Science and Tech

The environmental campaigners fighting against data centres

The environmental campaigners fighting against data centres

Julie Bolthouse Julie Bolthouse is opposing new data centre planning applications in Northern Virginia Environmental campaigner Julie Bolthouse points out that Northern Virginia has the world’s largest concentration of data centres. This is not something she is thrilled about. “We’re the Wall Street of the data centre industry,” says Ms Bolthouse, who is a director of local Virginian charity and …

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DNA-testing site 23andMe fights for survival

DNA-testing site 23andMe fights for survival

Getty Images Three years ago, the DNA-testing firm 23andMe was a massive success, with a share price higher than Apple’s. But, from those heady days of millions of people rushing to send it saliva samples in return for detailed reports about their ancestry, family connections and genetic make-up, it now finds itself fighting for its survival. Its share price has …

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Will the real inventor of Bitcoin please stand up?

Will the real inventor of Bitcoin please stand up?

BBC Stephen Mollah is latest person to claim to be the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin Bitcoin underpins a two trillion-dollar cryptocurrency industry, is now traded by the world’s biggest investment houses and is even an official currency in one country. But despite its meteoric rise, a deep mystery remains at its heart: what is the true identity of its founder, …

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MrBeast: Lawyers find grooming claims against YouTube co-host baseless

MrBeast: Lawyers find grooming claims against YouTube co-host baseless

Lawyers hired by MrBeast to investigate claims that his former co-host groomed a teenager have concluded that the allegations were “without basis”, the star YouTuber has said. Ava Kris Tyson stopped working with MrBeast in July after other YouTubers accused her of sending inappropriate messages to a minor, reportedly then 13, when she was 20. At the time, Tyson apologised …

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Snapchat most-used app for online grooming, says NSPCC

Snapchat most-used app for online grooming, says NSPCC

Getty Images The messaging app Snapchat is the most widely-used platform for online grooming, according to police figures supplied to the children’s charity the NSPCC. More than 7,000 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded across the UK in the year to March 2024 – the highest number since the offence was created. Snapchat made up nearly half of …

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The house paints that promise much more than colour

The house paints that promise much more than colour

Juan Botero Juan Botero and his Halloween front door The door of Juan Botero’s apartment in Houston, Texas is made of wood – with a classy, walnut-like finish. But, for Halloween, he planned an eye-catching change. “I’m going to paint my door orange,” Mr Botero, founder and chief executive of Colombia-based Glasst, told the BBC last month. And he has …

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Russia fines Google more than entire world’s GDP

Russia fines Google more than entire world's GDP

A Russian court has fined Google two undecillion roubles – a two followed by 36 zeroes – for restricting Russian state media channels on YouTube. In dollar terms that means the tech giant has been told to pay $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Despite being one of the world’s wealthiest companies, that is considerably more than the $2 trillion Google is worth. In fact, …

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China’s BYD overtakes Tesla revenue for first time

China's BYD overtakes Tesla revenue for first time

The Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has seen its quarterly revenues soar, beating Tesla’s for the first time. It posted more than 200bn yuan ($28.2bn, £21.8bn) in revenues between July and September. This is a 24% jump from the same period last year, and more than Elon Musk’s company whose quarterly revenue was $25.2bn. However, Tesla still sold more electric …

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‘Sickening’ Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey chatbots found online

'Sickening' Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey chatbots found online

Chatbot versions of the teenagers Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey have been found on Character.ai – a platform which allows users to create digital versions of people. Molly Russell took her life at the age of 14 after viewing suicide material online while Brianna Ghey, 16, was murdered by two teenagers in 2023. The foundation set up in Molly Russell’s …

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How X users earn thousands from US election misinformation and AI images

How X users earn thousands from US election misinformation and AI images

BBC Some users on X who spend their days sharing content that includes election misinformation, AI-generated images and unfounded conspiracy theories say they are being paid “thousands of dollars” by the social media site. The BBC identified networks of dozens of accounts that re-share each other’s content multiple times a day – including a mix of true, unfounded, false and …

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