Now, device that allows blind people to attach, read audio labels on objects

October 5th, 2009 LONDON - A 7-year-old blind boy has been given the nickname Batboy, for he has learnt how to "see" by using his ears. Lucas Murray, who was born blind, is believed to be the first in Britain to use echoes to visualise his surroundings.

September 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration- two of the leading causes of blindness. The retinal prosthesis would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.

September 2nd, 2009 MELBOURNE - In a groundbreaking innovation, scientists have created an electronic device that may allow blind people to "see" using their tongues. The extraordinary technology works by taking pictures filmed by a tiny camera, and turns the information into electrical pulses, which can be felt on the tongue.

August 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the University of Granada (UGR) have announced the creation of a system that uses Artificial Intelligence techniques to help elderly people, or those with special needs, avoid forgetting certain everyday tasks. The researchers have revealed that their system uses sensors distributed in the environment to detect people's actions, and mobile devices to remind them.

August 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Engineering students at Central Michigan University have designed a device that provides navigation cues for the blind using innovative technology. The device, called The Smart Cane, detects obstacles and provides navigation cues by using Radio Frequency Identification technology - similar to what some major retailers use to tag merchandise to prevent theft.

August 8th, 2009 LONDON - In a new technological breakthrough, a portable device has been developed to enable deaf-blind people to have face-to-face conversations. The DeafBlind Communicator (DBC) consists of a Braille note-taker linked by Bluetooth to a mobile phone, and it allows the user to make phone calls using a text relay service and to communicate by SMS.

August 1st, 2009 LONDON - A stargazer has filmed and posted on YouTube the video of what he claims to be a cluster of "UFOs" flying in formation "higher than a plane". Jason Goldthorpe, 37, of St Helens, Lancs, says that he could not believe his eyes when he saw the cluster.

August 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - It is now possible to bend the light along the corner of a building or even the profile of the eastern seaboard, for Boston College physicists have created a new metamaterial device that can guide electromagnetic waves around various objects. As directed by the researchers' novel device, these beams continue to behave as if travelling in a straight line.

July 31st, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is introducing a new Web site that will provide a centralized resource for information on near-Earth objects - those asteroids and comets that can approach Earth. The "Asteroid Watch" site also contains links for the interested public to sign up for NASA's new asteroid widget and Twitter account.

July 12th, 2009 MELBOURNE J - Fathers who fear not being able to get home at time to read their kids bedtime stories can sigh in relief for a new website offers them the chance to do so with remote reading. British website FiveDads.com prompts fathers to read one of 15 popular stories into their computer's microphone for a fee of about 10 dollars.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) have come up with a device called a dc metamaterial, which makes objects invisible under certain light. The device does so, according to the researchers, under very low frequency electromagnetic waves by making the inside of the magnetic field zero, but not altering the exterior field.

June 9th, 2009 London, June 9 (ANI): Harvard University researchers say that babies barely a few hours old seem to possess the ability to think of numbers as abstract concepts. Lead researcher Veronique Izard describes abstract numerical thought as the ability to perceive numbers as entities, independently of specific things.

June 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The day may not be far when the batteries of your mobile phones will get automatically charged while you walk, thanks to a device being developed by Canadian researchers. The Bionic Energy Harvester will attach to a knee brace, and capture energy with each step.

April 18th, 2009 LONDON - A British boffin has invented a revolutionary sat nav that directs guide dogs for blind people. The 500-pound gizmo, which will be launched this summer, clips on to the dog's harness and vibrates on the left or right side to tell the handler which direction to go in.

March 20th, 2009 LONDON - Imagine opening your inbox and a female voice alerting you to a new email and even reading it out for you. Well, it has now become a reality, thanks to a new device called iLane.