Dolphins inspire sonar for clearer underwater images

New sonar technology that gets its inspiration from dolphins allows clearer visual underwater imaging, a new study shows.

National University of Singapore • futurity
March 23, 2023 ~6 min

Even without ears on the outside, snakes can hear sound

They have no external ears, but snakes can hear and react to sound a lot more than some people might think, researchers find.

U. Queensland • futurity
Feb. 15, 2023 ~4 min


Healthiest noise level for the office is about 50 decibels

Too much or too little noise in the office can harm our well-being, research finds. The ideal is about 50 decibels.

Kyle Mittan-U. Arizona • futurity
Feb. 3, 2023 ~7 min

Sound waves offer 2-prong attack against cancer

New research digs into how a technique that uses noninvasive sound waves to break up tumors triggers an immune response in mice.

Jim Lynch-Michigan • futurity
Feb. 2, 2023 ~5 min

War killed the ‘a-woo-gah!’ Klaxon car horn

A book on the Klaxon automobile horn shows how consumers are led toward technological solutions for the problems technology creates.

Francisco Tutella-Penn State • futurity
Feb. 2, 2023 ~3 min

Mini creatures with mighty voices know their audience and focus on a single frequency

From insects to birds to bats to frogs, these little loudmouths have found ingenious ways to deliver their messages at high volume.

Bernard Lohr, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County • conversation
Jan. 31, 2023 ~6 min

More empathetic people better understand animal sounds

Those who do well on human empathy tests are also better at decoding the emotional sounds of animals, according to a new study.

U. Copenhagen • futurity
Dec. 20, 2022 ~11 min

What does Mars sound like? Rover microphone has recorded the red planet's dust devils

The first ever sound recording of a dust devil on Mars reminds us that there is a lot to learn about how they sculpt the landscape.

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University • conversation
Dec. 13, 2022 ~8 min


Brains ‘time-stamp’ sounds to make sense of words

New research clarifies how our brains keep track of sounds we hear to make sense of words.

James Devitt-NYU • futurity
Nov. 7, 2022 ~5 min

How the brain tells when something sounds wrong

"...the brain is able to make precise predictions about when a sound is supposed to happen and what it should sound like."

James Devitt-NYU • futurity
Oct. 26, 2022 ~6 min

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