LATEST
Vacuum of space no match for the mighty radish
THIS WEEK: 13:03 14 January 2011
Radish, lettuce and wheat plants can survive for at least half an hour in a near vacuum, showing a resilience known in only a few other forms of life
Crystal sieves could make oil sands greener
NEWS: 10:06 14 January 2011 | 1 comment
Naturally occurring crystals could help scrub greenhouse gases from fossil fuels
Online game helps predict how RNA folds
15:43 13 January 2011
EteRNA has already attracted the brain power of 5000 players, who aim to design useful synthetic molecules
Google unveils Conversation Mode for Translate app
15:45 13 January 2011
English-speaking Android owners can now converse in Spanish thanks to a new version of Google's Translate app
Glasses-free 3D TV tries to broaden out its appeal
NEWS: 17:12 12 January 2011 | 1 comment
Look forward to "autostereoscopic" displays, which aim separate images at the viewer's right and left eye, with no need for special glasses
Mimic-bots learn to do as we do
NEWS: 16:55 11 January 2011
A robot inspired by human mirror neurons can interpret human gestures to learn how it should behave
Why social networks are sucking up more of your time
14:18 11 January 2011
If you think social networking is already a drain on your time, a new study suggests it's only going to get worse
Game on: When work becomes play
FEATURE: 10:11 12 January 2011 | 5 comments
The realms of space invaders and spreadsheets are merging: are you ready to play your entire life as a game?
Metamorphosis key to creating stable walking robots
20:00 10 January 2011
Robots that mimic frogs by changing their body plan with time stand up to being pushed around
Social networks create their own regional dialects
17:54 10 January 2011
People "tweeting" mundane 140-character messages on Twitter are creating evolving regional dialects just like those of spoken language
Smart contact lenses for health and head-up displays
NEWS: 17:00 10 January 2011 | 4 comments
Lenses that monitor eye health are on the way, and in-eye 3D image displays are being developed too – welcome to the world of augmented vision
New laser to dazzle pirates on the high seas
00:01 09 January 2011 | 21 comments
The low-level beam can temporarily blind pirates and let sailors escape
SOLAR POWER
Salty solar plant stores sun's heat
The plentiful sunshine of southern Spain is being harvested to generate electricity day and night
COMMUNICATION
Wireless at the speed of plasma
Antennas that use plasma to focus beams of radio waves could bring us superfast wireless networks
FROM THE BLOG
Amazon servers used to crack Wi-Fi passwords
16:48 14 January 2011 - updated 17:37 14 January 2011
A computer security expert took advantage of Amazon's new servers to crack his neighbour's network in 20 minutes
Internet archaeology: Dig into Wikipedia's deep past
10:10 14 January 2011 - updated 11:34 14 January 2011
Wikipedia turns 10 tomorrow and the site's first edits have just been uncovered. Dive in and see what you can find
Google unveils Conversation Mode for Translate app
15:45 13 January 2011 - updated 15:48 13 January 2011
English-speaking Android owners can now converse in Spanish thanks to a new version of Google's Translate app