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.
Google Impact Challenge winners include vision-restoring glasses
Late yesterday afternoon, Google awarded £3.2m to charitable projects around the UK in the finals of its Google Impact Challenge. The competition was designed to find charitable projects that could potentially change the world using technology. The submissions process began in May and entries were then whittled down to 10 finalists, with three winners chosen…
Scientists finally understand self-destructing protein
Finding out what was happening with an elusive protein in the human body that self-destructs after just a few hours had for years seemed like an impossible mission. But researchers from the University of Southern Denmark and Aarhus University worked together to study its behaviour and think that at last they understand what it’s up…
Nanosupplements could increase our iron levels
Forget broccoli, scientists have developed a new nanosupplement that should allow us to take in extra iron with zero side effects. We need good levels of the mineral in our blood so that we can make haemoglobin, which transports oxygen around the body. But anaemia is a common problem, particularly for women, especially when we’re…
A new dissolving fabric could prevent HIV
Well, this is a bit clever. Bioengineers have developed a new form of HIV protection for women that comes in the form of a dissolving fabric. A team from the University of Washington created the material by dissolving a polymer and mixing it with maraviroc, an antiretroviral drug currently prescribed for patients with HIV. They…
Smart home systems aren’t secure, says study
A future where our homes are connected to our smartphones, and all our appliances are hooked up to the internet of things, sounds exciting– think of the time you’ll save when your fridge can order its own groceries, or you can switch off your lights and put on the burglar alarm with a single swipe.…
Colour-changing ice cream is now a reality
After hearing about glow-in-the-dark ice cream, breast milk ice cream, crocodile egg ice cream and of course, Viagra ice cream, I didn't think there were any more ways for frozen milk to surprise us. Of course, I was wrong. A Spanish scientist has now invented colour-changing ice cream. As PSFK reports, Manuel Linares, a physicist…
Other people’s brainwaves can predict what we want to watch
Scientists have known for a long time that certain areas of our brains light up when we’re enjoying what we’re watching. But researchers from the City College of New York and Georgia Tech wanted to find out if they could use the reactions of a small group of people to predict how millions more would…
Vocca makes lightbulbs voice-activated
Some inventions brighten your day. The team behind Vocca hopes they can make that literal. They've developed an adapter that gives you the ability to turn a lightbulb on or off simply by shouting at it. (I guess you could speak softly, but I like my inanimate objects obedient, thank you very much.) Their basic…
Could tiny robot propellers replace medication?
Who needs medication, or surgeries, or much of anything really when we could soon have tiny robot propellors running through our veins? It might sound like science fiction (or that old Dennis Quaid movie I was always too squeamish to watch), but it’s real. Scientists from the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, the Max Planck Institute…
Self-driving cars coming to UK roads in 2015
The FBI might think they’re a menace, but the UK government doesn’t want to hear from naysayers and spoilsports: they’ve given the go-ahead for driverless cars on public roads by 2015. (Am I the only one whose mind immediately went to David Hasselhoff? Oh, I am? OK.) Keen to encourage investment cash innovation, business secretary…
