Twitter is eliminating distance and helping people stay in touch with distant friends and acquaintances, suggests a study of the social network. The study analysed 1.5 billion tweets sent by 70 million users in one month to work out where people were. On average, it found, people who mentioned or retweeted each other’s messages were [...]

A glowing plant that could provide a sustainable light source has caught the imagination of backers on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter. With a month still to go, the project has raised $243,000 (£157,000). Its initial goal was $65,000. Backers are promised seeds for glowing plants, although delivery will not be until next May at the [...]

Adobe is introducing a subscription model for many of its most popular programs, including Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Up to now, customers had perpetual access by paying a single fee for Adobe’s Creative Suite. From next month, continuing access to the programs, either individually or as a whole, will demand a monthly fee. Standalone versions will [...]

Amazon has become the first Western technology firm to offer paid-for Android apps in China – beating Google to the lucrative market. Google’s Chinese store for its mobile operating system – the most popular globally – only offers free apps. Amazon’s move paves the way for it to launch its Kindle e-reader devices in the [...]

A poster than can only be fully seen when looked at from a child’s point of view has been used in an anti-child abuse campaign. Spanish organisation the Anar Foundation used lenticular printing – a technique which means those looking at different angles see a different image. On the poster, a “secret” message showing a [...]

The BBC’s Rebecca Morelle saw the 3D-printed gun’s first test in Austin, Texas The world’s first gun made with 3D printer technology has been successfully fired in the US. The controversial group which created the firearm, Defense Distributed, plans to make the blueprints available online. The group has spent a year trying to create the [...]

Google-owned Motorola Mobility abused its position in Germany’s mobile market when it filed a patent injunction against Apple, EU officials have said. Motorola won an injunction over Apple products that used patents relating to data transmission technology in February 2012. Apple offered to pay Motorola a licence fee for using the patents – but the [...]

26 April 2013 Last updated at 03:35 ET The development could also give robots a more adaptive sense of touch Scientists have made a step forward in their ability to mimic the sense of touch. A team from the US and China made an experimental array that can sense pressure in the same range as [...]