Thiel Gives $3 Million to Group Seeking to Block California Wealth Tax
More large donations from wealthy Silicon Valley figures are expected as they try to marshal opposition to a proposed ballot measure that would impose a new tax on billionaires.
FRIDAY, 30 JANUARY 2026, 21:30
More large donations from wealthy Silicon Valley figures are expected as they try to marshal opposition to a proposed ballot measure that would impose a new tax on billionaires.

Shots to prevent respiratory syncytial virus recommended only for high-risk babies even as experts hail jabs’ success
As US officials move to restrict vaccines, including the shots to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), more evidence is emerging to confirm how dramatically the jabs reduce hospitalizations.
Announced last week as part of new restrictions on one-third of all routine...

The Nobel prize winner discusses claims of a ‘boys’ club’, Elon Musk’s fellowship and rightwing attacks on science
Paul Nurse is a turn up for the books. A Nobel prize-winning geneticist, former director of the Francis Crick Institute and erstwhile head of Rockefeller University in the US, his CV marks him out as one of this generation’s most eminent scientific figures.
But his presidency of...

For those who have spent years trying to raise awareness, Wes Streeting’s intervention is ‘bittersweet’
When former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson announced her twins had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (SMA1), a rare genetic condition that causes muscle wastage, the news quickly made front page news.
The call for SMA to be added to newborn screening sprang to national attention...

Victoria Woodall claims she was retaliated against after reporting a manager who told clients stories about his swinger lifestyle.
He spent two decades hosting the PBS series, during the formative years of personal computing. It was seen in more than 300 cities at its peak.

Space agency said crew of four will leave ISS next week with goal of touching down in California on 15 January
Nasa has announced when it will commence its first medical evacuation from the International Space Station after an astronaut fell ill with a “serious” but undisclosed issue.
The US space agency announced on social media on Friday night that it will aim to have the crew leave the...

Experts and community trying to untangle mystery of outburst that saw water travel almost 10km overland into a bigger lake
Manoel Dixon had just finished dinner one night last May when a phone dinged nearby with a Facebook message.
Dixon, 26, was at his family’s hunting camp near their northern Quebec home town of Waswanipi. They knew the fellow hunter who was messaging Dixon’s father, but...

Ynys Môn (Anglesey): The wolf moon is spectacular enough, but look east and you’ll see a celestial titan the size of a pinprick
As unmissable as new year’s fireworks, the wolf moon held the heavens for the first few nights of January, casting an unearthly radiance over everything, night almost as bright as day. Now, as that moon wanes, prepare to be wowed by a true planetary A-lister:...
The German automaker’s sales in the United States plunged last year, hit by tariffs and the end of tax credits for electric vehicles.

It comes after government urged Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.

Technology editor Zoe Kleinman explains the row over changes made by X to it’s Grok AI image edits, after the UK government called it “insulting”.
Sergey Brin is joining his Google co-founder, Larry Page, in reducing ties to the state where they built their fortunes.
Eric and Wendy Schmidt are backing a start-up-like approach to building a giant space telescope and powerful ground observatories.

Results of research offer hope to older women – but it will be several years at least before technique is approved
Human eggs ‘rejuvenated’ in an advance that could boost IVF success rates
It is a rollercoaster of emotional extremes that will be familiar to many who have gone through IVF treatment: hope and joy turns to despair and back again. This is especially true for women over 35, the age...
Late Thursday, Mr. Musk’s chatbot, Grok, limited requests for A.I.-generated images on X to paid subscribers of the social media site amid an outcry from victims and regulators.
“This is a story about how a tool can be used to try to affect politics and in particular to minimize women, denigrate them and push them out of the conversation.”

We’ve already geoengineered the planet through the careless release of greenhouse gases. Now we need a plan to manage the risks we’ve set in motion
A few months ago, Marjorie Taylor Greene, then a Georgia representative, held a hearing on her bill to ban research on “geoengineering”, which refers to technological climate interventions, such as using reflective particles to reflect away...

Scientists at UCL say drug developers should focus on two risk-raising variants of the Apoe gene
New therapies for Alzheimer’s disease should target a particular gene linked to the condition, according to researchers who said most cases would never arise if its harmful effects were neutralised.
The call to action follows the arrival of the first wave of drugs that aim to treat Alzheimer’s...

Experts are urging guideline changes for doctors and nurses as surgical masks offer ‘inadequate protection against airborne pathogens’ such as Covid
Surgical face masks provide inadequate protection against flu-like illnesses including Covid, and should be replaced by respirator-level masks – worn every time doctors and nurses are face to face with a patient, according to a group of experts...

Exclusive: research suggests supplementing eggs with a key protein reduces age-related defects, raising hopes of improved IVF for older women
Scientists claim to have “rejuvenated” human eggs for the first time in an advance that they predict could revolutionise IVF success rates for older women.
The groundbreaking research suggests that an age-related defect that causes genetic errors in...