Author: BBC

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 more than 70% this year, as its co-founder and chief executive Anne Wojcicki tries to turn the business around.The company said it expected to incur one-off costs of $12m (£9.3m), including severance pay, for the plan that will result in savings of $35m.”We…

The NHS will start offering an “improved” stop smoking pill to tens of thousands of people in England who want to quit cigarettes. Varenicline, a daily tablet given over a few months, is as effective as vapes and more effective than nicotine replacement gum or patches, NHS England says. The drug, which fights cravings, was available a few years ago on the NHS under the brand name Champix but was withdrawn due to some impurities. The new version has been approved as safe. E-cigarettes, meanwhile, will “sometimes” be offered, often as a starter kit of about two weeks’ worth of…

The Kremlin has denied media reports that US President-elect Donald Trump held a call with Vladimir Putin, in which he is said to have warned the Russian president against escalating the war in Ukraine.The call, which was first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, is said to have happened on Thursday. Trump is also reported to have mentioned America’s extensive military presence in Europe to Putin.A Kremlin spokesperson said the reports were “pure fiction”, while Trump’s team told the BBC that it would not comment on the president-elect’s “private calls”.Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung told the BBC: “We do…

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Chris McCausland has told the BBC that people’s views of disabilities are “antiquated”.Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said his participation on the show is “extreme” but hopes it will “go some way in stretching people’s ideas of what is possible for a person with disabilities”.He added: “I think there are low expectations of people with disabilities – sometimes you’ll come down a set of steps into a taxi and people say ‘wow, how did you do that?'” During McCausland’s dance on Saturday, he placed his hands over partner Dianne Buswell’s eyes as the…

BBCSmart meters enable people to monitor their electricity and gas useThe way smart energy meters work in northern England and Scotland is causing issues for customers, BBC Panorama has been told.The body that represents energy companies, Energy UK, has confirmed for the first time there is a regional divide – because of the way meters send usage data back to suppliers. The technology used in the north of Great Britain can affect whether smart meters work properly – and could leave customers having to submit manual readings and receiving estimated bills.The issues have also been confirmed by meter engineers 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 US “the crypto capital of the planet”.The value of world’s biggest cryptocurrency has now risen by more than 80% this year.Other cryptocurrencies, including dogecoin – which has been promoted by high-profile Trump supporter Elon Musk – are also making gains.In the run-up…

People in clinically at-risk groups are being urged to get their free Covid-19 and flu vaccinations this winter.NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said only 27% of those eligible for the Covid vaccine, and 35% of those eligible for a flu vaccine in the two areas – plus Royston, in Hertfordshire – had come forward.More than 68,000 people had yet to have their Covid vaccination and more than 74,000 people had not taken up the offer of protection against flu.Cali Makewell, vaccination lead for the local service said: “It’s very important to get these vaccines as you are at an increased risk…

Channel 4Buket Komur plays Kelly in zombie drama Generation ZAn actress who received a big break working alongside household names in a new TV drama has confessed she did not recognise them when filming first started.Buket Komur appears in the Channel 4 Zombie drama Generation Z with Robert Lindsay and Anita Dobson, two of Britain’s best-known TV faces.But Komur, a University of East Anglia (UEA) graduate from Hertfordshire, said she grew up watching Turkish TV shows so had not seen them in their famous roles.”I got to have a chill and very personal introduction to them, working with them first-hand,”…

Top pub and restaurant bosses have warned the chancellor that tax rises in last month’s Budget will “unquestionably” cause closures and job losses.In a letter, more than 200 signatories have said the hospitality industry is disproportionately impacted by an “unsustainable” hike in the amount employers pay in National Insurance Contributions (NICs).It adds that businesses have “no capacity to pass the costs onto customers”, which would instead lead to job cuts and closures of smaller firms.Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that her National Insurance changes for businesses will generate £25bn, which would aid funding of public services, such as the NHS.From…

Kate LakeKate Lake wants answers about what happened to her money and dataA 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 to certain illnesses.However, users are no longer able to access their personalised reports online and the company has not responded to the BBC’s requests for comment.Customers of the firm describe the situation as “very alarming” and say they want answers about what has…