Positive Technology Journal

And the winner is... Sabine Petry and co-workers, Petry Lab, Princeton Department of Molecular Biology.

Description: Microtubules are hollow filaments that serve as the skeleton of the cell. They were thought to grow linearly, but this movie shows that they can branch: microtubules (red with growing tips in green) grow off the wall of existing microtubules. In addition, microtubules are moved along the glass surface by molecular motors. Microtubule branching amplifies the microtubules while preserving their polarity and explains how microtubules can cause the mitotic spindle of a dividing cell to reliably segregate chromosomes (Petry et al., Cell 2013).

Scale: A microtubule has a diameter of 25 nanometer and is the largest cytosekeletal filament in the cell.

More on the Princeton University Art of Science competition: http://artofsci.princeton.edu/

Via Textually.org

Sidewalk collisions involving pedestrians engrossed in their electronic devices have become an irritating (and sometimes dangerous) fact of city life. To prevent them, what about just creating a “no cellphones” lane on the sidewalk? Would people follow the signs? That’s what a TV crew decided to find out on a Washington, D.C., street Thursday, as part of a behavioral science experiment for a new National Geographic TV series. [via Quartz]

As expected, some pedestrians ignored the chalk markings designating a no-cellphones lane and a lane that warned pedestrians to walk “at your own risk.” Others didn’t even see them because they were too busy staring at their phones. But others stopped, took pictures and posted them—from their phones, of course.

Real-time functional MRI neurofeedback: a tool for psychiatry.

Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2014 Jul 14;

Authors: Kim S, Birbaumer N

Abstract. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this review is to provide a critical overview of recent research in the field of neuroscientific and clinical application of real-time functional MRI neurofeedback (rtfMRI-nf).
RECENT FINDINGS: RtfMRI-nf allows self-regulating activity in circumscribed brain areas and brain systems. Furthermore, the learned regulation of brain activity has an influence on specific behaviors organized by the regulated brain regions. Patients with mental disorders show abnormal activity in certain regions, and simultaneous control of these regions using rtfMRI-nf may affect the symptoms of related behavioral disorders. SUMMARY: The promising results in clinical application indicate that rtfMRI-nf and other metabolic neurofeedback, such as near-infrared spectroscopy, might become a potential therapeutic tool. Further research is still required to examine whether rtfMRI-nf is a useful tool for psychiatry because there is still lack of knowledge about the neural function of certain brain systems and about neuronal markers for specific mental illnesses.

MindRDR connects Google Glass with a device to monitor brain activity, allowing users to take pictures and socialise them on Twitter or Facebook.

Once a user has decided to share an image, we analyse their brain data and provide an evaluation of their ability to control the interface with their mind. This information is attached to every shared image.

The current version of MindRDR uses commercially available brain monitor Neurosky MindWave Mobile to extract core metrics from the mind.

Ekso is an exoskeleton bionic suit or a "wearable robot" designed to enable individuals with lower extremity paralysis to stand up and walk over ground with a weight bearing, four point reciprocal gait. Walking is achieved by the user’s forward lateral weight shift to initiate a step. Battery-powered motors drive the legs and replace neuromuscular function.

Ekso Bionics http://eksobionics.com/