How to Take a Selfie That Will Help Science #CitizenScience #science #selfies @Facetopo
Usually I’m not a selfie fan, preferring to photograph the world around me. However, a new app I discovered on Patch Boston called FaceTopo has suddenly made it something worthwhile. The app, available for IOS and Android, charts points on the face creating a 3D map to show similarities and differences among people. It was created by Alberta Chu and husband Murray Robinson to see if a connection can be made to specific diseases. Interestingly it was inspired by the diagnosis of a family member with Smith-Magenis Syndrome, which has distinctive facial features.
The app is quite easy to use and people are encouraged to find a steady place to place their device to do the imaging. It’s preferred to do the mapping three times for accuracy, and there is even a final selfie with filters you can apply at the end. The data holds interesting possibilities, according to Chu.
“It’s a big scientific question. All of our faces are blending. The races are blending and we are seeing migration patterns. Now that we have genomics, which is accessible and people can get their genome sequence, the big question is can your face be a proxy for getting your genome sequence?”
Author Heidi Legg points out the original excitement of the Human Genome Project, another citizen science initiative that resulted in an open-source database. There is a lot of similarity with the intention here, and it could be the future “23andMe” of faces. Get ready to find your doppelgänger.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
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