Dating apps, booze and clubbing - Jane Austen's Emma comes into the 21st Century And your pushy best friend is trying to sort out your love life. It's Jane Austen's Emma, but not as you know it. For the uninitiated, the 1815 novel follows the charmed life of our protagonist in Regency England as she busies herself interfering in her friends' relationships (or matchmaking, depending on your point of view). In Ava Pickett's fresh adaptation, being staged at London's Rose Theatre, Emma Woodhouse still has all the trademark traits of our beloved original heroine - she's clever, quick-witted, meddling, haughty and occasionally cruel. But instead of navigating society balls and dowries, Pickett's modern Emma is poking her nose into her friends' online dating profiles, having returned home after failing her exams at Oxford University.

A former Reform UK MP is under investigation over alleged racial abuse against a Sky News journalist. James McMurdock, who represents South Basildon and East Thurrock in Essex, is accused of starting a chain of posts on X that spelled out a racial slur on 4 August. He appeared to deny making the post, saying his accuser, Huntingdon MP Ben Obese-Jecty, had nothing better to do. The Parliamentary standards commissioner is due to rule if he breached the House of Commons code of conduct. It was investigating a potential violation of rule 11, defined as actions causing significant damage to the reputation to the House of Commons or its MPs.

ChatGPT has revealed some scathing stereotypes of UK residents in a merciless study of what clichés exist in every county. The cutting-edge bot labeled Yorkshiremen as'rude' while Londoners were slammed for their arrogance in the nationwide analysis. The truly insulting results came after MailOnline asked ChatGPT to expose what'negative stereotypes' exist of people from our nation. While the bot insisted that it did not condone stereotypes, it offered a list of those associated with each place when prompted. On the whole, residents of the UK were deemed to have bad teeth while being overly polite and obsessed with the Royal Family.

A cutting-edge AI invention will be disclosed to technology giants, with the potential to increase smartphone battery life by 30% and save countless kilowatts on energy bills. The ground-breaking work produced by the University of Essex has been incorporated into an app called EOptomizer, which will be exhibited to specialist researchers and designers, as well as major manufacturing businesses like as Nokia and Huawei. It is envisaged that the EOptomizer app would be used throughout the industry and help reduce carbon emissions by extending the life of consumer goods. It will do this by utilizing software to greatly increase the efficiency and dependability of batteries in phones, tablets, automobiles, smart fridges, and laptops, thus postponing the time when customers will need to purchase carbon-footprint-producing replacements. Developed by former Samsung, Microsoft, and HCL Technologies employees, the software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize chip performance, heat generation, and efficiency.

Scientists have created an algorithm that can accurately diagnose people with Covid-19 just by the sound of their cough. DeepCough, created by experts from the University of Essex, was built using 8,380 clinically-validated audio samples of people coughing. The samples were taken from hospitals in Spain and Mexico since April last year –2,339 who tested positive and 6,041 who tested negative for Covid-19. The researchers say the algorithm was able to detect with 98 per cent accuracy whether or not the samples were from people infected. Their algorithm would underpin an app that could herald a quicker, cheaper and less invasive way of preliminary testing for the virus, according to the experts. The two leading tests for detecting Covid-19 – antigen detection and PCR – involve swabs of bodily fluid, but the app could be rolled out for iOS and Android and potentially provide a way for people to self-diagnose.

Supported by a host of East Anglian based businesses and universities, this virtual event is exploring the possibilities for applied'Artificial Intelligence' Facebook, Google, and BT are just some of the leading technology companies set to share their knowledge and insights at the newly launched AI Festival, on 24 and 25 February 2021. Created by Suffolk based Orbital Global and BT, this virtual event is a unique initiative that will explore the implications for business, skills, and employment in relation to what could be the defining technology of the 21st Century. Taking place online at www.aiglobalfestival.com and accessible globally, the ticketed, two-day event brings together a range of sector specialists to share their experiences and forecasts for the future in a series of inspirational keynote talks, workshops, 'fireside chats', and technology demonstrations. This includes former NASA scientist, Peter Scott, who worked for the space agency's famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speaking about the future of AI and technology, Professor Paul Hunter from University of East Anglia will share what the pandemic tells us about future AI and digital based approaches to health, and Daniela Rus from MIT will provide an overview of AI robotic automation and the opportunities this offers the average business. The line-up includes many other world leading representatives from organisations such as PwC, Silicon Valley Bank, Alan Turing Institute, MIT, IQ Capital, Innovate UK, Orbital Global, VirtTuri, Wilkin and Sons Tiptree, University of Essex, and University of Suffolk.

My brother-in-law Don Hunter, who has died aged 93, was a physicist who worked on some of the first electronic computers in the Rutherford Laboratory at Cambridge University and later helped set up one of the first major computer software companies in the UK. Don worked as a research assistant in the maths department of the Rutherford Laboratory from 1949 until 1952. There he was involved in pioneering work on the electronic delay storage automatic calculator (Edsac 1) computer. In 1955 he took up a research post at the Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (STL) in Harlow, Essex, where he was part of the design team for a computer called Step 1. Later, in a collaboration between STL and a Dutch subsidiary, he was involved in the development of Zebra, another early computer. During this time, Don worked in Paris, New York and Italy; he spoke fluent French and Italian.

An NHS drone is being used to courier Covid-19 samples, blood tests and personal protective equipment between hospitals in England. It is hoped that the trials, backed by a £1.3m grant from the UK Space Agency, can establish a network of air corridors for electric drones to navigate using GPS. The remote-controlled drone, which will be piloted by an ex-military fast jet or helicopter instructor, will initially fly between Essex's Broomfield hospital, Basildon hospital and the Pathology First laboratory in Basildon. The project is the idea of Apian, a healthcare drone startup founded by Christopher Law and Hammad Jeilani. "Covid-19 has highlighted challenges in NHS supply chain logistics," said Law.

The project is being funded by the UK Government's Global Challenges Research Fund at Essex, which supports cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by developing countries. Dr Javier Andreu-Perez, from Essex's Centre for Computational Intelligence, Smart Health Technologies Group, is working on the project with colleagues from the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) and the University Hospital of the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP) in Mexico. Strokes are the third highest cause of death in Mexico and among the top causes of disability both in Mexico and the world. Whilst exact figures are not known, it is estimated there are about 200,000 new cases in Mexico per year. After an injury, the brain readjusts its connections and activity so that, despite being damaged, it can keep doing mostly the same functions.

The remains of a rare 19th Century dock built for Charles Darwin's ship HMS Beagle has been recognised as a site of national importance. The submerged mud berth on the River Roach in Rochford, Essex, will now be protected against unauthorised change. The ship, launched in 1820, allowed Darwin to make observations that led to his theory of natural selection. "We are glad to see this site in a quiet corner of Essex given national protection," said Historic England. "This is a fascinating example of a rare piece of maritime history."