business spokesman denied that Mr Mandelson spoke to Mr Geffen about online piracy, and said there was no connection between that meeting and the Government’s proposals.

Everyone knows that too much fat makes us fat. But it seems more of the right kind could make you thinner – and that fat is brown fat. This is one of the two types of fat found in the body. There is the more familiar white stuff, which sits under the skin on your tummy and thighs and is the result of eating too much. Then there is brown fat – and its job is to generate heat.

It might look like alien technology but this aircraft is no UFO. It’s an Odysseus solar-powered aircraft that aims to be able to stay in the air for over five years continuously.It has a Z-wing configuration that spans almost 500ft (150 metres) so that the aircraft’s shape can be adjusted when in sunlight to absorb as much solar power as possible.Then when it is in darkness, it flies flat in a straight line for aerodynamic efficiency with the energy collected stored in onboard batteries used to drive the aircraft’s electric motors.Shape-shifter: The Z-wing configuration allows the aircraft to absorb solar power when in sunlightThe aircraft is designed to fly at altitudes of 60,000-90,000ft so it could be used for surveillance, communications and environmental monitoring such as climate change research.US company Aurora Flight Sciences have developed the unmanned aircraft under a programme called ‘Vulture’ with the support of BAE Systems, CS Draper Laboratory, and the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Now they have revealed the design of the aircraft, they will next create a half-size example and then a full-scale prototype within five years.Flat out: When in darkness, the aircraft flies in a straight line to conserve power

One of more than 100 cattle on Bill Niman’s California property, home of an ongoing experiment in sustainable ranching.Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won’t bite one another.