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Apr122020 by adminNo Comments

National coronavirus testing centre only conducting 1,500 tests a day

Technology

The national coronavirus testing centre is still only conducting 1,500 tests a day, more than two weeks after it was declared open, Sky News has learned.The figures come as leaked emails show how the government pursued a "command and control" testing strategy, rejecting offers of help from smaller laboratories as it scrambled to find equipment for its centralised "megalabs". The National Biosample Centre, in Milton Keynes, has been repurposed for swab testing for coronavirus on a mass scale - up to 25,000 tests a day as some estimates suggested - using machines requisitioned from laboratories across the country. Image: An NHS workers is swabbed at a drive-in test facility on the outskirts of Manchester The centre, which will be joined...

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau rules out conducting airstrikes in Syria

World

April 12 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that his country will not join the United States in conducting any future airstrikes on Syria.In an interview with Radio-Canada, Trudeau pointed out that Canada is already conducting military operations in Latvia and Iraq and has plans to deploy to Mali."We are not looking to be present in Syria," Trudeau said.Trudeau's statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trumpwarned of plans to increase air attacks on Syria after reports that Syrian President Bashar al Assad allegedly used chemical weapons on civilians."Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and 'smart!'," Trump said in a tweet. "You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing ...

Scientists design smart paper capable of detecting water, conducting electricity

Science

Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Scientists at the University of Washington have designed smart paper capable of sensing water and conducting electricity. The paper could be used to detect water leaks in city pipes.Even small leaks in a city's maze of pipes can prove costly. Left alone, the problem can get worse. And finding the leak can prove timely. The American Water Works Association estimate leaks cause 250,000 water line breaks every year, costing public water utilities an annual sum of $ 2.8 billion.Scientists hope their new smart paper can shrink those costs by making it easier to find and fix leaks.The paper can sense the presence of water and conduct an electric current to sound an alarm or trigger a light, alerting maintenance authorities to the presence of a leak."Water sensing is very challeng...