Author: Diane Shipley

Staff Writer Diane is especially interested in high-tech medical advances, weird and interesting uses of science, new gadgets, and the intersection of tech and lifestyle. When not working, she reads the internet, listens to podcasts, watches American TV, and thinks about leaving the house.

Don’t worry: Scientists have identified the brain’s stress ‘switch’

European researchers have discovered a protein that ‘switches on’ the stress response in our bodies. Scientists from the MedUni Vienna in Austria and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm worked together on a study which identified the role of secretagogin, a calcium-binding protein. This triggers the release of the hormone CRH, causing a snowball effect in…

The Nutshell pod gives you privacy at work (and makes you seem weird)

Now here’s what I call multi-tasking: not only does the Nutshell isolation pod give you time out when the world around you gets too much, but it also makes you look like a complete weirdo. (I’m guessing fans of the Ostrich pillow will be rushing to snap one up.) Designed by Eden Lew, a masters…

Tina Fey’s new show is coming to Netflix next spring

Not content with signing up the Queen (sort of), Netflix is also going into business with the Queen of comedy: Tina Fey. As Variety reports, the online streaming service has snapped up her new sitcom. Fey won’t actually appear in it, but she is writing and producing the show with Robert Carlock, who she worked…

Great news, cheaters! Ninety-six percent of your friends won’t tell on you

If you want to find out if your partner’s cheating, you’d better start rifling through his credit card receipts or work out the password to his phone quick smart, because you can be all but certain that his friends will never tell you. And the flip side is true, too: if you’re being unfaithful, your…

Hate your boss? Own up to it, researchers say

If you hate your boss, you shouldn’t fake it. It might sound like a risky strategy to be open about the fact that you can’t stand the person in control of your pay cheque, but according to a new study from Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business, it’s better to face up to it.…

Ten of the best #FeministHackerBarbie responses on Twitter

First, screenwriter, bestselling author and long-time blogger Pamela Ribon highlighted the fact that children's book 'Barbie: I Can Be a Computer Engineer' not only doesn't teach kids what engineering involves, but promotes the message that women need a couple of dudes to hand for even the simplest task. (Genuine line from the text: '"I’m only…

Brace yourself: Mail Online could be turned into a TV show

Good news for anyone who thinks the Mail Online's sidebar of shame would be a hundred times better if it involved a couple of randoms shouting about famous women’s sideboob and cellulite instead. Yep, not content with being the most popular online newspaper in the UK and having over 44 million uniques a month in…

A new biomarker discovery could help cats live longer

Scientists have developed a new way to identify chronic kidney disease in cats. Researchers from Oregon State University have found a biomarker called SDMA that allowed them to identify the signs of kidney disease an average of 17 months sooner than existing techniques. They trialled it with 32 healthy older cats, and found that spotting…

Social network gaming helps keep families close

You might think that those constant Facebook updates from family members about what they’re ‘planting’ in FarmVille are annoying, but you should probably pay them some attention. A new study has discovered that social network gaming is a great way for families to keep in touch. Colleagues Mia Consalvo and Kelly Boudreau from the Technoculture…