Articles tagged with Sound
New research finds that advertisements highlighting more proximal sensory experiences (touch/taste) lead to earlier purchases, while those emphasizing distal sensory experiences (sight/sound) delay them. This study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, suggests new ways for marketers to differentiate their products and services.
Researchers found that avoiding social threats leads to decreased mentalizing network activity and increased amygdala activity, indicating heightened threat detection. The study used a Lord of the Rings-themed experiment to investigate neural correlates of social threat perception.
A new study links declining steelhead trout populations to poor survival rates of juvenile fish in the ocean. Ocean survival rates have declined by 77% in some areas, contributing to low adult abundance and impacting conservation efforts.
Researchers found that couples who viewed positive images of their spouses paired with cute animals showed improved marriage quality. The intervention used evaluative conditioning to create automatic associations between the spouse's face and positive feelings.
A team of marine scientists developed an inexpensive yet accurate method to estimate the number of fish in a spawning aggregation based on their mating calls. This technology can help fisheries managers design effective management practices and monitor the ongoing health of a fishery, protecting endangered species from overfishing.
Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark have found that cormorants can detect sounds under water, which may help protect these birds from man-made noise pollution. This new ability is comparable to that of seals and whales, and could also benefit other aquatic bird species.
Research found that mechanical heart valve noise disturbs sleep in nearly a quarter of patients, with women more affected than men. The study also showed that patients often find ways to cope with the noise, such as sleeping on their right side or using earplugs.
Researchers at KU Leuven found that blind individuals, including those without eyeballs, use the ventral-temporal cortex to categorize visual observations. This region is divided into smaller areas, each recognizing a particular category, such as faces, body parts, and objects.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a plug-in sensor package that can transform any room into a smart environment, detecting various phenomena such as sounds, vibration, and temperature. The 'Synthetic Sensors' approach uses machine learning techniques to combine raw sensor feeds and identify dozens of events and obj...
Researchers designed a new technology that uses machine learning to model personal sleep patterns based on recorded sounds made during sleep. This method allows doctors to diagnose patients under normal sleeping conditions, leading to better treatment outcomes.
A new study found that doxycycline can reduce fear memory responses in healthy volunteers by 60%, suggesting its potential to treat PTSD. The antibiotic disrupts the formation of negative associations in the brain, which is crucial for learning to fear threats.
A new program developed by Kari Lane at the University of Missouri has shown significant improvement in hearing aid wear time among older adults. The program, called Hearing Aid Reintroduction (HEAR), uses a systematically gradual approach to support adjustment to hearing aids, increasing wear time from one hour to 10 hours over 30 days.
Researchers studied a rare cricket family, grigs, to understand the evolution of sound generation in orthopterans. They found that grigs' wings represented an early transitional stage between fossilized ancestors and modern bush-crickets.
Researchers found that participants' brains responded positively to sentences conforming to traditional Welsh poetry rules, even when they couldn't explicitly identify the correct form. This suggests an innate appreciation for poetic structure in the human brain.
A new study found that people unconsciously map sounds to shapes, influencing awareness before conscious recognition. The 'bouba-kiki' effect, observed across cultures and age groups, shows that soft-sounding words pair with round shapes and sharp-sounding words with angular shapes.
A recent NICU study found that preemies are exposed to noise levels higher than recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, while also lacking essential language stimulation. The researchers recommend engaging parents in providing sensory exposures to promote healthy development.
A £1.7 million, five-year project will provide electronic music composers with access to newly-developed software tools and methodologies to mine vast digital sound databases. This will enable the creation of exciting new sounds and ideas, pushing the limits of new 'sound worlds'.
Researchers at Newcastle University have discovered abnormal changes in the brain's frontal lobe and emotional control mechanism in individuals with misophonia. The study found that trigger sounds evoked increased heart rate and sweating, and that patients had strikingly similar clinical features despite being undiagnosed by current me...
Researchers found eelgrass population stable across Puget Sound basin despite increased human population and shoreline development. Localized declines have been observed at individual beaches, with other shorelines showing healthy eelgrass growth.
Research at University of Helsinki finds that noise sensitive individuals' brains process sounds differently, leading to decreased responsiveness to new sounds. This adaptation may help protect against overreacting to noise, suggesting a physiological basis for noise sensitivity.
Researchers at Disney Research developed an AI-based system that can automatically learn the association between images and sounds, with applications in film sound effects and aiding visually impaired individuals. The system uses video data to filter out uncorrelated sounds and learns which sounds are associated with an image.
Researchers have developed a tool to visualize network traffic data, allowing analysts to identify key changes and patterns. The tool has been used to inspect network traffic during DDoS attacks and map out malware distribution networks.
A study published in Nature Neuroscience found that nerve cells dedicated to hearing rely on surrounding context to properly interpret and react to familiar sounds. Researchers observed patterns based on a basic divide in the nature of nerve cells, with excitatory and inhibitory neurons working together to balance brain activity.
Researchers discovered that jumping spiders can detect sounds in the 80-380 Hertz range at distances up to 10 feet, even without ears or ear drums. This ability helps them respond to predators like the Mud Dauber wasp.
Researchers transform protein data into musical sounds, called sonifications, to reveal insights into their structures and functions. By analyzing these melodies, scientists can identify anomalies and gain a better understanding of protein behavior.
A new study by University of Illinois professor Carlos J. Torelli found that younger, more educated Chinese consumers tend to favor phonosemantic brand translations, which integrate both sound and meaning into a product's name. This approach signals cultural sensitivity and respect for the local culture.
Researchers found strong associations between certain sounds and common objects/ideas across languages, including body parts and natural phenomena. The study's findings suggest that humans tend to use similar sounds to describe basic concepts, regardless of language.
Tropical Depression 8 is located just 85 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. The depression is forecast to produce total rain accumulations of 1-3 inches with isolated amounts up to 5 inches.
Researchers will analyze 64 interviews with speakers from eight Southern states using computer software to identify variations in spoken language. The goal is to provide a database of Southern speech patterns that can be used for industrial applications.
Researchers found that infants whose mothers speak tonal languages exhibit higher melodic variation in their cries, which sounds like chanting. This suggests that babies are learning language patterns from the womb and can mimic them in their early vocalizations.
Researchers from MIT's CSAIL have developed an imaging technique called Interactive Dynamic Video (IDV) that lets users reach in and interact with objects in videos. By analyzing video clips for 'vibration modes,' the team can predict how objects will move in new situations, enabling realistic simulations.
A new study published in Scientific Reports suggests that orangutans have the potential capacity to control their voices, which could have led to the evolution of human speech. The research found that an adolescent orangutan named Rocky was able to copy the pitch and tone of sounds made by researchers, mimicking vowel-like calls.
Male cicadas use their calls to attract mates, but they also draw in pregnant female flies looking to lay eggs. The study found that both males and females demonstrated reproductive intent and successfully mated with each other.
A study by Simon Fraser University researchers found that the loss of sea stars led to a quadrupling of green sea urchins, which prey on kelp, causing its decrease by 80 per cent. The ecosystem is still recovering, with no sign of recovery in sea stars.
Concordia University researchers have developed a technique to locate underground leaks with 99.5 percent accuracy using noise loggers. The system helps reduce costs and time involved in repairing leaks, ensuring public health and safety.
Researchers at Kyoto University found that cats use causal logic to infer object presence based on sounds. The study revealed cats' expectations are shaped by what they hear, enabling them to predict prey locations.
Research finds that skilled readers don't need to 'sound out' words they know, with a separate area for visual dictionary-like recognition. A different region processes sounds, explaining why people with dyslexia struggle with reading.
A UTSA professor's top-tier research shows that clearly stated company values and vivid vision statements have a profound effect on overall success. The study reveals organizations with well-coordinated employees operating under consistent, easily imagined visions outperform those without such focus.
Researchers aim to develop optimum alarm systems by analyzing alarm errors and predicting their occurrence. The new models will prioritize alarms that reflect urgent situations while balancing staff alertness with patient recovery concerns.
Researchers at Penn State tracked the cause of a loud noise made by a type of golf club and found it was due to vibrations in the club head. The vibrations were strongest in the most sensitive range of human hearing, leading to an annoyingly loud sound that some players compared to a cookie tray hitting a car.
Researchers used transitional probability to segment natural language and found it effective for 49-86% of word identification across languages. The method performed better on stress-timed languages, while mora-timed languages required relative thresholding.
A new study from Duke University reveals that misnaming follows predictable patterns, with people often using relationship categories and phonetic similarities to mix up names. The study found that family members frequently call other family members by the name of the family dog, suggesting a special bond between humans and canines.
A recent study by the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences found that 9-month-old babies who participated in music play sessions showed improved brain responses to music and new speech sounds. This suggests that early musical experiences can have a lasting impact on cognitive skills such as pattern percept...
A researcher from Michigan State University is using a fellowship to study the role of sound in modern South Asian poetry, exploring rhyme, stress and patterns of repetition. The project aims to develop best practices for encoding linguistic data and preserve cultural forms in the region.
A new University of Washington study shows that bulkheads and seawalls along Puget Sound's shores have a cumulative impact on the ecosystem, shrinking beaches and reducing habitat for invertebrates and fish. The study provides crucial information for improving management approaches to shorelines.
A new study by the University of Toronto reveals that people intuitively pair front vowel sounds with things close by and back vowel sounds with distances away. This knowledge can inform marketing strategies, such as choosing names for products or brands that align with their intended distance from customers.
An international team has compiled the largest library of bat sounds, allowing researchers to accurately identify and differentiate between 59 bat species found in Mexico. The developed method can be used to monitor biodiversity change and characterise bat communities in different regions.
A study published in Psychological Science found that humans are often driven by a desire to resolve uncertainty, even if it leads to harm. The researchers used experiments to demonstrate that individuals will click on pens with uncertain outcomes more frequently than those with clear consequences.
Research reveals that bilingual babies exhibit stronger brain responses to speech sounds compared to monolingual peers. Bilingualism is shown to shape cognitive development and improve executive function skills, with babies displaying sensitivity to both languages from 11 months of age.
A new UCLA psychology study suggests that the brain combines sound and vision using different mechanisms, which can influence how well people perform tasks. Researchers found that people's vision frequently influences their hearing when trying to identify specific locations of sounds and flashes of light.
A study found that marathon runners with 'salty' sweat had lower electrolyte levels in their blood despite proper hydration and nutrition. This suggests that sweat electrolyte concentration can impact physiological conditions during long-distance events.
A study by the University of Geneva found that excessive noise disrupts premature babies' tactile skills, hindering their ability to memorize shapes and distinguish between objects. The researchers suggest implementing environmental measures to reduce noise levels in neonatal units to support optimal brain development.
Researchers developed a wearable device that tracks caloric intake by recording sounds made while eating. The AutoDietary necklace accurately identifies foods 85% of the time, holding promise for managing conditions like diabetes and obesity.
Researchers found that consuming loud noises while eating can mask sound cues that naturally limit food intake, leading to increased consumption. The 'Crunch Effect' suggests being more aware of food sounds can help individuals eat less.
University of Utah researchers discovered how certain brain cells compute sound length and detect short sounds. The study found that for a frog brain cell to recognize a short sound, it is inhibited from firing while the sound occurs, then excited into firing when the sound ends.
Researchers are testing SPI-1005, an oral drug containing ebselen, as a potential treatment for bipolar disorder. The treatment has shown promise in addressing the lack of effective options for patients with this condition.
Researchers found that varnish increases damping throughout the wood surface, leading to a more isotropic sound radiation. The type of varnish used can also affect the sound, with German master violin makers' varnishes producing a louder tone.
Researchers used advanced calcium imaging to monitor neural activity in zebrafish brains, showing the tectum responds to multiple stimuli like sight, sound, and water flow. This discovery suggests a unified sensory view for both humans and fish, improving understanding of human sensory perception.
Researchers found that each smaller group of herring varied out of sync with others, but their collective diversity helped stabilize the population. This 'local matters' perspective highlights the importance of protecting local diversity in ensuring overall sustainability of the resource.
A new study published in Nature Communications demonstrates that the fear of large carnivores can have cascading effects on the food chain and restore ecosystems. The researchers found that instilling fear in raccoons reduced their time spent feeding and reversed their impacts on their prey, leading to a healthier ecosystem.