Free Republic

Traditional bifocals could become a thing of the past with the invention of electronic glasses that automatically adjust to let their wearer view objects at different distances.The spectacles, which are due to be launched in the US this year and the UK next year, use lenses that change their strength when a small electrical current passes through them. A layer of liquid crystal sandwiched inside each lens alters its refractive properties according to the current applied, adapting the focal length according to where the wearer is looking. Traditional bifocals, which use two lenses of different strengths in front of each...

'People are definitely sceptical' When the government announced last Thursday that it had foiled a massive terror plot, broadcasters and newspapers were barraged with a wave of sceptical views from listeners and readers. Nearly a week on, are people still so distrustful? Patrick Barkham takes to the streets to find out Wednesday August 16, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Police officers outside the Masjid-E-Umer mosque in Walthamstow. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters It was not in horror or panic that thousands of ordinary people contacted the BBC or posted points on the Guardian's Comment is Free website in the hours after last week's...