Albert Einstein’s toy blocks have been made available for 3D printing in an attempt to make children’s play more imaginative. The collection of 160 small coloured stone blocks are thought to have helped to develop his understanding of complex structures. The Real Play Coalition, comprising Unilever, the Lego Foundation and Ikea, has scanned the set, allowing people to download and recreate them. Jesper Brodin, chief executive of the Ikea Group, said: “Play is a serious business and is fundamental for learning, development and creativity.” The coalition told Davos last week that 61 per cent of children said that they did not know how to play without electronic technology.
England aims to be first country to wipe out hepatitis C
The NHS is working towards England becoming the first country to eradicate hepatitis C. Health leaders have called for the pharmaceutical industry to work with them to provide more treatment options so that the health service can eliminate the disease at least five years before the World Health Organisation’s goal of 2030. A round of drugs procurement beginning in February will be the largest carried out by the NHS, and as a result, NHS England expects to have more treatments available to cure more patients by October. Part of the new agreements between NHS England and drug companies will involve them working together to identify more people who have hepatitis C. Experts say that this approach, combined with a sustained level of investment from the NHS and new treatments, could wipe out the disease. Hepatitis C, which is spread by blood-to-blood contact and mainly affects the liver, kills 1.3 million people around the world each year, making it as much of a health concern as HIV, TB and malaria. It affects 160,000 people in England. Graham Foster, England’s national clinical chairman for hepatitis C, said: “The progress made in the treatment has transformed the lives of many of my patients and has been made possible by NHS England working closely with industry to bring prices down and expand treatment options. Yet we have the opportunity to do so much more.”
Bus driver who found Cambridge student’s body ‘lied’
The Egyptian minibus driver said to have found the body of a murdered Cambridge research student near Cairo lied to police about the discovery, it was claimed. The mutilated body of Giulio Regeni was found on a roadside on the outskirts of Cairo on February 3, 2016. He had been researching Egypt’s independent trade unions, a sensitive topic for the military regime. L’Espresso, an Italian news magazine, said that the driver, who said he saw the body after having a puncture, had repeatedly changed his story. His account was peppered with contradictions and he could not show the point of his discovery on a map. The magazine said an Egyptian source claimed the driver was stopped by people transporting the body, who said they were police and forced him to give an agreed story. It also said that Mr Regeni’s room-mate let security services search his room and made calls to a number that was then used to call the security headquarters.
Royal Mint’s coin error turns £1 into a thousand
A new pound coin that was misstruck by the Royal Mint is expected to make more than £1,000 for the shopper who spotted it in his change. It is yellow all over rather than the bi-metallic design used since 2016 and is being sold by Timeline Auctions of Essex on February 21. Chris Wren, the head of coins, said: “You do get the odd misstrike . . . but this is the only one of its kind that is known of.”