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Britain’s plans to create advanced devices based on the mind-bending physics of the quantum world have received a £100m boost, in a move ministers hope will have a transformative impact on healthcare, transport and national security.

Peter Kyle, the science secretary has announced funds to establish five quantum technology hubs across England and Scotland. They will work with industry and government to develop and commercialise devices and ultimately drive a new economy.

“We are at the foothills of where quantum technology is going to take us and that provides a huge opportunity for British science and British research and development,” Kyle told the Guardian from Glasgow before Friday’s announcement. “If we get this right, we can become global leaders, which means not just solving challenges domestically and creating opportunities domestically, but being able to fully exploit the global market as well.”

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The hubs, based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Oxford and London, will aim to build the next generation of devices, from brain-scanner helmets and gravity sensors that detect underground pipes to quantum-enhanced blood tests that catch diseases early, and global positioning and precision-timing services that do not rely on GPS.

In one project, scientists at UCL are fine-tuning the quantum properties of atomic defects in diamond nanoparticles to develop ultra-sensitive blood tests. The technology allows scientists to draw a blood sample and detect minuscule amounts of proteins or DNA by making them flash like the beam from a lighthouse.

“A whole new generation of quantum sensors is beginning to appear and our hub is going to harness those to transform early diagnosis and treatment, where it has applications across cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and infectious diseases,” said Prof John Morton at UCL. “We’re really excited about translating these weird and wonderful quantum sensors into practical applications that patients will benefit from.”

At the University of Birmingham, scientists are exploiting a quantum effect known as superposition to build gravity sensors that detect underground infrastructure. Such sensors could alert utilities companies to gas and water mains where they plan to dig, or help them find their own pipes to repair.

“Rather than lots of digging to find things – and lots of holes are dug in the wrong place – we can in principle find the infrastructure quicker,” said Prof Michael Holynski at Birmingham university. “We have already detected tunnels and pipes with the sensor we have in the hub. What we want to do in the next phase is make it something that can move quickly, and more accurately inspect the underground.”

Scientists have discovered that the serrated edges of Komodo dragons’ teeth are tipped with iron.

Led by researchers from King’s College London, the study gives new insight into how Komodo dragons keep their teeth razor-sharp and may provide clues to how dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex killed and ate their prey.

Native to Indonesia, Komodo dragons are the largest living species of monitor lizard, averaging around 80kg. Deadly predators, Komodos have sharp, curved teeth similar to many carnivorous dinosaurs. They eat almost any kind of meat, from smaller reptiles and birds to deer, horses, or water buffalo, pulling and tearing at their prey to rip flesh apart.

The researchers discovered that many reptiles have some iron in their teeth, but Komodo dragons have concentrated the iron along the cutting edges and tips of their teeth, staining them orange. Crocodiles and other monitor lizards, by comparison, have so little that the iron is often invisible.

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Through advanced imaging and chemical analysis, the team was able to observe that the iron in Komodo dragons’ enamel is concentrated into a thin coating on top of their tooth serrations and tips. This protective layer keeps the serrated edges of their teeth sharp and ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

The research, published on July 24 in Nature Ecology & Evolution, leads to new questions and avenues for research into how extinct species such as dinosaurs lived and ate.

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“Unfortunately, using the technology we have at the moment, we can’t see whether fossilized dinosaur teeth had high levels of iron or not. We think that the chemical changes that take place during the fossilization process obscure how much iron was present to start with.

“What we did find, though, was that larger meat-eating dinosaurs, like tyrannosaurs, did change the structure of the enamel itself on the cutting edges of their teeth. So, while Komodo dragons have altered the chemistry of their teeth, some dinosaurs altered the structure of their dental enamel to maintain a sharp cutting edge.

“With further analysis of the Komodo teeth, we may be able to find other markers in the iron coating that aren’t changed during fossilization. With markers like that, we would know with certainty whether dinosaurs also had iron-coated teeth and have a greater understanding of these ferocious predators.”

Doctors in India recently carried out an unusual surgery to remove a 40cm bottle gourd from a farmer’s rectum.

According to India TV, the patient arrived at Chhatarpur District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh from Khajuraho on Saturday (20 July).

The 60-year-old was in critical condition, suffering from intense stomach pain.

An X-ray revealed the entire bottle gourd lodged inside the farmer’s rectum, causing significant internal damage

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One of the surgeons involved in the operation revealed that the patient declined to disclose how the gourd came to be lodged in his rectum.

Doctors suspect that a mental health issue might be behind this bizarre incident, though they haven’t ruled out the possibility of an accident.

It was about a year ago when someone first covered Ann Arbor’s Graffiti Alley with “Farts,” repeatedly spray-painting the word hundreds of times over.

While it amused some alley visitors who couldn’t help but chuckle at the silliness of it, others saw it as defacing a beloved exhibit of street art and hurting the alley.

The phenomenon, unlike anything Graffiti Alley has seen in decades, continues to generate mixed reactions and online chatter, including one Reddit thread dubbing it “Farts Wars.”

Some say “Farts” is art, while others say it stinks.

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While the debate rages, the identity of the artist behind “Farts” remains somewhat of a mystery, but those who’ve met him say he’s a local, middle-aged dad named Ryan.

“I met him and I shook his hand because I was like, oh my gosh, you’re the famous farts guy,” Colin Spry, who considers himself Graffiti Alley’s unofficial tour guide, said of his first encounter with the “Farts” artist.

“He’s probably in his late 40s, he’s got salt-and-pepper hair and a shaved face, like a 5 o’clock shadow,” said Spry, who regularly hangs out in Graffiti Alley and tells visitors about the artwork.

A shoplifting bird dubbed "Steven Seagull" has been banned from a convenience store for flying off with packets of crisps over a six-year stealing spree.

Staff at the Lyndale Central store in Wyke Regis, Dorset, have put up posters urging customers to "close the door" behind them in a bid to stop Steven.

The manager of the store, Stuart Harmer, said the crafty seagull had made off with about 30 packets of crisps in the past two months alone.

He said: "Trying to explain to the powers that be that I've got stock loss because of a seagull - they think its a joke."

Mr Harmer said Steven "comes in the shop when the doors open, puts his head around the corner of the door, nicks a packet of crisps and flies off with it".

According to Mr Harmer, Steven is particularly fond of BBQ beef flavoured crisps.

How could the UK government’s new digital policy affect the Fediverse? As one of the Fediverse’s leading UK based projects, we thought we’d take a look.

Data on the Fediverse shows that the network is primarily a North American and European project, with a healthy Japanese annex. On server count the UK languishes below Finland and Russia with just 44 servers, compared to 754 in France.

Political instability in France and the recent EU elections will probably matter more to the Fediverse than the ones in the UK. The Netherlands is leading state interest in the Fediverse and funding for many projects comes ultimately from Horizon Europe, Europe’s massive state backed R&D fund.

But, a new, stable government in the UK may create opportunities for change as priorities are reassessed, as opposed to the continuities and chaos in Europe.

The Labour Party’s policy is structured around five core missions that cut across government departments. This means technology & digital policy emerges in support of the missions, rather than as an end in itself.

With massive economic and social issues facing the new government, it is unsurprisingly light on specific tech policy. “AI” is mentioned a few times as an opportunity, but “social media” just once and “internet” is completely absent.

Pulling the threads together, here’s what it means in practice:

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Taken together, the government vibe is a mix of optimism for the economic potential of the tech sector but an awareness of the negative impacts it can bring if unrestrained.

The mission frameworks indicate a holistically minded approach to government, rather than a set of policy silos. Other priorities such as tackling violence against women & girls, which has a high profile champion in the Home Office, cyber security and democratic reform could end up having big impacts on the shape of cyberspace in the UK.

This moment of change offers a new opportunity. The Fediverse could find an open ear if it can tap into the new government’s more sceptical view of Big Tech and social media, and present itself as a possible alternative. Getting into the conversation early and initiating dialogue about the open social web as the Regulatory Innovation Office is being built ought to be a key objective of public advocacy in the UK.

The Indian government killed him on paper and that's how a criminal was born. As dramatic as it may sound, it turned out to be the reality in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. As per reports, a death certificate was issued for Baburam Bhil from Mithora village in Balotra district though he was still alive. He reportedly left no stone unturned to get the error corrected, but to no avail.

He was desperate to get the government's attention, and that's how the idea of becoming a criminal crept into his mind.

On July 19, he took a knife and a petrol bottle and decided to terrorise a local school.

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Upon being interrogated, Bhil made a shocking revelation.

He said his death certificate had been issued, and so he feared that his property would soon be confiscated by the government.

Bhil wanted to give proof of his being alive and thus committed the crime so that he gets booked and the entry of his arrest in police records proves that he is alive.

The police are still conducting an investigation into his claims.

Notably, such reports are not uncommon in India.

In November last year, a 70-year-old man was seen roaming in Agra with a placard reading 'I'm alive' after his death certificate was issued.

“Now is not the time for blame”, the Conservative activist and journalist Annunziata Rees-Mogg suggested to her colleagues at the start of the ‘Popular Conservatism’ conference on Tuesday.

It was not a suggestion which any of them seemed willing to countenance.

Instead, over the course of more than three hours, a series of unelected and recently de-elected Conservative politicians revealed a long list people and institutions they blamed for the fact that their own brand of ‘Popular Conservatism’ had inexplicably proved to be quite so unpopular.

For the former Conservative minister and current peer, Lord Frost, the answer was quite simple. His party had been compromised by radical leftists pushing a “flabby mishmash of sub-socialist ideas”.

“On virtually every issue we have followed the collectivist Zeitgeist leftwards”, Frost told the room.

His former colleague and surviving Conservative MP Suella Braverman wholeheartedly agreed, insisting via video link from another hard right political conference in Washington, that her party had made the fatal error of trying to “mimic the Labour party”, while refusing to ever mention real Conservative ideals.

“We didn’t mention immigration,” said Braverman, who had mentioned next to nothing else during her time as Home Secretary.”

“We didn’t want to talk about it, we didn’t want to look at it.”

Later, an audience member suggested that this leftist infiltration had extended right into the heart of the Conservative party’s own campaigning machine, warning that Lib Dem sleeper agents must now be expelled from the party’s headquarters.

Both 4K and blu-ray releases see quite an uptick this week. Not going to see it as a scorcher, but it's definitely a hot week.

Welcome to Volume 5 Episode 8 of our weekly release guide. A look at the highlights of what's coming to disc the week of July 21st - July 27th, as well as a look at announcements from last week.

Many Torontonians are appalled after learning that some residents at a St. James Town apartment building were throwing feces at electrical contractors working to restore power to some units.

A letter about the incident was sent to residents at 77 Howard St. last week and was shared on Reddit. According to the building’s management company, Wellesley-Parliament Square (WPSQ), electrical contractors were there to restore power to some units following last Tuesday’s historic rain storm.

“Dear residents, it has come to our attention that a small group of residents are repeatedly interfering, threatening, and/or harassing members of the electrical contracting team,” the letter reads.

“Reports of unacceptable behaviour include throwing human waste from upper-level balconies at workers below, aggressive language, and/or hostile interactions. These actions are disrupting efforts to repair the building and will only serve to prolong the restoration effort,” it continued.

WPSQ adds that the professionals have been working around the clock since Tuesday to restore the power.

“It makes no sense why anyone would want to interfere with this work, cause additional delays contribute to an already challenging situation. We firmly believe that…most residents will be shocked to learn this behaviour is occurring. Nevertheless…we want it to stop,” the letter said.

Today, anti-piracy group FACT announced that it has successfully completed yet another sweep. In collaboration with rightsholders, including Sky, the group helped police to identity various ‘sellers’ of so-called pirate streaming devices.

The targets reportedly offered ‘fully loaded’ smart TV devices or Firesticks, which can be used in combination with pirate IPTV subscriptions.

FACT mentions that 40 illegal ‘IPTV operators’ were served with official warnings. They were either notified via mail by FACT and police, or visited at their home, where a cease-and-desist notice was delivered personally.

The term ‘IPTV operator’ isn’t explained in detail but since the 40 seemingly got off with a warning, it’s unlikely that they played a central part in the broader IPTV piracy ecosystem.

These interventions took place across the UK, including in London, South East England, West Midlands, North West, North East, North Wales and Scotland. According to FACT, it’s part of a larger campaign that aims to disrupt piracy operations.

In addition to the warnings, police also executed three warrants, resulting in three arrests and house searches. All three suspects have since been released, but investigations remain ongoing.

The number of people mainly using cash for day-to-day spending hit a four year high during the cost of living crisis, research suggests.

Some 1.5 million adults mainly used cash in 2023 - marking the first rise since 2019, according to UK Finance.

UK Finance's head of research Adrian Buckle said: "This is likely to be a reflection of the use of cash to manage a limited budget."

But the data from the banking trade body also showed the majority of young people paid for things using smartphones or watches.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of 18 to 24-year-olds regularly used their digital wallets to make contactless payments.

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There has been a steady decline in payments using cash over the last decade, particularly as consumers turn to contactless cards for everyday purchases.

A slight rise in 2022 was attributed to the impact of sharply rising prices, squeezed finances and closely-watched budgets.

Cash use dropped again last year to 12% of all payments, according to UK Finance, and 22 million consumers were primarily cashless.

However, the research suggests 1.5 million mainly used cash in 2023, up from 900,000 the previous year, reflecting the ongoing impact of the cost of living on those with limited incomes.