Governments pose the biggest threat to global innovation, a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton has warned. Speaking at LeWeb London, Alec Ross said the “hierarchy of control” is being taken from those in power and [...]

Chemists have devised a better method of coating fabrics with a water-repellent, “self-cleaning” coating. Many such “super-hydrophobic” coatings have been made before, but a report in the journal Langmuir describes coated fabrics that are far [...]

Available to the public towards the end of 2014 The Pentagon has put in an order for prototype contact lenses that give users a much wider field of vision. The lenses are designed to be [...]

Prof Woodward is in the minority in thinking that the consumer market will benefit widely from quantum computers What is a quantum computer and when can I have one? It makes use of all that [...]

Clubs and bars in the Cornish resort of Newquay are being encouraged to install identity scanners. Devon and Cornwall Police believe the scanners will stop people from using fake IDs. The scanners can also alert [...]

To move they do not use fuel Four robots have set a new distance world record, swimming more than 3,200 nautical miles (5,926km) across the Pacific Ocean. The drones are taking part in a project [...]

Convincing results New academic research has underlined the potential of a simple Scottish invention that could revolutionise life in developing countries where people struggle to get clean water. The Jompy Boiler heats and purifies water [...]

Varying this twist permits many data streams to fit in the frequency spread currently used for just one   A striking demonstration of a means to boost the information-carrying capacity of radio waves has taken [...]

The robot blemish spotter can reliably identify diseases   A “learning” computer system that sorts potatoes has been built using off-the-shelf technology by researchers at the University of Lincoln’s Robotics Lab. The robot blemish spotter [...]

GPs could soon offer their patients free smartphone apps to help with managing health conditions The Department of Health says its initiative is the “next step” in the drive to give patients more control over their [...]

A self-guiding bullet that can steer itself towards its target is being developed for use by the US military.   The bullet uses tiny fins to correct the course of its flight allowing it to [...]

People seriously want to get rich.   China’s huge population and booming economy is turning into a new world power, but what is creating that success, how secure is it, and what does it mean [...]