What happened
Thousands of British people’s confidential medical data was available for purchase on Chinese websites after a large-scale data breach. The UK Biobank holds more than 15 million “de-identified” biological samples from half a million volunteers. It told the government that of the three listings it had discovered last week, at least one appeared to be selling participation data from all of the volunteers.

Who said what
The independent charity appeared to have had “extremely lax” security arrangements, government sources told The Times.

“This was not a leak,” said Science Minister Ian Murray. “This was a legitimate download by a legitimately accredited organisation.”

The data did not contain participants’ names, addresses or contact details, but it did have gender, age and date of birth, as well as socioeconomic status and lifestyle habits. Murray said the government had worked with Biobank, the Chinese government and e-commerce platform Alibaba to have the listings removed. Biobank does not believe there were any purchases made from the three listings.

“We apologise to our participants for the concern this will cause,” said UK Biobank chief executive Rory Collins in a statement.

What next?
UK Biobank has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The government has asked it to pause further access to its data until it can prevent it from being downloaded.

What happened
The BBC has blown the final whistle on its iconic “Football Focus” TV programme.

The show, “once a fixture of football fans’ weekend schedule”, according to The Times, will be dropped at the end of the season. “Football Focus” has been axed as “changing audience behaviours mean fans are now increasingly consuming football content in different ways”, said the BBC.

Who said what
In an age before social media and instant video highlights, “it was essential viewing”, said The Telegraph, with the programme “featuring exclusive interviews with players and managers before the weekend’s action began”.

The “Football Focus” formula is one “that has stood in place since 1974, when Bob Wilson became the first host of the show, providing a then-rare mix of on-camera interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from inside the game”, said The Guardian. But that approach “is now ubiquitous online”, where in many eyes “the more impassioned and partisan voices of former professionals and fan influencers” have superseded the BBC.

What next?
The broadcaster has confirmed that “Football Focus” presenter Alex Scott (pictured above), a former England international, will still feature in the BBC’s football coverage beyond the end of this season.

Companies want to fly you to the Moon and let you stay among the stars. Four startups are developing and launching commercial space stations in prime locations like the planet’s orbit, the Moon and maybe even Mars.

Galactic Resource Utilization Space wants to go beyond the Earth’s orbit. It plans to run its first mission in 2029 and operate a lunar hotel in 2032, according to its website. The startup hopes to “engineer the infrastructure required to harness resources and sustain on new worlds, ultimately creating a self-sufficient industrial autonomy on the Moon, Mars and beyond”, said a company white paper.

Those “interested in a berth” just have to “plunk down a deposit of between $250,000 and $1 million, qualifying them for a spot on one of its early lunar surface missions in as little as six years”, said news site Ars Technica. The hotel’s clientele is “expected to be participants of previous commercial space flights and rich, adventurous newlyweds looking for an out-of-this-world honeymoon experience”, said Space.com.

The “shift from public to private space stations, a first in human history, brings with it new opportunities for reimagining what life in orbit will look like”, according to Scientific American. But as of now, “even with all the best intentions, there are some aspects of living in a confined space in orbit that ... can’t be made plush”.

“Maintaining a comfortable, clean atmosphere, much less a five-star experience, on a functioning spaceship will present all kinds of hurdles,” added Scientific American. “I’m skeptical,” Jeff Nosanov, a former NASA proposal manager, told the outlet. The “challenges of keeping a space station functional are very underappreciated”.