Too much sleep can double your risk of a stroke, but no one knows why February 26, 2015 Taking the attitude that you should try and get as much sleep as possible may not be a good idea. Sleeping over eight hours a night significantly increases your risk of having a stroke, according to research from the University of Cambridge, but the puzzle is that no one knows why. Over a 10 [...]
These amazing Space Race pictures are going up for auction by Nasa tomorrow in London February 25, 2015 Nasa is putting hundreds of rare or never-before-seen images from the golden era of the Space Race up for auction. More than 650 vintage images from Nasa's archives “of the first voyages beyond our home planet” are going under the hammer at Bloomsbury Auctions in London tomorrow (February 26). Entitled “From the Earth to [...]
As many as two in three smokers will die from the habit February 25, 2015 The slogan “smoking kills” might sound like something that applies to an unlucky few, but as many as two out of every three smokers will die from the habit if they fail to give up. According to a study of 200,000 people in Australia, smoking just 10 cigarettes a day doubles the risk [...]
Drones are now being used in “every conceivable application”, from military missions and law enforcement to commerce February 25, 2015 Drones have been making us feel uneasy for years – the unmanned machines are capable of spying on activities anywhere in the world, and with just a single command they can wipe out huge numbers of people. Not only that, but they mess up their targets pretty easily – a recent study by [...]
How to stop the spread of HIV? Scientists may have solved the problem with Truvada pill February 25, 2015 Scientists may have made a breakthrough in the quest to stop the transmission of HIV between gay men. Created by American biopharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences, a daily pill called Truvada is already used to treat people infected with the virus, but a new study across 12 NHS trusts in the UK shows it [...]
Smartphones and tablets keep luring shoppers to buy online February 24, 2015 Britons buying with their tablets and smartphones has reached 40 per cent of online retail sales after a boom in activity over the last three months to the end of January. Quarterly figures from industry analysts IMRG and Capgemini yesterday showed mobile sales rose at their sharpest rate since the same quarter last year, when [...]
Apple travels to Scotland to poach Edinburgh-based talent Camel Audio to bolster Logic Pro app February 24, 2015 Edinburgh-based Camel Audio, an audio software development house run by University of Edinburgh alumni Ben Gillett, appears to have been scooped up by US tech giant Apple. In January, Camel informed customers that its “award-winning… professional audio products” (Alchemy Synth, Sound Libraries and CamelPhat) would no longer be available for sale. Then, on Monday, the [...]
The number of sick days we take has plummeted – but the reason behind the ones we do take is worrying February 24, 2015 The number of sick days we take has plummeted, a new study has found – but the number of days we take due to depression, anxiety and stress has risen. Using data from 68 GP surgeries across the nation, researchers found fewer periods of sick leave were taken between 2011 and 2013 than [...]
Google buys Softcard to take on Apple Pay February 23, 2015 Google has signed a partnership with Softcard to buy some of its payment solutions software. In a deft move, the search giant has also struck a bargain with several of the US’s biggest mobile carriers, which will see Google Wallet app pre-installed on thousands of handsets. Apple arrived at the near-field-communications party with Apple [...]
“Machine learning”: Microsoft creates platform for analysing data in the cloud February 23, 2015 Microsoft has created a platform, located in the cloud, to allow people to analyse large quantities of data. Called Azure, it uses something called "machine learning", which has been around for over 20 years but not available to the masses. It involves using algorithms to look at past behaviour and make business predictions [...]