A study by University of Seville researchers uses acoustic simulation to analyze the variation of sound perception areas within the Mosque of Cordoba. The findings reveal differences in acoustics due to successive expansions, with notable degradation in areas furthest from the qibla wall.
Researchers developed an OCT-based imaging tool to visualize how sound-induced vibrations travel through the ear. The technology provides new insight into hearing and could inform diagnosis and treatment of hearing problems. The instrument measures tiny vibrations within the ear, allowing for precise measurements at over 10,000 points.
A study published in Nature Communications reveals how the inner ear processes speech sound and separates it from other sounds. This discovery may improve diagnostic procedures for various hearing impairments.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed two approaches to improve smart devices' understanding of their environment: Ubicoustics, which uses microphone-based sound recognition, and Vibrosight, a vibration-detection system using laser vibrometry. These methods enhance context-aware computing capabilities.
University of Sussex researchers create SoundBender, a hybrid system that combines phased arrays and acoustic metamaterials to overcome limitations in previous ultrasound levitation set-ups. The technology enables real-time adjustments, tactile feedback, and manipulation of non-solid objects.
Researchers found that gas bubbles released during photosynthesis produce a 'ringing' sound, correlating with algal cover on coral reefs. This discovery may enable rapid and inexpensive estimation of algal abundance, a key indicator of stress on coral reefs.
Researchers found that male mosquitoes amplify female wingbeats using a phantom tone, creating an auditory illusion that helps them locate mates. The study's findings could lead to the development of acoustic lures for controlling disease-carrying mosquito populations.
Scientists have uncovered how mice ignore their own footsteps, offering insights into human speech and music learning. The study shows that mice develop an adjustable sensory filter to suppress movement-related sounds, improving sound detection in their environment.
A fully autonomous robot, Robat, utilizes a bat-like approach by emitting sound and analyzing echoes to create a detailed map of its surroundings. It successfully navigates through a new outdoor environment and classifies objects using an artificial neural network.
The 'Robat' uses echolocation to navigate novel environments by emitting sound and analyzing the returning echoes to generate a map of space. It is equipped with an ultrasonic speaker and two microphones that classify borders and shapes of objects encountered, avoiding obstacles.
A team of researchers from the University of Illinois has developed a new method for canceling noise without requiring ear-blocking headphones. By using wireless IoT networks, they can sense sounds and send them to an earpiece with enough time to produce a better anti-noise signal, effectively canceling out external sounds.
A study by University of Washington researchers found that policies in Puget Sound are shifting toward restoration projects that engage multiple social groups and offer various benefits. These projects, such as the Qwuloolt project, have been successful due to their inclusive planning processes and collaborative nature.
Scientists found that the brain re-evaluates speech sound interpretations at the moment subsequent sounds are heard, using surrounding context to narrow possibilities. The brain makes commitments to its best guess after about half a second, demonstrating how context can alter perception even if disambiguating information arrives later.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School have finally identified the elusive sensor protein responsible for hearing and balance. The discovery reveals that TMC1 forms a sound-activated pore that converts sound and head movement into nerve signals that travel to the brain, enabling hearing and balance.
A $2.5 million federal grant will help diagnose speech sound disorders in bilingual Latino children in Arizona and other states with large Hispanic populations. Researchers aim to develop evidence-based diagnostic criteria for clinicians to accurately identify bilingual children with speech disorders.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a system that automatically renders accurate sounds for complex animated content, such as splashing water or colliding objects. The system takes into account the vibrations of each object and how they excite sound waves, resulting in highly detailed and realistic sounds.
A new study by Harvard Medical School researchers identifies three molecularly distinct subtypes of neurons responsible for transmitting information from the inner ear to the brain. These subtypes are selectively lost in aging mice and do not emerge properly in deaf-mouse models, suggesting a critical role in age-related hearing loss.
A study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood found that noise on children's medical wards at night exceeds the World Health Organization's recommended maximum limit. Children and their parents experienced significantly less sleep than when sleeping at home, with an average loss of over an hour.
Dr. Raj Ladher of NCBS receives grant to study protein protocadherin-15 and its role in hearing loss. The funds will aid in understanding how modified protocadherin-15 affects hair cell response to sound, which could lead to treatment development for hearing loss.
Scientists have created a new way to selectively turn neural circuits on and off without surgery. By combining ultrasound waves, gene therapy, and synthetic drugs, researchers can noninvasively control specific brain regions and cell types. This technique has implications for treating neurological and psychiatric conditions.
A team of researchers from TU Wien has successfully guided sound waves through an air-filled tube containing irregular obstacles using their wave manipulation concept. By precisely controlling loudspeakers along the tube, they were able to counteract complex dispersal and enable the sound wave to pass with minimal restriction.
Researchers at Duke University have developed a sound wave-based platform that can separate circulating tumor cells from blood samples with high efficiency, making it suitable for clinical use. The technology uses acoustic force to push larger cancer cells into a separate channel, preserving the functions and native states of the cells.
Scientists at EPFL have developed a system that allows sound waves to travel across opaque materials without distortion. The tiny speakers can be controlled to amplify or attenuate the sound waves, offsetting the diffusion caused by obstacles and reproducing the original sound exactly on the other side. This technology has potential ap...
A new study by UCL researchers found that artificially lengthening the time it takes to hear an impact can make people update their perceived body height, leading them to feel taller. The findings could have implications for rehabilitation and treatment of conditions like Parkinson's Disease.
Researchers discovered a brain circuit necessary for unlearning fear in rats. Dopamine activity is crucial for fear extinction, but its specific role varies depending on the brain region involved.
Researchers developed a device that reflects sound in its original direction, more than doubling the effective range of previous technologies. The 'retroreflector' uses engineered materials to focus incoming sound waves onto a second layer, sending them back to their source.
Researchers recorded methane bubbles from seafloor off Oregon coast using hydrophone, estimating bubble size and frequency related to methane content. The study aims to use sound to estimate volume and rate of methane gas exiting seafloor fields.
The new foam reacts to sound waves of high and low frequencies, cutting the level of noise transmission by 20-22 dB. The material is cheaper and easier to apply than aerogel, with improved acoustic characteristics obtained through additional impregnation with nanoparticles.
Scientists found that a trapped air bubble, not the water droplet itself, causes the 'plink' sound produced by a dripping tap. Changing surface tension or adding dish soap can stop the sound. The study published in Scientific Reports could lead to more efficient ways to measure rainfall or develop realistic water sounds for gaming and ...
Research by Zachary Estes and colleagues found that single speech sounds are statistically associated with negative or positive emotions in several languages. These associations aid survival by allowing quick reactions to vital objects.
A team of researchers has found a way to couple and precisely control quantum systems using phonons, the smallest units of sound waves. This allows for the creation of a scalable quantum network, enabling new technological breakthroughs.
A recent study in Canada investigated the relationship between wind turbine proximity and human health, finding no direct correlation. However, respondents closer to turbines reported lower environmental quality of life ratings, suggesting potential indirect effects.
A study published in PLOS ONE found microplastics at all 16 sites studied in Baynes Sound and Lambert Channel, with highest contamination in Henry Bay and Metcalfe Bay. The researchers identified three main types of microplastics: microfibers, microbeads, and microfragments, with microbeads being the most common type.
Research by Ingo Titze and Anil Palaparthi found that animals' high radiation efficiency is due to wide mouths, high frequencies, and body acoustical reflecting chambers. Humans lack these traits, limiting our ability to make long-range calls like animals do. The study aims to improve human call efficiency for emergency situations.
A study published in PNAS reveals that the spatial organization of outer hair cells is crucial for amplifying and tuning sound. Researchers found that these cells can only produce high hearing sensitivity when arranged in their natural configuration with respect to surrounding structures.
Researchers at Purdue University have demonstrated the theoretical existence of thermoacoustics in solids, which could lead to the development of solid-state engines and refrigerators. The technology harnesses temperature oscillations and sound waves to generate energy, making it suitable for harsh environments like outer space.
Acoustic cloaking technology has been developed by researchers at Penn State University, which uses metamaterials to bend sound waves around an object, making it appear invisible to underwater instruments. The team successfully tested their design using a 3-foot-tall pyramid structure in an underwater research tank.
Researchers use virtual reality to study sound perception in immersive settings, revealing variability in brain processing of spatial cues. The technology holds promise for developing more accurate diagnoses of auditory disorders and enhanced audio experiences in video games.
A new study by Jody E. Kreiman investigates how people perceive voice quality and defines a 'normal' voice. The results show that listeners are consistent in their judgments of abnormal voices but disagree on what constitutes a 'normal' voice, highlighting the complexity of voice perception.
Researchers have developed a local acoustic treatment using high-back chairs and retroreflective ceilings to reduce speech distraction in open-plan offices. This novel application uses sound reflections to enhance speech communication at short distances, reducing ambient noise disturbance.
Researchers found that humans generate significant underwater noise when swimming, kayaking, or scuba diving, affecting marine life. Different activities produce distinct sounds, with some being loud enough for animals to detect.
Coral reef fish rely on acoustic cues for habitat selection and settlement. Research found that degraded reefs have reduced acoustic complexity, richness, and sound-pressure levels, making them less attractive to fish larvae and juvenile fish. This may limit future fish settlement and reduce reef resilience.
A new study by USC and Australian researchers finds that audio quality affects people's perception of information credibility. When sound quality is poor, viewers think talks are worse, speakers less intelligent, and research less important.
Research suggests that imagining an object can produce the ventriloquist illusion and its aftereffect, changing future perception of sound. The brain integrates information from multiple senses to produce a coherent experience of the world, making it difficult to distinguish between real and imagined stimuli.
Researchers found that male hummingbirds twist half their tails to aim sound at females, minimizing the Doppler shift effect. This strategic acoustic control allows males to convey speed and agility without revealing their true velocity.
Male Costa's hummingbirds perform a high-speed dive to the side of females, producing a unique 'tail song' that minimizes an audible Doppler sound. This strategic display allows males to control how females perceive their speed and potentially increase mating success.
The new 3D printed metamaterials, developed by researchers at the University of Southern California, can block sound waves and mechanical vibrations remotely using a magnetic field. They have the potential to be used for noise cancellation, vibration control, and sonic cloaking.
Researchers at Duke University have designed a thin material that can control sound waves with almost perfect efficiency, revolutionizing the manipulation of acoustic waves. The device uses a class of materials called metamaterials to redirect and reflect sound waves, offering significant improvements over previous devices.
The new approach enhances audio-analysis machines to process noisy environments by combining scalograms and spectrograms with convolutional neural networks. This improves sound classification, enabling better identification of isolated sounds like gunshots and music or speech in complex scenes.
Researchers found that humans can efficiently localize sounds when moving, using auditory motion parallax to estimate relative distances. This mechanism is particularly useful in noisy environments and allows for improved sound discrimination.
A team of researchers has successfully developed an imaging technique that can monitor the movement of atomic units at a high resolution of 300 nanometers. The technology is expected to be used in the development of new materials, solar cells, and catalysts.
Researchers found that the brain's auditory cortex does not solely represent acoustic environments but also incorporates perception. Custom ear molds disrupted participants' elevation perception, revealing different responses to sounds between sessions, indicating a dynamic relationship between sensory encoding and perception.
Researchers have turned salmon migration patterns into sound using sonification, enabling untrained listeners to interpret large amounts of complex data. The approach has shown promise in helping scientists feel less overwhelmed by interpreting big data, leading them to spend more time exploring the experience.
Researchers found that an unexpected sound increased brainwave activity and improved stopping outcomes by up to 15%. The study offers insight into the brain's communication with the motor system and could lead to new treatments for motor-control disorders like Parkinson's disease and ADHD.
A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that exercise training enhances fat metabolism and strengthens the anti-inflammatory properties of the immune system. Daily doses of kynurenic acid activated cell receptor GPR35, converting white fat to energy-burning brown fat.
A study by Kyoto University has found that certain 'mechanosensitive' genes are suppressed when exposed to audible sound. The effects vary depending on the cell type, with some cells showing significant suppression while others show little response.
Scientists at Cardiff University have developed a new method to calculate tsunami size and destructive force by measuring acoustic gravity waves. The technology uses fast-moving underwater sound waves generated after tsunami trigger events, such as earthquakes, making them an ideal source of information for early warning systems.
The researchers have developed a new device that uses sound waves to produce ultraminiature optical diodes, enabling nonreciprocal devices for photonic integrated circuits. These devices protect laser sources from back reflections and are necessary for routing light signals around optical networks.
Researchers at University of Bristol have successfully trapped objects larger than the wavelength of sound in an acoustic tractor beam, paving the way for levitation of humans. The discovery uses rapidly fluctuating acoustic vortices, which are stabilised by controlling the rate of rotation.
Researchers at Caltech created bacterial cells that can reflect sound waves, allowing them to visualize and locate therapeutic bacteria in the body. This technology uses ultrasound machines to generate images of bacterial cells, enabling doctors to assess treatment efficacy.