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.
Made.com launches Unboxed, a ‘social showroom’ for nosey parkers
If you're an interior design voyeur connoisseur, Made has just made your dreams come true with its new tool, Unboxed, which the company describes as a 'social showroom'. The next best thing to rolling up to a fabulously glam person's house, sneaking through the dog flap, and snapping phone pics of their decor, it also…
Gold could be the future of medication delivery
The days of swallowing medicine and hoping it does the job are numbered. In future, precious metals will deliver drugs to a specifically targeted type of cell or part of the body. At least, that’s according to scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and EPFL, who have discovered that gold nanoparticles are able to…
Safer IVF is on the way
Twelve babies have been born after researchers tested a new, safer way of stimulating ovulation for women undergoing IVF. Scientists from Imperial College London and doctors at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust worked together to trial the technique. They recruited 53 women who were healthy but experiencing infertility, and injected them with the adorably-named natural…
Cortana is coming to the UK in ‘two weeks’
We told you it was coming, and now we have a date, or at least some idea of when we'll see Cortana in the UK. In response to a question on Twitter from software engineer Pete Stensønes, the Group Program Manager for Cortana on Windows Phone, Marcus Ash, said that Cortana would hit our shores…
Social media is increasing our complaints against doctors
Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook are making us more apt to moan about our GPs and surgeons. At least, that’s the conclusion from a new report from the General Medical Council (GMC). They asked a team of researchers from Plymouth University to blame the internet investigate after the number of complaints against doctors almost doubled in…
#SpaceSelfie Kickstarter wants to take your photo in space
How would you like a selfie that’s out of this world? Literally. There are lots of unusual places to take a photo of yourself, but a genuine pic from space would give you serious bragging rights. A new Kickstarter wants to make that scenario a reality, without you having to undergo years of gruelling astronaut…
A tiny laser sensor can detect explosives
A team of engineers from UC Berkeley in the U.S has developed a new technology that can detect explosives in smaller amounts than ever before. They used a tiny nanoscale plasmon sensor, which consists of a layer of cadmium sulfide on top of a sheet of silver, with a layer of magnesium fluoride in the…
Will ‘electronic DNA’ replace passwords?
According to new research, the way we interact with our technology could be the key to securing our gadgets in future. A team from the University of Oxford says that our physical behaviour – including how quickly we type and how we hold our phones – is unique and can be quantified. In fact, there…
New ‘nanojuice’ could diagnose gut problems
Researchers have developed a juice containing nanoparticles 10,000 times smaller than a human hair to help improve diagnosis of intestinal issues. Sure, it might not be the most glamorous field of medical research, but it’s an important one. According to the NHS, 10-20% of people experience IBS at some point in their lives, and more…
New bandages could monitor your recovery
We love wearables here at shinyshiny, but they’re not all about tracking your fitness or giving you supersonic hearing. In future, they could help hospital patients to receive personalised care. The National Taiwan University in Taipei is now working on a project called Bioscope, developing bandages that can monitor patients’ temperature, heart rate, movement, and…
