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Uber loses another operating licence in the UK (updated)
Uber's UK troubles continue to mount. The company's operating licence has been suspended in Sheffield following what it calls "an administrative error." In early October, Uber told the council that its licence would need to be updated because the person named on the document was leaving the company. The council refused, however, and said it would need to submit a new licence application. "The legislation does not allow for the transfer of an operator's licence," a council spokesperson said. Uber went along and filed for a new permit on October 16th, which is still being processed.
Uber starts getting serious in the UK
Uber is finally making its move to become an ubiquitous transport service in Britain. For months, the company has been slowly growing with launches in major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle. We've been waiting for the floodgates to open, and it seems that moment has now arrived: last week, the company expanded into Bristol and Sheffield, as well as the smaller towns of Maidenhead, Slough and Windsor. Uber still has plenty of cities left to cover -- it's currently hiring in Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow -- but it marks the start of a larger push to become a widely known and accessible service in the UK. Uber's competition is limited to Hailo, Kabbee and a smattering of smaller startups in Britain, so this is the perfect time for it to cement a market-leading position. Increasing its reach and popularity could also work in its favour as it battles the courts and disgruntled taxi drivers.
Breaking: chicken came before the (chicken) egg
Don't ask us why British researchers are spending their time trying to solve the age-old "who came first" conundrum, but apparently solve it they have done. Lab dwellers from the universities of Sheffield and Warwick share the distinction of identifying the particular effects of a particular protein -- ovocleidin-17, found only in chickens' ovaries -- on the development of the egg's shell. It would seem that without OC-17 converting calcium carbonate into calcite crystals, one couldn't have an eggshell, meaning that the chicken and its special protein powers had to have developed first. How the world's going to react to having one of its favorite clichés wrestled away has yet to be determined. Update: Seems like we didn't make it clear enough that these findings relate specifically to chicken eggs. We're well aware that dragons dinosaurs have plenty of prior art on chickens when it comes to laying shelled embryo chambers.
