sound

Mars: Perseverance rover measures speed of sound on Mars for the first time

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Using a laser to strike rocks and a built-in microphone, NASA’s Perseverance rover has measured changes in the speed of sound on Mars due to temperature affecting the atmosphere Space 9 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins An illustration of NASA’s Perseverance rover NASA/JPL-Caltech The speed of sound on Mars has been measured for the first … Read more

Scientists want to create a library of every sound in the ocean | Science

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Most of us have heard the plaintive songs of humpback whales, or the cries of orcas chattering with their pods. But what about the strains of the spiky kina sea urchin? (It makes a hollow plopping sound.) Now, scientists want to bring the song of the kina—and thousands of other unassuming sea creatures—to other researchers … Read more

Scientists Can Now Turn Stem Cells Into Bone Using Nothing More Than Sound

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Stem cells have the superpower of turning into any other kind of cell – a superpower that some animals use to regrow limbs; for medicine, they yield the potential to help us repair parts of the human body that have been damaged by injury or disease.   Carrying out those repairs requires the ability to manipulate stem … Read more

Spider webs may act as most sensitive ‘ears’ in the known natural world

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The bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) uses its web to detect the sounds made by insects flying nearby and prepare itself for a potential meal Life 11 February 2022 By Carissa Wong A female bridge spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) Shutterstock/Dan Olsen Some spiders can pick up sounds in the air using their webs as acoustic antennae, and because … Read more

Fish Have ‘Talked’ For 155 Million Years, And Now You Can Hear Their ‘Voices’

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All manner of croaks, chirps, and deep trombone moans permeate Earth’s waters, just like the cacophony of sounds that fill its forest air. For example, reefs are surprisingly noisy places, and many of the noisemakers are fish.   “We’ve known for a long time that some fish make sounds, but fish sounds were always perceived as … Read more

Hippos Will Aggressively Spray Poop at The Mere Sound of a Stranger’s Wheeze Honk

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The hippopotamus is a surprisingly mysterious beast. Although it’s the third largest land mammal, can run a spritely 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances, and is far more dangerous to humans than a grizzly bear, we know relatively little about its social communication.   A new study working to rectify this lack of knowledge … Read more

Here’s How The Sound of Mosquitoes’ Mating Rituals Could Help Us Control Malaria

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In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that almost half the world’s population was at risk of malaria, while some 627,000 people died from the disease. Although a malaria vaccine may soon be available (the WHO recommended one for children last year), malaria is just one of several mosquito-borne diseases. And the total number … Read more

Do Auroras Make Sounds We Can Hear? The True Answer Is Surprisingly Complicated

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It’s a question that has puzzled observers for centuries: do the fantastic green and crimson light displays of the aurora borealis produce any discernible sound? Conjured by the interaction of solar particles with gas molecules in Earth’s atmosphere, the aurora generally occurs near Earth’s poles, where the magnetic field is strongest. Reports of the aurora … Read more

Get Back: Beatles documentary used custom AI to strip unwanted sound

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Sound engineers used custom-made artificial intelligence to strip out unwanted audio from footage of the band in the studio Technology 24 December 2021 By Matthew Sparkes The Beatles’ rooftop performance from 1969 in The Beatles: Get Back Apple Corps Ltd. The Beatles: Get Back, Peter Jackson’s documentary about the making of the album Let It … Read more

We Could Harness White Noise to Save The Lives of Millions of Birds. Here’s How

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Billions of birds die each year from collisions with tall glass buildings, communication towers and power lines – a gobsmacking toll that’s expected to increase as cities grow outwards and upwards.   A recent study suggests there could be a way to fix our deadly mistakes – by installing ‘acoustic lighthouses’ that blast white noise … Read more