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Can America tweet its way to victory in Iraq?

In a country still wracked by daily terror attacks, you might think that technological wizardry would be the least of Iraq's concerns.

Not so, however, according to a growing number of influential policymakers including none other than Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. Today, he sat down to discuss how social media could help end his country’s conflict.

Under the auspices of the US State Department, the ambitious meeting saw senior executives from Twitter, Google and YouTube flown into Baghdad for a tête-à-tête with Iraq’s most senior politicians.

Facebook to Facebook users: We own you now

Beleaguered social networking website Facebook has angered privacy campaigners by surreptitiously awarding itself a perpetual licence over everything its members post on their pages.

The move means that, while users retain the copyright to their content, they also afford Facebook an "irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide licence" to do whatever it wants with your posts.

In other words, Facebook is now free to reproduce everything on your page - including all your short stories, articles and photographs - and it doesn't have to credit you or pay any royalties for the privilege.

Congressman becomes latest Twitter blunderer

A Republican congressman has attracted scorn for using the micro-blogging service Twitter to broadcast his every move during a secret diplomatic visit to Baghdad.

After touching down in the Iraqi capital on February 5, Pete Hoekstra noted that he had BlackBerry service. "Just landed in Baghdad," he tweeted. "I believe it may be the first time I've had bb service in Iraq."

The hapless congressman then detailed his itinerary across the country in real time, notifying his followers of the precise moment that he landed in the Green Zone as well as the timing of his return to America.

Suffering from post-traumatic stress? Just play Tetris

People who are likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could benefit from a dosage of the ubiquitous puzzle game Tetris, new research has suggested.

Scientists from Oxford University found that PTSD flashbacks can at least partly be offset by playing the cult game, in which users stack up building blocks that fall from the top of the screen.

Researchers based their preliminary findings on a new study which shows that the brain can be tricked into 'forgetting' traumatic memories by replacing them with comparatively harmless perceptual experiences.

First recorded case of person emailing while asleep

Researchers from the University of Toledo claim they have recorded the first ever case of a person sending an email while asleep.

According to the medical journal Sleep Medicine, a 44-year-old climbed out of bed two hours after falling asleep, before turning on her computer, logging into her email account and sending three poorly-worded emails.

The woman claims to have no recollection of the incident, which researchers say could shed light on the mysterious workings of the subconscious brain.

iPhone the latest weapon in drink driving campaign

The festive period may be high season for drink driving, but this Christmas road safety campaigners have a new weapon to add to their anti-alcohol arsenal.

Thanks to little-known technology developer David Steele Enterprises, a novel add-on is available for the ubiquitous iPhone which enables drivers to carry around a portable breathalyser.

The compact device, dubbed iBreath, is intended to combat excessive holiday revelling by giving festive drinkers a quick and easy way of checking whether or not they are over the legal intoxication limit.

Plane crash victim updates Twitter before fleeing

The micro-blogging service Twitter has hit the headlines once again after an airline passenger filed an eye-witness report of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 1404 from beside the wreckage itself.

Mike Wilson was aboard the doomed 737 jet when it slid off the runway at Denver International Airport yesterday (December 21), dropping into a 12-metre ravine and immediately catching fire.

But before fleeing the inferno with his fellow passengers, Mr Wilson whipped out his phone and sent the following message to all of his Twitter followers: "Holy fucking shit - I was just in a plane crash!"

Shell films 'alien squid' in deep-sea pillaging sesh

Multinational oil company Shell appears to have taken a break from pissing off everyone on the planet by actually doing something decent for the environment, for once. Finally.

The world's second-largest energy company and the world's top marine biologists make strange bed fellows, to be sure, but a brand new deep-sea video clip could be about to change all that.

Whilst scouring the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) owned by Shell managed to record some stunning video footage of the notoriously elusive Magnapinna squid.

Two-year-old is Britain's youngest Viagra user

A two-year-old boy has become Britain's youngest regular Viagra user, taking the impotence remedy up to six times per day, The Sun reports.

Calvin Muteesa has been on the performance enhancing drug since he was just three months old, with doctors warning that he could die without it.

The brave youngster suffers from pulmonary arterial hypertension - a rare condition that sends his blood pressure rocketing to dangerously high levels.

Study: Brainwaves reveal who has said what

In news that could revolutionise speech recognition software, scientists at Maastricht University have developed a neuroimaging technique that can recognise spoken words.

By hooking individuals up to a device that monitors and data-mines brainwaves, researchers were able to develop a unique neural fingerprint betraying individual speech sounds and voices.

The breakthrough allowed scientists to create algorithms that translate brain activity into highly specific patterns, paving the way for significant advances in speech and voice recognition.