Not just for Harry Potter: Scientists develop an invisibility cloak using dielectric materials July 13, 2015 Invisibility may have been reserved for fantasy novels and folklore until now, but it looks like invisibility cloaks are not just for Harry Potter anymore. Scientists have developed a material that’s incredibly thin and doesn’t change the brightness of light around an object. This means it can “cloak” an object so it disappears beneath it [...]
Instagram reveals UK user numbers for the first time July 13, 2015 Instagram has revealed that it has 14m active monthly users in the UK. This is the first set of numbers the Facebook owned photo app has ever released for the UK market, so there is nothing to compare it to, but the company says that this shows significant growth. The company declined to go into [...]
Wearables startup Jewelbots wants to get girls into tech with hi-tech jewellery July 13, 2015 The percentage of women in the tech industry isn’t just low – it’s dropping. Wearables startup Jewelbots wants to change this by developing smart friendship bracelets to get girls interested in coding, and their idea has been a hit on the crowdfunding scene. The company, which launched last autumn, wrote about their idea on their [...]
How to improve your memory: Multitasking can actually be bad for your memory July 13, 2015 How long is your to-do list right now? From remembering to buy bread, to calling your mum, to replying to that e-mail, we all juggle any number of thoughts on a daily basis. But it turns out that trying to keep several things in mind simultaneously can actually end up weakening your memory. Neuroscientists at [...]
Facebook is giving you more control over who you see in your news feed July 10, 2015 There's a lot of clutter in Facebook’s news feed. But from that third cousin who won’t stop posting about her workouts to the ex-coworker who keeps posting political rants – you can’t quite unfriend them – but you definitely don’t want to get their updates. Now you can choose not to. Facebook has just announced [...]
Alibaba executive Patrick Liu Chunning arrested by Chinese authorities in corruption probe July 10, 2015 Senior Alibaba executive Patrick Liu Chunning has been arrested over allegations of corruption during his time at Tencent, a rival Chinese internet firm. Read more: Alibaba wants to create China's HBO and Netflix equivalent In a statement Alibaba insisted the Chinese authorities' probe had "nothing to do with" its own operations. Liu is vice president of [...]
How do you make your iPhone battery last longer? New Waldio technology extends smartphone life and makes it up to 20 times faster July 10, 2015 Let’s face it, we’re all addicted to our smartphones, and there is there are few things more irritating than seeing your phone’s battery slowly drain away – or worse, having it die on you halfway through the day. Luckily, there’s a new technology to the rescue, promising to improve both the speed and the battery [...]
UK renewables on the rise – but we’re far behind other EU countries July 9, 2015 The UK’s renewable energy consumption is on the rise – but we’re still lagging far behind other EU countries. Renewable and waste sources account for 5.6 per cent of the UK’s total energy in 2013, according to new figures released by the ONS today, suggesting that the UK’s economy is getting greener. This means renewables [...]
The healthiest people in the UK speak English “proficiently” as a second language July 9, 2015 In England and Wales, the healthiest people are the ones who have a firm grasp of English but don't speak it as their first language, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Using data from the 2011 census, they compared ability to speak English with the proportion of people falling into the “good health” [...]
Cisco is making $1bn investment in UK tech including $150m IoT startup venture backing July 9, 2015 Cisco is making a major long-term investment in UK tech with $1bn of investment and the creation of hundreds of jobs. The tech company which already employs 7,000 people in the UK – its biggest market – is also eyeing up acquisitions here, continuing a spree that has seen the company buy up five tech [...]