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Tech & Science Daily spoke to Andrew Parfery, program manager at the University of Edinburgh’s Venture Builder Incubator, about the new device, which could mean an end to “unpleasant” smear tests.
Graduate student Sangiana Foia’s company, Papcup, has joined the 2023 cohort of the VBI programme, an incubator that helps doctoral students and researchers across the UK develop business ideas and grow start-ups.
The PapCup is a test that women can collect at home using a small swab of blood that is analysed for signs of cancer-causing HPV.
Feuer is currently gauging interest in the system through a pre-order website, which will demonstrate to potential investors and the NHS that there is demand for the device.
NHS data reveals that currently around a third of women in the UK don’t get cervical cancer screening each year due to concerns such as pain, embarrassment, fear and body consciousness.
Vittorio Tantucci, a senior lecturer in linguistics at Lancaster University, explains research which shows that while Brits are increasingly imitating each other’s speech patterns, there are clear divisions between social classes.
This tendency to reuse words used by the person you’re speaking to is a phenomenon called resonance.
Resonance in a conversation is an important sign of social inclusion because it shows that the people involved are trying to make the other person feel heard. However, if resonance is not consistently observed during a conversation, it may indicate a lack of engagement.
And the rest
Are you ready for Wimbledon? Learn about all the new generative AI capabilities IBM is rolling out for the tournament.
Scientists have made rhino horns “radioactive” to combat poaching, and Apple has issued a “massive” warning to all 1.46 billion iPhone users, apparently about Google Chrome.
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Here’s an automated recording of today’s episode:
Hi, I’m Rochelle Travers and this is The Standard’s Tech and Science Daily podcast.
Next up is a new generative AI feature coming to Wimbledon: “Game, Set, Match.”
Ok, let’s get started.
A new device called the Pap Cup could mean the end of uncomfortable smear tests.
The company, called Papcup, emerged from the Venture Builder incubator.
The company was founded by someone named Sangiana Foia, who developed a non-invasive cervical cancer testing product that can be used at home.
Andrew Parfery is Programme Manager at the Venture Builders Incubator at the University of Edinburgh.
What the device actually does is take a swab sample of menstrual blood, analyze it with her device, and get a test result within 15 minutes.
So the days of having to go somewhere, have an invasive procedure, and then wait weeks to actually see results will be a thing of the past.
Graduate student Foia’s company, Papcup, has joined the 2023 cohort of the VBI programme, an incubator that helps doctoral students and researchers across the UK develop business ideas and grow start-ups.
Foia is currently gauging interest in the system through a website that accepts pre-orders.
This will enable her to demonstrate demand for the equipment to potential investors and the NHS.
NHS data reveals that currently around a third of women in the UK don’t get cervical cancer screening each year due to concerns such as pain, embarrassment, fear and body consciousness.
Sânziana is currently in full prototype stage, which will naturally be followed by clinical trials.
But now she is seeking investment from investors who can accelerate the next phase and bring it to market and make an impact.
Andrew says Papcup is a great example of how VBI can support the academic community and he hopes to see more people apply for the next cohort.
The overall idea of the programme is that it is designed for doctoral students, academic staff and researchers from universities across the UK.
What we’re really aiming to do is help them take their innovations, their ideas and their discoveries into the real world.
So we’re accepting applications until 15 July to support people who are specifically interested in innovation in health and social care.
Brits are now more likely to imitate each other’s speaking styles, a study has found.
We always imitate each other when we talk to each other.
We use similar gestures, have similar accents, and similar gazes and facial expressions.
And what’s most interesting is that we often reuse each other’s words and expressions in our interactions.
This is a feature of human communication and something we do all the time.
That’s Vittorio Tantucci, a senior lecturer in linguistics at Lancaster University and first author of the study.
This tendency to reuse words used by the person you’re speaking to is a phenomenon called resonance.
But what we find in this paper is that within certain segments of British society, this tendency – what we call resonance – has increased dramatically over a period of 20 years.
Vittorio says that over the past two decades, a clear and striking divide has developed in the way people of different classes interact with each other.
What we find is that people of higher social status, including those working in business, higher education, and adjacent fields, tend to reuse each other’s language and expressions very frequently.
People in the lower social classes, such as state pensioners and the lowest grade casual workers, seem to adopt a conversational style similar to that of the 1990s.
Resonance in a conversation is an important sign of social inclusion because it shows that the people involved want their opinions to be heard by the other person.
However, if it’s consistently absent during a conversation, it may indicate a lack of engagement.
We all know that class differences exist in British society and these measures are likely to widen these gaps even further.
If the language used among people working in a particular sector of British society tends to converge and is clearly different to the language used by people in other sectors, then people from different sectors may recognise this difference when they interact with each other.
The final countdown to Wimbledon has begun.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM are expanding their use of generative AI with some impressive new features ahead of this year’s championships.
This year we are introducing a brand new feature called “Catch Me Up.”
This is how fans will be able to see the storylines of their favorite players as the tournament progresses.
Kevin Farrar, Head of Sports Partnerships at IBM UK.
One of the key aspects and challenges in the work we’ve been doing at Wimbledon is making sure that the output from the generative AI is trustworthy.
Needless to say, the Wimbledon brand is very important to them and they need to strike the right balance between tradition and heritage, innovation and technology.
However, following a wave of criticism of the AI commentary last year, including from BBC pundits and former British number one Annabel Croft, Wimbledon confirmed it would not use it during the tournament.
All the action in tennis’ most prestigious tournament begins on Monday, July 1st.
Let’s go to advertising.
Next up, scientists explain why rhino horns are radioactive… and Apple takes aim at Google Chrome.
Welcome back.
Scientists are trying to radioactively rhino horns to prevent poaching.
A team of researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa has begun implanting tiny radioactive chips in animals’ horns.
They say the radioactive materials would render the horns useless and essentially poisonous for human consumption.
However, this dosage would not pose any danger to the rhinos themselves or the surrounding environment.
The animals do not feel any pain from the chip. A total of 20 rhinos are expected to take part in the pilot project.
In addition to radiation detectors installed at ports and airports, border patrol agents often carry portable radiation detectors.
And finally, Apple issued a massive warning to all 1.46 billion iPhone users that appears to be aimed at Google Chrome.
The tech giant claims that its Safari search app is in fact a privacy-protecting browser and has been promoting the app with billboards around the world.
Google Chrome wasn’t mentioned by name in the ad, but Alphabet revealed earlier this year that it collects data from everyone who uses Chrome.
It is also the most downloaded search browser for smartphones, beating Safari by more than 2 million downloads.
The billboards have been spotted in London, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Australia.
For the latest news and analysis, listen to The Standard podcast at 4pm.
Tech and Science Daily will resume on Monday at 1pm.
See you next time!
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