I highlight research showing that viewing attractive faces provides a cognitive boost. Visual stimulation from "pretty faces" activates the brain's reward circuitry, which can improve focus and mental performance during tasks.
I found Eric Myer's photography project where you can combine the top and bottom halves of twenty different faces. It is impressive how realistic the resulting composite portraits look despite mixing features from different people.
I'm following reports that Google may acquire Riya, a startup specializing in computer vision that recognizes faces and text in photos. This deal could significantly improve automated tagging and search within Google's image services.
BBC's study on human faces explores how beauty is measured and identifies facial cues for spotting lies. It features experiments on deceit and analyzes micro-expressions, such as furrowed brows, in Bill Clinton's testimony.