Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Wind turbine night noise      (via sciencedaily.com) 

With wind generation one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sectors in the world, experts are using machine learning and other signal processing techniques to characterize annoying noise features from wind farms. Two new publications from the ongoing Wind Farm Noise Study take another step towards improving wind turbine noise assessment methods, guidelines and wind turbine design to make wind energy more acceptable to surrounding communities.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Prediction models may reduce false-positives in MRI breast cancer screening      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Prediction models based on clinical characteristics and imaging findings may help reduce the false-positive rate in women with dense breasts who undergo supplemental breast cancer screening with MRI, according to a new study.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Built-in vibration control may help soundproof spaces      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A different kind of design for absorbing vibrations could help better soundproof walls and make vehicles more streamlined, a new study shows.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Does visual feedback of our tongues help in speech motor learning?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When we speak, we use our auditory and somatosensory systems to monitor the results of the movements of our tongue or lips. Since we cannot typically see our own faces and tongues while we speak, however, the potential role of visual feedback has remained less clear. Researchers explore how readily speakers will integrate visual information about their tongue movements during a speech motor learning task.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Researchers demonstrate technique for recycling nanowires in electronics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have demonstrated a low-cost technique for retrieving nanowires from electronic devices that have reached the end of their utility and then using those nanowires in new devices. The work is a step toward more sustainable electronics.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Soft skin patch could provide early warning for strokes, heart attacks      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers developed a soft, stretchy ultrasound patch that can be worn on the skin to monitor blood flow through vessels deep inside the body. Such a device can make it easier to detect cardiovascular problems, like blockages in the arteries that could lead to strokes or heart attacks.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Air-powered computer memory helps soft robot control movements      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers made a pneumatic RAM chip using microfluidic valves instead of electronic transistors. The valves remain sealed against a pressure differential even when disconnected from an air supply line, creating trapped pressure differentials that function as memories and maintain the states of a robot's actuators. Dense arrays of these valves can perform advanced operations and reduce the expensive, bulky, and power-consuming electronic hardware typically used to control pneumatic robots.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Magnetic field from MRI affects focused-ultrasound-mediated blood-brain barrier      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have found that the magnetic field of the MRI scanner decreased the BBB opening volume by 3.3-fold to 11.7-fold, depending on the strength of the magnetic field, in a mouse model.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

A tiny device incorporates a compound made from starch and baking soda to harvest energy from movement      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have used a compound made from a starch derivative and baking soda to help convert mechanical to electrical energy. The approach is cost-effective and biocompatible, and can help charge low-energy electronics like calculators and watches.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

New tool activates deep brain neurons by combining ultrasound, genetics      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has developed a new brain stimulation technique using focused ultrasound that is able to turn specific types of neurons in the brain on and off and precisely control motor activity without surgical device implantation.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Silicon chips combine light and ultrasound for better signal processing      (via sciencedaily.com) 

High-end wireless and cellular networks rely on light for the distribution of signals. The selective processing of such signals requires long delays: too long to support on a chip using light alone. A research team brought together light and ultrasonic waves to realize ultra-narrow filters of microwave signals, in silicon integrated circuits. The concept allows large freedom for filters design.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Tiny, wireless, injectable chips use ultrasound to monitor body processes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report that they have built what they say is the world's smallest single-chip system, consuming a total volume of less than 0.1 mm3. The system is as small as a dust mite and visible only under a microscope. In order to achieve this, the team used ultrasound to both power and communicate with the device wirelessly.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Release of drugs from a supramolecular cage      (via sciencedaily.com) 

How can a highly effective drug be transported to the precise location in the body where it is needed? Chemists now present a solution using a molecular cage that opens through ultrasonification.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Focused ultrasound enables precise noninvasive therapy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research demonstrates that noninvasive neuromodulation via low-intensity ultrasound can have cell-type selectivity in manipulating neurons.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Using sound waves to make patterns that never repeat      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mathematicians and engineers have teamed up to show how ultrasound waves can organize carbon particles in water into a sort of pattern that never repeats. The results, they say, could result in materials called 'quasicrystals' with custom magnetic or electrical properties.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Reading minds with ultrasound: A less-invasive technique to decode the brain's intentions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new brain imaging application uses ultrasound to predict intended movements before they happen.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Ultrasound has potential to damage coronaviruses, study finds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study suggests coronaviruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19, may be vulnerable to ultrasound vibrations. Simulations suggest ultrasound waves at medical imaging frequencies can cause the virus' shell and spikes to collapse and rupture.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Quadruple fusion imaging via transparent ultrasound transducer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have developed a quadruple fusion optical and ultrasound imaging system using a transparent ultrasound transducer.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Life's rich pattern: Researchers use sound to shape the future of printing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a way to coax microscopic particles and droplets into precise patterns by harnessing the power of sound in air. The implications for printing, especially in the fields of medicine and electronics, are far-reaching.

Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published

Swimming upstream on sound waves      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have succeeded in propelling microvehicles against a fluid flow using ultrasound. In future, these tiny vehicles are set to be introduced into the human bloodstream, thereby revolutionizing the field of medicine.