[From Discover magazine’s Not Exactly Rocket Science blog] The Alice Illusion – scientists convince people that they’re dolls or giants May 26th, 2011 by Ed Yong In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the titular heroine quaffs a potion that shrinks her down to the size of a doll, and eats a cake that makes her grow to gigantic proportions. Such magic doesn’t exist outside of Lewis Carroll’s imagination, but there are certainly ways of making people think that they have changed in size. There’s nowhere in the world that’s better at creating such illusions than the lab of Henrik Ehrsson in…

[From Washington state’s Enumclaw Courier Herald] WALLY’S WORLD: It’s amazing how fresh the real world sounds By Wally Duchateau Enumclaw Courier Herald Columnist May 26 2011 Today I’d like to address the younger set, if any of them happen to read these columns.  Say, those men and women younger than 25 years of age. Among the springtime deluge of rain storms, thunder storms and flash floods, you might have noticed — for the briefest instant — a trace of sunlight. During those dazzling moments, you may also have sensed a desire to get out of the house, your place of…

[From StaffNurse.com] [Image: Dartmoor National Park, UK] VR Greenery Aid to Convalescence May 25, 2011 University scientists are seeking to take virtual reality to a new level – with a view to helping sick people who cannot get access to the outside world. The researchers in Birmingham plan their new worlds to be “sensorily rich”. They are using large screen TVs, video projectors and head mounted displays to create virtual versions of soothing rural and coastal scenes. The initial development is re-creating a stretch of the coastline of south Devon and an area within Dartmoor National Park. The developers say…

[From New Scientist’s One Per Cent blog, where the post features a 1:17 minute video] Telepresence robots go airborne 12 May 2011 Jim Giles, contributor, Vancouver, Canada Picture the scene: your boss phones to say he is working from home. A calm descends over the office. Workers lean back in their chairs. Feet go up on desks – this shift is going to be pretty chilled. Suddenly, a super-sized video feed of your boss, projected onto to the front of a helium-filled balloon equipped with a loudspeaker, floats silently into the room and starts issuing orders from above your head. Not…

[A press release from Sharp; a 1:24 minute video is available here] Sharp and NHK Successfully Develop 85-Inch Direct-View LCD Compatible with Super Hi-Vision, a World First*1 NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) (Shibuya Ward, Tokyo; President: Masayuki Matsumoto) and Sharp Corporation (Abeno Ward, Osaka; President: Mikio Katayama) have jointly developed an 85-inch LCD compatible with Super Hi-Vision, a next-generation television broadcast format. This is a world first for a direct-view display.…

[From The Drum] Thu 19 May 2011 Virtual reality – museum gives web users a real tour Digital / UK A new museum in Belgium is offering you the chance to take a real live tour of its exhibits – without ever leaving the comfort of your chair. Visit the website of the MAS Museum in Antwerp and a tour guide carrying a camera will show you around the place in real-time as though you are really there with them. If that already sounds cool, wait until you hear the best bit. You can control your tour guide’s movements using…