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Our cheatin' brain: The brain's clever way of showing us the world as a whole

Scientists found that boundary extension, a type of false memory, occurs quickly when visual input is disrupted, suggesting the role of amodal perception and spatial perception in scene perception. The study suggests that errors in boundary judgment may be beneficial for understanding the world as a coherent whole.

Duke team explains a longtime visual puzzler in new way

A Duke University team presents a new way to explain the puzzling flash-lag effect by suggesting that humans accumulate information from retinal speeds to make accurate behavioral choices. The study found that lag time increases non-linearly with object speed, supporting this explanation.

GoPro HERO13 Black

GoPro HERO13 Black records stabilized 5.3K video for instrument deployments, field notes, and outreach, even in harsh weather and underwater conditions.

Rutgers researcher examines connections between vision and movement

A Rutgers researcher is studying how visual analysis of body movements can help identify potential terrorist threats and improve interactions with autistic individuals. People with few autistic tendencies are found to be better at detecting subtle cues, which could lead to the development of computer programs to train them.

Study examines golf-related eye injuries in children

A study of 11 pediatric patients treated for golf-related eye injuries found that most injuries occur during unsupervised play or with other children wielding golf clubs. The authors recommend close adult supervision, protective eyewear for children learning to play golf, and secure storage of golf equipment.

Sound adds speed to visual perception

A recent study in monkeys found that auditory stimulation directly improves visual perception without involving higher brain areas. The researchers recorded neuronal responses and measured latency, showing a 5-10% decrease in response time when visual signals were weaker, suggesting the auditory cue speeds up the response.

Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount

Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Equatorial Mount provides precise tracking capacity for deep-sky imaging rigs during long astrophotography sessions.

Study suggests human visual system could make powerful computer

A new technique developed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor Mark Changizi harnesses the computing power of our visual system to generate perceptions of digital circuits. By using simple drawings and shading, the visual system can naturally carry out computations and generate outputs.

MIT-led team creates touch-based illusion

A team of scientists from MIT, Harvard, and McGill has designed a new tactile illusion to investigate perception and how different senses work together. The illusion produces changes in touch perception that are independent of changes in the stimulus, shedding light on brain function and conscious experience.

'Mind's eye' influences visual perception

New research from Vanderbilt University has found that mental imagery--what we see with the "mind's eye"--directly impacts our visual perception. The study, published in Current Biology, discovered that a short-term memory trace formed by imagery can bias future perception.

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The ace perceptual skills of tennis pros

Researchers found that tennis players perform better in tasks requiring temporal processing, such as speed discrimination and detecting motion. However, the effects were small, suggesting that these skills are also used in daily life. Training these basic perceptual tasks may lead to improved tennis performance.

The hand can't be fooled, study shows

A study published in Psychological Science found that our grasp reflects the real size of objects, not their apparent size, even when they appear distorted through optical illusions. This supports the two visual systems hypothesis, which suggests that our brain has two separate systems for processing images and controlling actions.

Why does the world appear stable while our eyes move?

Researchers developed a model of brain function that shows how eye movement signals boost neural representation of objects at future gaze positions, compromising spatial accuracy. This results in the perception of details before looking at an object, making the world appear stable while eyes move.

Face facts: People don't stand out in crowds

Researchers found that face recognition is more difficult when target faces are surrounded by upright faces, indicating that images of upright faces interfere with each other. The study's findings have implications for individuals with face-recognition disorders and may inform the development of efficient artificial visual systems.

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer

Creality K1 Max 3D Printer rapidly prototypes brackets, adapters, and fixtures for instruments and classroom demonstrations at large build volume.

Hearing changes how we perceive gender

A Northwestern University study found that tones of voices can alter visual processing, suggesting a direct input from early auditory processing to visual perception. Researchers used pure tones to test whether sounds can influence perception of face gender, with results showing bias towards male or female faces based on tone frequency.

Scientists propose explanation for out-of-body experiences

Researchers used VR goggles to induce out-of-body-like experiences in healthy people, suggesting a disconnect between brain circuits that process sensory information may be responsible. The findings help solve the question of how we perceive our own bodies and may have implications for training people to perform delicate tasks remotely.

Rutgers professor Bart Krekelberg is named 1 of 20 US Pew Scholars for 2007

Bart Krekelberg seeks to understand how the brain ignores eye movement during visual processing, potentially leading to new treatments for dyslexia and schizophrenia. He will use a combination of electrophysiology and functional resonance imaging to identify key areas of the brain involved in visual perception.

AmScope B120C-5M Compound Microscope

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Understanding smooth eye pursuit

The study reveals that humans use two different methods to track moving objects: low-level motion perception and high-level motion perception. Participants showed varying capabilities in each area, with some excelling at catching up to a target and others better at locking onto it.

Brain shows humans break down events into smaller units

Researchers found that subjects' brains showed increased activity at event boundaries, even in mundane events, suggesting a universal process of segmenting continuous text. This discovery sheds light on how humans comprehend everyday activities and may reflect a general network for understanding event structure.

Social cues and illusion: There's more to magic than meets the eye

Scientists used a magic trick to investigate how magicians manipulate our perception by exploiting social cues and expectations. They found that observers perceived the ball leaving the magician's hand due to cues from the magician's head direction, but not when it was no longer present in the illusion.

More than meets the eye

Researchers at the Salk Institute found that moving eyes helps resolve ambiguous visual inputs, improving object recognition. The brain uses internal image stabilization and eye movement feedback to maintain stable perception despite shaky video streams.

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Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Weather Station offers research-grade local weather data for networked stations, campuses, and community observatories.

Eyeballs vs footballs: The final

Researchers found that goalkeepers are unable to accurately predict the trajectory of a spinning football, relying on the ball's current heading direction. The study suggests that inherent limitations in the human visual system hinder this ability.

Our racial identity affects who we see

Researchers found that visual perception is influenced by one's racial group membership, with Black-primed and White-primed biracial individuals differing significantly in their search patterns. The study demonstrates the malleability of visual perception to top-down influences.

Which holds more: A tall, thin glass or a short, fat one?

A new study by Aradhna Krishna found that when blindfolded, subjects perceived the shorter glass with a wider surface area as having a larger volume. The study also revealed that visual distractions can influence consumer perceptions and behavior.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro

Apple iPhone 17 Pro delivers top performance and advanced cameras for field documentation, data collection, and secure research communications.

Words help deterimine what we see

Researchers found that language affects perception in the right half of the visual field, but not in the left. The study suggests that linguistic differences can sharpen visual distinctions in the right visual field.

Finding the mind's eye

Researchers identified areas of the brain where neuronal activity decreases when objects are made invisible, suggesting a relationship between conscious experience and visual perception. The findings may advance understanding of the brain's interaction with the eye and its importance in medicine, neurology, and psychology.

Scientists uncover why picture perception works

Researchers have developed a new model of visual perception that explains how the brain adjusts to viewing position, allowing images to appear undistorted even when viewed from different locations. This discovery has implications for designing better devices and creating more realistic computer graphics.

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Faces must be seen to be recognized

Researchers found that recognizing faces requires visual perception, while lower-level aspects like orientation can be processed without awareness. The study used binocular rivalry experiments and inattentional blindness to demonstrate the importance of visual processing in face recognition.

Psychologist finds instance where 'two wrongs do make a right'

University of Oregon researchers Paul Dassonville and Jagdeep Kaur Bala found that the distinction between perception and action streams is oversimplified. Their study revealed that slight manipulations of an illusion led to a new realization, where the 'right' physical movements were made despite inaccurate visual perceptions.

When looking isn't seeing: Is cockpit design flawed?

Research suggests that combining features into one object can improve reaction times, but this approach may not always work. Dr. Greg Davis's studies found that stimulation of a second brain pathway, the magnocellular-dorsal process, enhances performance for multi-object displays.

DJI Air 3 (RC-N2)

DJI Air 3 (RC-N2) captures 4K mapping passes and environmental surveys with dual cameras, long flight time, and omnidirectional obstacle sensing.

Binocular rivalry: Fulfilling visual expectations

A recent study using binocular rivalry demonstrates the importance of feedback in interpreting visual images. The experimenters found that once a walking figure is recognized, it can cause dominance of signals from one eye and suppression of signals from the other.

Study reveals why eyes in some paintings seem to follow viewers

A study reveals that the apparent movement of eyes in paintings is caused by visual perception, not supernatural forces. The researchers found that changes in viewing direction had little effect on the observers' perceptions, except for making the torso look thinner when viewed from an angle.

Vision's touchy-feely side

Researchers discovered that tactile input affects how we perceive rotating objects, suggesting a link between touch and object motion perception. Brain activity studies revealed increased activity in regions processing visual motion when subjects experienced both touch and sight simultaneously.

Moving targets: when it comes to patterns, motion gets factored in

The study, led by Shin'ya Nishida, utilized the multi-slit viewing illusion and found that pattern perception is more impaired by a mask or adaptation stimulus moving in the same direction as the pattern. Observers can see fine spatial components that are theoretically impossible to recover without motion information.

GQ GMC-500Plus Geiger Counter

GQ GMC-500Plus Geiger Counter logs beta, gamma, and X-ray levels for environmental monitoring, training labs, and safety demonstrations.

Researchers pinpoint brain areas that process reality, illusion

The study found that the primary motor cortex represented actual movement while the ventral premotor cortex generated elliptical shapes. The research reveals how the mind creates order and adjusts on the fly to eliminate distortions, with implications for developing biomedical devices controlling artificial limbs.

Rethinking how the brain sees visual features

Duke University researchers found that individual clusters in the visual cortex do not specialize in recognizing specific combinations of stimulus features. Instead, they respond to a broad range of stimulus combinations predicted by spatial and temporal properties of the visual stimulus.

Laser measurements reveal biological basis of distance perception

Studies using laser measurements reveal the natural basis for human tendencies in judging distances, including a preference for distances of 6-12 feet and equidistance between objects. The findings support the theory that the visual system has evolved to make statistical guesses about distances based on past experience.

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Meta Quest 3 512GB enables immersive mission planning, terrain rehearsal, and interactive STEM demos with high-resolution mixed-reality experiences.

Visual attention attuned to grabbable objects

Researchers at Dartmouth College found that visual attention is specifically drawn to graspable objects, such as tools, and that this effect is more pronounced when these objects are on the right side. This discovery suggests a clear association between visual perception and motor systems in the brain.

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)

Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) runs demanding GIS, imaging, and annotation workflows on the go for surveys, briefings, and lab notebooks.

Optical Society of America announces 2002 award winners

The Optical Society of America honored its 2002 award winners, recognizing their significant contributions to various fields of optics. Notably, James P. Gordon received the Frederic Ives Medal for his seminal work on quantum electronics, while Emil Wolf was awarded the Esther Hoffman Beller Award for his influential educational work.

2 is orange but 'two' is blue

A study at Vanderbilt University found that an adult male with synesthesia consistently matched colors to words and numbers, even when the letters or numbers were presented separately. The researchers also found that his synesthetic colors acted like real colors in certain tests.

Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter

Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter measures wind, temperature, and humidity in real time for site assessments, aviation checks, and safety briefings.

Vibrations may deliver crucial information to pilots

Researchers at Ohio State University found that pilots can detect changes in automation status more effectively when receiving vibrations than visual cues. The study suggests that tactile feedback could be a powerful tool for human-machine communication in various domains, including aviation, healthcare, and space exploration.

Carnegie Mellon's Carnegie Symposium on Cognition

Researchers from various fields will discuss normal development and understanding of the visual world, as well as brain failures to recognize objects. The symposium aims to bring together converging perspectives on how our brains organize and interpret visual information.

NYU researcher unveils the scientist in painter Chuck Close

New York University scientist Denis Pelli finds that the transition from grid to face in Close's paintings occurs at relatively short distances, revealing a size-dependent breakdown of shape perception. This challenges existing theories and credits Chuck Close with discovering this effect.

Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas, 2nd Edition

Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas, 2nd Edition is a durable star atlas for planning sessions, identifying targets, and teaching celestial navigation.

Vanderbilt Researcher: Human Brain Has Great Sense Of Timing

Researchers Randolph Blake and Sang-Hun Lee found that humans can group elements into objects based on subtle changes in timing. By analyzing the precise timing of motion in a dense array of pinwheels, viewers could distinguish synchronized groups from individual elements.

Seeing Movement In The Dark

Researchers at Max Planck Institute found that moving objects appear slower through rod photoreceptors than cone photoreceptors, especially under low light conditions. This underestimation can lead to compensatory speeding-up, which may be fatal.