New US seed ban risks driving cannabis genetics underground, growers warn

For the first time since 2018, the sale of cannabis seeds in the US will be restricted due to a last-minute provision in the spending bill that ended the government shutdown last month – a move that experts say will kill the market in this country.Cannabis seed companies have enjoyed comparatively relaxed regulatory standards for the past several years because seeds themselves contain a negligible amount of THC, the compound that makes cannabis federally illegal.Sergio Martínez, chief executive officer and founder of Spain-based Blimburn Seeds, said that the 2018 farm bill eased restrictions on seeds by defining hemp as any product containing less than 0.3% delta 9 THC.“This definition was reinforced in 2022 when the DEA formally clarified that cannabis seeds meeting this threshold are legally considered hemp and therefore are not controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, even if the plants grown from them may exceed the THC limit,” Martínez said

Gen Z office survival guide: how to overcome telephobia and get up early

If you are a millennial, part of gen X or a boomer, you probably do not give a second thought to picking up the phone to talk to someone or chit-chatting beside the office water cooler. But for gen Z, those common workplace moments are a huge source of anxiety.According to a study released this week, early mornings, working with older colleagues and making small talk are just some of the things employees born between 1997 and 2012 dread.The study, commissioned by Trinity College London, surveyed more than 1,500 people aged between 16 and 29 across the UK. It found that 38% of young people dread having to make small talk in the workplace

London councils have a ‘sustained reliance’ on private firms as report shows £500m spend

The scale of the reliance of London councils on private consultancy and outsourcing firms is laid bare in a report that shows the local authorities paid them more than half a billion pounds last year.The report by the Autonomy Institute and the CADA Network has prompted warnings that councils have a “sustained reliance” on such companies to carry out basic functions.The spiralling sums paid to these firms, which hit £555m in 2024 alone, have grown significantly since 2010 after cuts to council budgets in the capital and across the country. In London, councils saw their funding from central government cut by a third after 2010, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, while payments to the firms have exceeded £500m in consecutive years since 2022.The companies provide a wide range of services that can include leasing out software and IT systems to councils, bringing in temporary workers to cover understaffed or underfunded services or providing advice to council officials on various things including budgets and planning decisions

What is polygenic embryo screening in IVF and does it work?

The Guardian has learned that couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ. But what is polygenic screening and does it work?Fertility treatments are strictly regulated, with tests performed on embryos legally restricted to a list of serious health conditions. These include about 1,700 single-gene disorders, including Huntington’s, cystic fibrosis and sickle-cell disease. Clinics can also test for aneuploidy – when an embryo has extra or missing chromosomes – which lowers the chance of a successful pregnancy or can lead to genetic conditions. Polygenic screening, or PGT-P, which aims to give predictive scores for health, height, IQ and other traits is not permitted

UK IVF couples use legal loophole to rank embryos based on potential IQ, height and health

Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA, is not permitted at UK fertility clinics and critics have raised scientific and ethical objections, saying the method is unproven. But under data protection laws, patients can – and in some cases have – demanded their embryos’ raw genetic data and sent it abroad for analysis in an effort to have smarter, healthier children.Dr Cristina Hickman, a senior embryologist and founder of Avenues fertility clinic in London, said rapid advances in embryo screening techniques and the recent launch of several US companies offering so-called polygenic screening had left clinics facing “legal and ethical confusion”.“This opens a whole can of worms,” said Hickman, who raised the issue in a letter last month to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)

AI deepfakes of real doctors spreading health misinformation on social media

TikTok and other social media platforms are hosting AI-generated deepfake videos of doctors whose words have been manipulated to help sell supplements and spread health misinformation.The factchecking organisation Full Fact has uncovered hundreds of such videos featuring impersonated versions of doctors and influencers directing viewers to Wellness Nest, a US-based supplements firm.All the deepfakes involve real footage of a health expert taken from the internet. However, the pictures and audio have been reworked so that the speakers are encouraging women going through menopause to buy products such as probiotics and Himalayan shilajit from the company’s website.The revelations have prompted calls for social media giants to be much more careful about hosting AI-generated content and quicker to remove content that distorts prominent people’s views