Windows/OS X: Your computer's webcam can be useful for more than just quick photos and video calls. The Webcam Pulse Detector is a fun, open source application originally designed at NASA to use your connected camera to take your heart rate. Now you can try it out at home.
The utility is simple to use. Just grab the executable and run it. It's a self-contained python application, so it shouldn't need any dependencies or other files to work. Once you open it, you'll get a view of your camera, and it'll ask you to guide your face into view so it can get a fix on your face and your forehead. Once it's in the right position, press S to lock your face, and watch the app take its readings. You'll even get a little graph (if you press D) that shows your heart rate over the time you've had the app open.
To be fair, it's not perfect at all. My readings tended to be particularly low (maybe it has more difficulty with people of darker complexion) but for others it seemed to work pretty well. The Webcam Pulse Detector is available for OS X and Windows in pre-compiled binaries, and a version for Linux is on the way soon. You can check out the project homepage (and download it to try yourself) below.
When the earthquake struck, people in Kathmandu ran out on to the streets
A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 died in a devastating quake.
At least 29 people have been killed and 1,006 injured, according to the Nepali government.
The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar, near Mount Everest.
The US Geological Survey said it had a magnitude of 7.3. An earthquake on 25 April, centred in western Nepal, had a magnitude of 7.8.
The latest tremor was also felt in northern India and Bangladesh, and was centred east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border.
In Kathmandu, which was badly damaged last month, people rushed out of buildings as the quake struck at 12:35 local time (06:50 GMT).
Rescue helicopters have been sent to districts north-east of the capital, that are believed to be worst hit.
A spokesman for Nepal's government told the BBC that 31 of the country's 75 districts had been affected.
At the scene: Simon Cox, BBC, Kathmandu
You could feel it really strongly. It went on for about 25 seconds - the ground was shaking, the birds started squawking, you could feel the buildings shaking.
There was another aftershock and people were all out on the street. That aftershock really added anxiety and panic. People started crying.
They are calm but you can tell they are all scared.
The BBC's Yogita Limaye, who was in Nepal's mountains when the latest earthquake struck, said: "The earth shook and it shook for a pretty long time.
"I can completely understand the sense of panic. We have been seeing tremors: it's been two-and-a-half weeks since the first quake. But this one really felt like it went on for a really long time. People have been terrified."
Krishna Gyawali, the chief district officer for Chautara, said there had been a number of landslides.
The quake struck at a depth of 15km (9.3 miles), according to the US Geological Survey - the same depth as the April 25 quake. Shallow earthquakes are more likely to cause more damage at the surface.
Tuesday's earthquake is likely to be one of the largest to hit Nepal, which has suffered hundreds of aftershocks since 25 April.
The 7.3 quake was followed by six aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or higher.
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Analysis: Jonathan Amos, science correspondent, BBC News
Scientists are already producing some preliminary analyses of Tuesday's quake.
The epicentre this time is about 80km (50 miles) east-north-east of Kathmandu, halfway to Everest. On 25 April, the big quake began 80km to the north-west of the capital.
In April, we saw the fault boundary rupture eastwards for 150km (93 miles). And the immediate assessment suggests Tuesday's tremor has occurred right at the eastern edge of this failure.
In that context, this second earthquake was almost certainly triggered by the stress changes caused by the first one. Indeed, the US Geological Survey had a forecast for an aftershock in this general area.
Its modelling suggested there was 1-in-200 chance of a M7-7.8 event occurring this week. So, not highly probable, but certainly possible.
Quake experts often talk about "seismic gaps", which refer to segments of faults that are, to some extent, overdue a quake. Tuesday's big tremor may well have filled a hole between what we saw on 25 April and some historic events - such as those in 1934, that occurred further still to the east.
MyFitnessPal Adds Premium Version with More Diet Detail, Custom Goals
MyFitnessPal, our favorite fitness and nutrition tracking tool, has always been free, but the service just added a new premium account tier with more discrete options for your goals, more ways to keep track of the macronutrients in the foods you eat, diet and meal suggestions, and of course, no ads.
MyFitnessPal will still be free, and free users won’t notice a difference now that there’s a premium version kicking around (aside from being prompted to upgrade—Update: An MFP rep reached out to say free users are getting two new features: foods with “verified” nutrition and calorie information, and better graphs), but the premium version lets you, for example, track your protein intake, carbohydrates, or fat intake over the past several days or weeks, which is useful if you’re trying to hit a certain level. You can even “quick add” by macros, so if you need 20 grams of protein, you can say that and the app will show you what to eat to get it without breaking your other goals.
The premium version will also suggest foods to help you get to your macro goals, so if you’re trying to slowly cut back on sodium, you can use MyFitnessPal to see how the foods you eat rank when it comes to sodium. This makes it easy to see your worst offenders, and what you may be able to cut out of your diet (or better yet, replace.) Premium users will also be able to set their macro and calorie goals on a day by day basis, so if you have different numbers for a workout day versus a rest day, or have a “free day” in your diet, you can account for it all easily.
All of those features come at a price though—premium accounts cost $10/month or $50/year, and your membership will unlock additional features in upcoming version of the iOS and Android apps. You can sign up now, though, and read more at the link below.
