Scientists at Rockefeller University claim they’ve pinpointed a protein in the ear that acts as a sort of molecular gatekeeper, helping convert soundwaves into the electrical signals that our brains interpret as sound. The finding, though incremental, helps establish a more detailed understanding of how hearing works.
Down the Inner-Ear Rabbit Hole
But first, some basics. Deep inside the ear, through your ear canal and past your ear drum, lies the inner ear. Here, there’s a ...read more
Everyone loves Yellowstone, don't they? For a volcano that might not have erupted for 10,000 years, it gets a disproportion amount of media attention. Much of the hype is just because the media (news and entertainment alike) has made Yellowstone seem like something that is bound to erupt in our lifetimes and destroy all civilization. Yet today, there are really no signs today that the Yellowstone caldera is heading towards a new eruption anytime in the near future -- and that's geologic "nea ...read more
The new Apollo 11 documentary boasts that it is a “cinematic event fifty years in the making.” Which it is. It’s less a documentary and more a compilation of restored 16mm film and rarely-if-ever heard audio records from the first lunar landing mission, and it's absolutely incredible. (Heads up: this blog contains spoilers, but then again, most of us know what happened on Apollo 11, right? Right.)
The trailer, just in case you haven't seen it kicking around yet.
[embed] ...read more
Our Um's and Uh's Aren't Totally Useless
Ever catch yourself saying “uhhh” too many times? Many people vow to cut back on relying on such verbal crutches once they realize they’re using them, but they're not just filler. It seems they act as a cue of sorts for your conversational partners. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics found that listeners actively track when a speaker says “uh” to help predict what kind of word might follow.
The ...read more
Rare is the tech story whose main development is decidedly low-tech – but not impossible. Rather than a fancy atomic clock or rat cyborgs, for instance, this tech story deals with buckets of rocks and water. Well, solar panels too, but that’s not the cool new part.
Today, at a meeting of the American Physical Society, Colgate University physicist Beth Parks described a new way to wring even more energy from a solar panel — a major development for people with no access to relia ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine