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Categories: Biology: Developmental, Physics: Acoustics and Ultrasound
Published An Old Yellow Enzyme helps algae combat photooxidative stress
(via sciencedaily.com) Old Yellow Enzymes (OYEs) were discovered in the 1930s and have been the subject of much research ever since. This is because these biocatalysts -- coloured yellow by an auxiliary molecule -- are capable of performing reactions that are very valuable for the chemical industry, such as producing drug precursors or fragrances. Even though OYEs are found in many organisms, their natural role for these organisms has hardly been understood so far -- possibly because the research focus has been on their biotechnological application. Researchers have now shown that an OYE of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is vital for this plant microorganism to protect itself from photooxidative stress.
Published New study decodes one of the living world's fastest cell movements
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Heliozoan axopodia are important for their motility. However, the underlying mechanism of their axopodial contraction has remained ambiguous. Recently, researchers have reported that microtubules are simultaneously cleaved at multiple sites, allowing the radiating axopodia in a heliozoan, Raphidocystis contractilis, to disappear almost instantly. They have now identified the gene set and proteins involved in this microtubule disruption. This research can help develop a method to detect water pollution and evaluate the efficacy of new anticancer drugs.
Published Modified CRISPR-based enzymes improve the prospect of inserting entire genes into the genome to overcome diverse disease-causing mutations
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many genetic diseases are caused by diverse mutations spread across an entire gene, and designing genome editing approaches for each patient's mutation would be impractical and costly.
Published A precision arm for miniature robots
(via sciencedaily.com) Until now, microscopic robotic systems have had to make do without arms. Now researchers have developed an ultrasonically actuated glass needle that can be attached to a robotic arm. This lets them pump and mix minuscule amounts of liquid and trap particles.
Published Tracking radiation treatment in real time promises safer, more effective cancer therapy
(via sciencedaily.com) Radiation, used to treat half of all cancer patients, can be measured during treatment for the first time with precise 3D imaging. By capturing and amplifying tiny sound waves created when X-rays heat tissues in the body, medical professionals can map the radiation dose within the body, giving them new data to guide treatments in real time. It's a first-of-its-kind view of an interaction doctors have previously been unable to 'see.'
Published Team writes letters with ultrasonic beam, develops deep learning based real-time ultrasonic hologram generation technology
(via sciencedaily.com) A team has developed a 'deep learning-based ultrasound hologram generation framework' technology that can freely configure the form of focused ultrasound in real time based on holograms. It is expected to be used as a basic technology in the field of brain stimulation and treatment that requires precision in the future.
Published A type of simple, DIY air filter can be an effective way to filter out indoor air pollutants
(via sciencedaily.com) A study found that inexpensive, easy-to-assemble Corsi-Rosenthal boxes can help reduce exposure to indoor air pollutants. The air filters have already been shown to reduce particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Published Brain flexibility may hasten hearing improvements from cochlear implants
(via sciencedaily.com) Kickstarting the brain's natural ability to adjust to new circumstances, or neuroplasticity, improves how effectively a cochlear implant can restore hearing loss, a new study in deaf rats shows. The investigation, researchers say, may help explain the extreme variation in hearing improvements experienced by implant recipients.
Published An exotic interplay of electrons
(via sciencedaily.com) Water that simply will not freeze, no matter how cold it gets -- a research group has discovered a quantum state that could be described in this way. Experts have managed to cool a special material to near absolute zero temperature. They found that a central property of atoms -- their alignment -- did not 'freeze', as usual, but remained in a 'liquid' state. The new quantum material could serve as a model system to develop novel, highly sensitive quantum sensors.
Published Wireless earphones as inexpensive hearing aids
(via sciencedaily.com) Some commercial earbuds can perform as well as hearing aids. The result could help a large proportion of people with hearing loss access more affordable sound amplification devices.
Published Want to fire up the dance floor? Play low-frequency bass
(via sciencedaily.com) To find out how different aspects of music influence the body, researchers turned a live electronic music concert into a lab study. By introducing levels of bass over speakers that were too low to hear and monitoring the crowd's movements, scientists found that people danced 11.8 percent more when the very low frequency bass was present.
Published Automatic speaker recognition technology outperforms human listeners in the courtroom
(via sciencedaily.com) The forensic-voice-comparison system, based on state-of-the-art automatic-speaker-recognition technology, outperformed all the listeners.
Published Using sound to model the world
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed a machine-learning technique that captures and models the underlying acoustics of a scene from a limited number of sound recordings. The system can accurately simulate what any sound, like a song, would sound like if a person were to walk around to different locations in a scene.
Published Capturing and analyzing subtle combination tones produced by violins
(via sciencedaily.com) When two musical notes are played simultaneously, the human ear can perceive weak additional tones called combination tones. While less perceivable, objective combination tones are also generated by some musical instruments. Researchers have now used violins to explore these rarely studied objective combination tones. They found that the combination tones produced by higher-quality violins were much stronger and clearly audible and powerful air resonance and violin sound quality are linked. The higher-quality violins produced a stronger air resonance due to several factors, including structural material and crafting techniques.
Published How low-cost earbuds can make newborn hearing screening accessible
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have created a newborn hearing screening system that uses cheap earbuds and a smartphone instead of an expensive commercial device.
Published Skin-attachable auditory sensor that functions even in noisy environments
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has developed a skin-attachable auditory sensor, which recognizes human voices in noisy environments and when users wear facemasks. The new sensor will be useful in microphones that facilitate communication in disaster situations and for healthcare devices that diagnose respiratory diseases.
Published Would traffic noise from future flying cars cause stress?
(via sciencedaily.com) Study shows that not only are loud vehicles flying overhead a cause of noise pollution-related stress, the effect of that stress remains on the body even after noise levels have decreased.
Published The Secret of Swing: Downbeat delays
(via sciencedaily.com) Jazz must swing -- jazz musicians agree on that. However, even 100 years after the beginnings of jazz, it is still unclear what exactly constitutes the swing feel. With a sophisticated experiment and data analyses on more than 450 well-known jazz solos, physicists together with psychologists have unraveled a secret of swing. They were able to demonstrate that certain systematic deviations in timing are a key component of swing. These microtiming deviations are so small that they are not perceived as such even by professional jazz musicians, who nonetheless are using them unconsciously.
Published Wind music causes less transmission than singing, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) The risk of transmission from an infected person on a wind instrument is generally much lower than for people who sing or speak, provided that one spends the same amount of time in their vicinity, according to a new study.
Published The super-fast MRI scan that could revolutionize heart failure diagnosis
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed cutting-edge technology to diagnose patients with heart failure in record time. The state-of-the-art technology uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to create detailed 4D flow images of the heart. But unlike a standard MRI scan, which can take up to 20 minutes or more, the new 4D heart MRI scan takes just eight minutes.