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21 Apr 2021

Researchers’ VR walking simulator feels surprisingly close to the real thing

By Colm Gorey, Frontiers science writer Image: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com Researchers in Japan have developed a virtual reality platform that mimics the sensation of walking by stimulating their feet, all while sitting motionlessly. During testing, participants experiencing a digital world through a first-person perspective found it enhanced the simulation of walking. However, those who saw themselves from a third-person perspective felt it impaired the sensation of movement. Despite virtual reality (VR) technology being more affordable than ever, developers have yet to achieve a sense of full immersion in a digital world. Among the greatest challenges is making the user feel as if they are walking.   Now, researchers from the Toyohashi University of Technology and The University of Tokyo in Japan have published a paper to the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality describing a custom-built platform that aims to replicate the sensation of walking in VR, all while sitting motionlessly in a chair. “Walking is a fundamental and fun activity for human in everyday life. Therefore, it is very worthy to provide a high-quality walking experience in a VR space,” says Yusuke Matsuda. Matsuda is a project assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Toyohashi University of […]

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18 Mar 2021

Dolphins adapt to survive invasive coastal constructions

Marine ecosystems are endangered by an increasing number of coastal development projects. A new study shows for the first time that bottlenose dolphins may adapt to anthropogenic disturbance under some circumstances. The findings draw attention to the need for proper management of coastal construction sites. By Suzanna Burgelman, Frontiers Science writer Social interaction between two bottlenose dolphins. Image: Ann Waver Bottlenose dolphins learn to cope with coastal construction activities. That is the conclusion of a study published in Frontiers in Marine Science. The study is the first to provide a longitudinal perspective on the cumulative impacts of coastal construction. Dolphins adapted to the construction of a bridge by establishing feeding locations outside of the construction zone, and by shifting the timings of behaviors to a time in the day when construction activities were minimized. Coastal development practices negatively impact marine wildlife Marine coastal development is characterized by unsustainable practices. Coastal development exposes 47% of coastal marine mammal species and 51% of core marine mammal habitats to extensive anthropogenic disturbance. Human activities along coastlines and in marine habitats can lead to pollution, vessel strikes, entanglement, by-catch, and debris ingestion, which disturb and harm marine wildlife. Read original article Download original article (pdf) […]

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17 Mar 2021

Astronauts in crewed Mars missions could misread vital emotional cues

By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, Frontiers science writer Long-exposure photo of the centrifuge used to simulate microgravity in the research subjects. Image: DLR Spending an extended period with reduced gravity, as would be experienced by astronauts on long space missions, may have a negative effect on cognitive performance, and in particular emotion recognition, reveals a new study. Hoping to counteract these changes, researchers found that short periods of artificial gravity did not have the desired effect. The findings of this study could have implications for effective teamwork in future space travel, especially for manned missions to Mars. Living for nearly 2 months in simulated weightlessness has a modest but widespread negative effect on cognitive performance that cannot be counteracted by short periods of artificial gravity, finds a new study published in Frontiers in Physiology. While cognitive speed on most tests initially declined but then remained unchanged over time in simulated microgravity, emotion recognition speed continued to worsen. In testing, research participants were more likely to identify facial expressions as angry and less likely as happy or neutral. ► Read original article► Download original article (pdf) “Astronauts on long space missions, very much like our research participants, will spend extended durations in microgravity, confined to […]

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11 Mar 2021

Could coloring our steaks blue help reduce the world’s insatiable demand for meat?

By Prof Charles Spence, University of Oxford Image: SciePro/Shutterstock Blue has become an increasingly popular color in drinks and confectionary. Now, Prof Charles Spence of the University of Oxford asks what impact tainting meat blue would have in nudging consumers toward selecting a healthier and more sustainable diet? Have you ever heard about the infamous blue steak study? According to a story that has been circulating in the academic literature for 70 years, a group of people were once invited for a dinner of steak, fries, and peas. The lighting was so dim that it was impossible for the guests to discern the food’s true color. During the meal, the lighting was returned to normal suddenly revealing that the steak had been colored blue, the peas red, and the fries green. Many of the guests apparently immediately ran off to the bathroom to be sick. While this anecdote has appeared in numerous scientific papers over the last half century, typically to illustrate the sometimes aversive influence of (blue) food coloring, it turns out that it may be nothing more than that – a mere anecdote. According to a review of blue foods that I published recently in Frontiers in Psychology, […]