Positive Technology Journal

Vicon Revue is a wearable digital camera that allows to take photographs automatically, while it is being worn. In this way, the user can keep a photo log of his/her day to day life. The camera is the commercial evolution of SenseCam, a project developed by Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK. Vicon Revue is sold to researchers for about $700, but the consumer version (expected for next year) could be significantly cheaper.

The camera is equipped with a wide-angle lens that provides a fish-eye view and contains several sensors, such as a temperature sensor, a light color and intensity sensor, an infra-red motion detector, a multi-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis magnetometer (compass). The size of the camera is reasonably small (6.5cm w x 7cm h x 1.7cm d; 94g weight) and it includes 2GB memory.

To get an idea of the quality of the output you can take a look at this time lapse video showing images taken over the course of 24 hours with Vicon Revue.

Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 16;

Authors: Tang YY, Lu Q, Geng X, Stein EA, Yang Y, Posner MI

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is part of a network implicated in the development of self-regulation and whose connectivity changes dramatically in development. In previous studies we showed that 3 h of mental training, based on traditional Chinese medicine (integrative body-mind training, IBMT), increases ACC activity and improves self-regulation. However, it is not known whether changes in white matter connectivity can result from small amounts of mental training. We here report that 11 h of IBMT increases fractional anisotropy (FA), an index indicating the integrity and efficiency of white matter in the corona radiata, an important white-matter tract connecting the ACC to other structures. Thus IBMT could provide a means for improving self-regulation and perhaps reducing or preventing various mental disorders.

The Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, promises to revolutionize our knowledge of the universe and advance our understanding of the most fundamental laws of nature.

But if you are not very good at quantum physics, do not worry: you can still get an explanation in RAP format of what the LHC is all about.

A 'sound' explanation, indeed!