Science and Tech

NatWest Group has blocked messaging services WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype on company devices in the UK to stop staff using them to communicate with each other. The bank had already told employees to stick to “approved channels” for conversations about business matters. But now it has gone further and made the platforms inaccessible on work phones and computers. So-called …

Reuters Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has helped push the price of Bitcoin to a series of record highs. Backers of the digital currency are celebrating, and wondering how much more valuable it could become – with some suggesting it could reach $100,000 per coin. Its price is rocketing because the president-elect has vowed to make the …

The struggling genetic testing company 23andMe says it will cut 40% of its workforce, or 200 jobs, as it fights for survival. The once-popular DNA-testing site will also halt work on therapies it was developing. Last year, the company said hackers had managed to gain access to personal information of millions of its users. 23andMe’s share price has fallen by …

Simon Duffy Getting good advice on making your house more energy efficient is not easy says Simon Duffy When Simon Duffy gets another energy bill, his heart sinks. “It’s madly expensive,” he says. Mr Duffy lives in a traditional stone-walled detached house in Sheffield. He estimates that he spends £3,100 every year on heating and electricity. Despite being someone who …

The price of bitcoin has risen above $80,000 (£62,000) for the first time ever, after Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the US election last week. It comes as the Republicans are edging closer to overall control of Congress after having already secured the presidency and a majority in the Senate. On the campaign trail the president-elect pledged to make the …

Getty Images Social media moderators check for distressing or illegal photos and videos which they then remove Over the past few months the BBC has been exploring a dark, hidden world – a world where the very worst, most horrifying, distressing, and in many cases, illegal online content ends up. Beheadings, mass killings, child abuse, hate speech – all of …

A portrait of mathematician Alan Turing is thought to be the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction – fetching $1,084,800 (£836,667). One of the most advanced robots in the world, Ai-Da, a pioneering humanoid artist, also set a new record in the art world with the sale of “A.I. God”, at Sotheby’s Digital Art Sale. …

Kate Lake Kate Lake wants answers about what happened to her money and data A DNA-testing firm appears to have ceased trading – without telling its customers what has happened to the highly sensitive data they shared with it. Atlas Biomed, which has offices in London, offered to provide insights into people’s genetic make up as well as their predisposition …

Zoe Corbyn Fifty of these giant driverless trucks work in the Greater Nammuldi iron ore mine It doesn’t get much more remote than this. I’m in inland Western Australia, at Rio Tinto’s Greater Nammuldi iron ore mine. It’s about a two-hour flight north from Perth in a region called the Pilbara. No-one lives permanently here. Around 400 workers are on …

Roblox is introducing new safety features for children under the age of 13, following criticism of how it protects younger users. The free online gaming platform, which has around 70 million daily users worldwide, allows players to create their own games and play those made by others. It is particularly popular with children – but some have complained they have …