British | Common News Update

Jun142022 by adminNo Comments

Huge plan to map the DNA of all life in British Isles

Science

Tony JolliffeSeventy thousand species.That’s the best guess for the tally of life, including plants, animals and fungi, found in Britain and Ireland.And it’s the target of one of biology's most ambitious projects - scientists want to map the DNA of every single one of these organisms. Having these genomes - each a complete set of genetic information for a species - could transform how we understand the natural world. And there could be benefits for us too in the hunt for nature-inspired medicines and materials.In Plymouth, the starting point for this immense task is some thick, sticky mud.Sediment scooped up from the bottom of the Plymouth Sound has been hoisted onto the deck of the research vessel that belongs to the Marine Biological Association.It's placed in a sieve and hosed off, rev...

Mar192021 by adminNo Comments

British Airways and Mirror publisher become latest to signal home working switch

Business

British Airways and the newspaper group behind the Daily Mirror have become the latest big companies to signal a major switch to working from home.BA said it was considering selling its headquarters near Heathrow because the shift means it may not need so much office space. Reach, the company behind the national Mirror and Express newspapers as well as more than 100 regional titles, said three-quarters of staff would now be entirely or mainly home-based. Image: Many firms have been forced to switch to home working during the pandemic Highly-regarded titles in places such as Leicester will no longer have their own offices.BA and Reach are the latest major employers who have decided to make permanent, at least in part, some of the chang...

Feb202021 by adminNo Comments

Rocks: Drama starring schoolgirls wins British Independent Film Awards

Entertainment

Altitude FilmsA film that cast unknown east London schoolgirls in most of its main roles has been honoured with five prizes at the British Independent Film Awards.Rocks won best British independent film, and one of its stars, Kosar Ali, 17, was named both best supporting actress and most promising newcomer.Rocks got glowing reviews when it came out last year and is now on Netflix.Its other winners included D'Angelou Osei Kissiedu, who was just seven when he played little brother Emmanuel.He was named best supporting actor, with a seven-decade age gap between him and the winner of the best actor award - Sir Anthony Hopkins, 83, who was recognised for playing a man struggling with dementia in The Father.Altitude FilmsTo find the young stars of Rocks, director Sarah Gavron and casting directo...

Jan102021 by adminNo Comments

Gene editing of British produce could hamper exports to the EU

Technology

The body representing food and drink manufacturing in the UK warns there could be "barriers" to exporting English farmed foods if gene editing is allowed. The government has launched a consultation on whether to green light the process, which it says could allow farmers to grow crops that perform better and reduce impact on the environment. The process is highly restricted in the EU, after the European Court of Justice ruled in 2018 that gene editing must come under the same strict rules as genetic modification.The Food and Drinks Federation (FDF) has welcomed the consultation - but told Sky News if gene editing is allowed in England, it could create hurdles for farmers exporting goods to the EU.Helen Munday, chief scientific officer of the FDF, said: "We feel positive there are some ...

Dec182020 by adminNo Comments

PM woos British ‘unicorns’ in race for London listings

Business

The bosses of some of Britain's best-known technology companies have been courted by Boris Johnson as they contemplate public flotations that would make them collectively worth tens of billions of pounds.Sky News has learnt that the prime minister held talks on Friday afternoon with executives from businesses including Deliveroo and Revolut, the digital banking and payments group, as part of a charm offensive aimed at persuading them to list their shares on the London Stock Exchange. Sources said the meeting was also attended by Darktrace, the cybersecurity company, and Trustpilot, the online reviews platform - both of which have hired investment banks to organise initial public offerings next year.Oxford Nanopore, the biotech group, and Transferwise, the fast-growing fintech, are understo...