Sound adds speed to visual perception
The traditional view of individual brain areas involved in perception of different sensory stimuli-i.e., one brain region involved in hearing and another involved in seeing-has been thrown into doubt in recent years. view more (2008-08-12)
Caltech neurobiologists discover individuals who 'hear' movement
Individuals with synesthesia perceive the world in a different way from the rest of us. Because their senses are cross-activated, some synesthetes perceive numbers or letters as having colors or days of the week as possessing personalities, even as they function normally in the world. view more (2008-08-07)
Loud music can make you drink more, in less time, in a bar
Commercial venues are very aware of the effects that the environment - in this case, music - can have on in-store traffic flow, sales volumes, product choices, and consumer time spent in the immediate vicinity. view more (2008-07-21)
Carnegie Mellon brain imaging study illustrates how remedial instruction helps poor readers
Just as a disciplined exercise regimen helps human muscles become stronger and perform better, specialized workouts for the brain can boost cognitive skills, according to Carnegie Mellon scientists. view more (2008-06-12)
Disorder enables extreme sensitivity in piezoelectric materials
A research team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found an explanation for the extreme sensitivity to mechanical pressure or voltage of a special class of solid materials called relaxors. view more (2008-05-19)
Adding ultrasound screening to mammography brings benefits, risks
Adding a screening ultrasound examination to routine mammography reveals more breast cancers than mammography alone, according to results of a major new clinical trial. The trial, however, also found that adding an ultrasound exam also increases the rate of false positive findings and unnecessary biopsies. view more (2008-05-14)
Female concave-eared frogs draw mates with ultrasonic calls
Most female frogs don't call; most lack or have only rudimentary vocal cords. A typical female selects a mate from a chorus of males and then -silently - signals her beau. view more (2008-05-12)
UMCES-led research team quantifies nutrient pollution reductions from urban stream restoration
A team of researchers led by University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science researcher Dr. Sujay Kaushal has been among the first able to quantify the amount of excess nitrogen removed from an urban stream during environmental restoration projects. view more (2008-05-01)
Zebrafish may help solve ringing in vets' ears
Ernest Moore, an audiologist and cell biologist at Northwestern University, developed tinnitus -- a chronic ringing and whooshing sound in his ears -- twenty years ago after serving in the U.S. Army reserves medical corps. view more (2008-05-01)
Study links low-frequency hearing to shape of the cochlea
Shape matters, even in hearing. Specifically, it is the shape of the cochlea - the snail-shell-shaped organ in the inner ear that converts sound waves into nerve impulses that the brain deciphers - which proves to be surprisingly important. view more (2008-04-28)
New 3-D ultrasound could improve stroke diagnosis, care
Using 3-D ultrasound technology they designed, Duke University bioengineers can compensate for the thickness and unevenness of the skull to see in real-time the arteries within the brain that most often clog up and cause strokes. view more (2008-04-25)
Engineering students: Headset muffles loud, unnerving MRI noises
Having an MRI exam, an experience many people describe as stressful and uncomfortable, could soon become a bit more pleasant, thanks to the work of a team of University of Florida engineering students. view more (2008-04-23)
Music File Compressed 1,000 Times Smaller than MP3
Researchers at the University of Rochester have digitally reproduced music in a file nearly 1,000 times smaller than a regular MP3 file. view more (2008-04-02)
Cochlear implant recipients experience improvement in quality of life
Cochlear implant recipients experience a significant improvement in their quality of life, and have improved speech recognition, according to new research published in the March 2008 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. view more (2008-03-05)
New findings contradict a prevailing belief about the inner ear
A healthy ear emits soft sounds in response to the sounds that travel in. Detectable with sensitive microphones, these otoacoustic emissions help doctors test newborns' hearing. A deaf ear doesn't produce these echoes. view more (2008-02-13)
Stanford researchers hear the sound of quantum drums
Forty years ago, mathematician Mark Kac asked the theoretical question, "Can one hear the shape of a drum?" view more (2008-02-11)
Listening for the cosmic symphony: New SU supercomputer will help scientists listen for black holes
Scientists hope that a new supercomputer being built by Syracuse University's Department of Physics may help them identify the sound of a celestial black hole. The supercomputer, dubbed SUGAR (SU Gravitational and Relativity Cluster), will soon receive massive amounts of data from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) that was collected... view more... (2008-02-11)
How is that whale listening?
Researchers from San Diego State University and the University of California have been using computer models to mimic the effects of underwater noise on an unusual whale species and have discovered a new pathway for sound entering the head and ears. view more (2008-02-04)
Deafness and seizures result when mysterious protein deleted in mice
Scientists have discovered that mice genetically engineered to lack a particular protein in the brain have profound deafness and seizures. The finding suggests a pathway, they say, for exploring the hereditary causes of deafness and epilepsy in humans. view more (2008-01-25)
The Human Brain: Detective of auditory and visual change
The human brain is capable of detecting the slightest visual and auditory changes. Whether it is the flash of a student's hand into the air or the faintest miscue of a flutist, the brain instantaneously and effortlessly perceives changes in our environment. view more (2008-01-21)
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